MONTEVIDEO - City Council members in Montevideo agreed to make an offer to purchase a two-acre parcel being eyed as the site for a new fire hall.
Council members approved making a $108,900 offer for the land at their meeting on Monday, according to City Manager Steve Jones. The offer is based on an appraisal recently completed for the city.
The property is located on North 11th Street, directly across from the Chippewa County-Montevideo Hospital. The site is currently vacant and considered a desirable location for a fire hall. The property offers the potential for right-of-way access to Windom Avenue as well as 11th Street.
The property is listed as being owned by the Martha Head and
Trust, with an address of the CEUNN Company LLC of Minnetonka, according to property tax records in Chippewa County. The trust holds a controlling interest in the Twin Cities & Western Railroad, according to the Federal Register.
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The city has not had any discussions with the trust regarding a possible purchase.
Montevideo has retained Cities Edge Architects, of Willmar, to develop plans for a new fire hall and to make renovations at the city hall. The fire hall project is currently estimated at just over $2 million, said Jones.
The current fire hall is part of the city hall building on Canton Avenue. It lacks the space needed by the department.
Once vacated, the area occupied by the fire department would be renovated and the Police Department would expand some of its operations into it.
The city is looking at an estimated $270,000 project to replace the heating and cooling system in the city hall building and make renovations.
Jones said the city would like to see construction on a new fire hall begin in late spring of 2014.
