GRANITE FALLS -- The Yellow Medicine County Board of Commissioners is moving ahead with plans to remodel a newly acquired building to hold county offices.
At their meeting on Tuesday, the commissioners approved a base contract of $18,500 with Contegrity Group, of Little Falls, to serve as construction manager.
One day earlier, the county closed on the acquisition of the building in downtown Granite Falls for $450,000 from Fagen Inc. The county intends to remodel the building -- originally a bank -- to accommodate the finance and administration, property and public services offices now housed on the first floor of the courthouse.
Wold Architects Inc., of St. Paul, is currently drafting plans that will be presented to the commissioners on Dec. 11. The architects are also completing a space analysis of the courthouse building, which is expected to be presented to the commissioners in January.
The commissioners are debating whether to renovate the original courthouse building. In discussions on Tuesday, board chairman Gary Johnson also raised again the possibility of demolishing the 1889 building and replacing it with a new structure.
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The Eighth Judicial District has urged the county to make improvements to the court services area, now located on the second floor of the courthouse.
The county is also interested in moving the county attorney offices from a leased office in downtown Granite Falls to the courthouse. One proposal under discussion would move the court services to the first floor, and remodel the second floor to hold the county attorney offices.
