Public Safety Center construction project

The Minnesota Department of Corrections, in a July 2019 letter, said it was downgrading Rice County’s main jail to a 90-day facility effective Nov. 1, 2019, citing a lack of required programming and recreational space.

The change would limit the number of days a facility can hold inmates and forced the county to relocate inmates who had served 90 days in the jail to jails in nearby counties. The change would cost the county, according to the then-sheriff’s 2019 estimate, $500,000 annually to house and transport inmates from out-of-county jails to the Rice County courthouse and back. A 2021 estimate put that figure at $1 million.

County officials also noted that doing so would tie up deputies who would otherwise be performing their regular duties.

The Board of Commissioners on July 30, 2019 agreed to conduct a study looking at the county’s needs for a jail and presenting possible solutions. That led the DOC to hold off on a change in classification, provided Rice County continued to work to resolve the shortcomings in its facility. Hired to do the study was Klein McCarthy Architects, which worked with a task force comprised of county staff (including Sheriff’s Office and jail staff) and two county commissioners, which met to consider the county’s needs and research options.

Following an April 2021 report, the board voted to build a 76-bed Public Safety Center. In September 2021, it approved the purchase of 109 acres just east of Hwy. 3 near its intersection with 30th Street for the new Public Safety Center.

Rice County has been granted four extensions on the jail reclassification, due in large part to its work to build a new jail that meets DOC requirements. The current extension expires July 1, 2024.

Site options cost estimates detail (from 2021 study)

Months of research and review led the board-appointed task force to recommend building a new Public Safety Center to house Sheriff’s Office employees and a 76-bed jail on undeveloped property. Though the price tag was estimated at $48 million, the group concluded the other options made little sense.

Adding onto the current Law Enforcement Center on Third Street NW was even more expensive. Topography made meeting Department of Corrections requirements for a jail facility more challenging and more costly (by about $10 million). There were also concerns about space. Using the site, at the western entrance to downtown Faribault, would leave no room for future growth.

The task force also considered expanding the Jail Annex on Hwy. 60 just east of Western Avenue NW, but concluded that there are troublesome mechanical issues with the former federal facility and that a gas main running near the facility could create significant hurdles if an expansion was ever necessary.

Just as the board received the study, the Steele County Board of Commissioners invited the Rice County board to form a partnership to use its Owatonna jail, which was operating at less than 50% capacity.

During an April 6, 2021 work session, Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott recommended against the proposed partnership. Among his reasons: the additional travel time to the Steele County jail, especially for Northfield, Lonsdale and Dundas officers; the risk of regularly sending local law enforcement to Owatonna on an interstate he called “notoriously hazardous in the winter” and the additional difficulties for inmates’ families — especially their children — wanting to visit their loved ones in jail.

Department of Corrections officials also advised against a collaboration, saying that while Steele County’s jail had available space, it didn’t have the flexibility to meet Rice County’s needs. DOC regulations require inmates be housed with those classified similarly. Classifications include gender, security risk and medical/mental health needs. A draft April 15, 2021 report, Criminal Justice System Analysis & Detention Center Forecast, done for Steele County, concurred with those findings.

Following two April 2021 public input sessions, the Rice County Board of Commissioners in July 2021 voted to build its own jail on undeveloped property. During its discussion, the board said a collaboration with Steele County would carry a higher price tag than building its own jail and result in a loss of local control.

The Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of 109.2 acres of land at a cost of $1.65 million on Sept. 14, 2021. The site, formerly Faribault Food spray fields and before that, Family Drive-In, is just east of Hwy. 3 and 30th Street on Faribault’s northern edge.

The site was selected because it's near the county’s center and will have good vehicular access. By the time the Public Safety Center is complete, the city of Faribault will have finished a planned roundabout at Hwy. 3 and 30th Street.

Two new sections of roadway will be built too -- extensions of First Avenue NW and Eastview Drive -- creating access to the Public Safety Center and anticipated development. 

Only a portion of property will be used for the Public Safety Center. A 5-acre segment of county-owned land will likely house a ground-mounted solar field that will help power the new facility.

It's expected that land immediately south of the site will become commercial/industrial property, and land to the north will be used for housing.

Final design documents were presented and approved by the Board of Commissioners March 22, 2022. Bids for the project were let in April. All but two were approved June 7, 2022. The remaining two will be rebid.

Bids for an adjacent storage facility were approved June 14, 2022.

While county leaders hope to begin construction soon after bids are approved, construction supply shortages may cause some problems, at least early on. Supplies that have been hard to come during the pandemic, including steel and precast concrete panels, will be ordered as soon as possible to minimize delays.

The Board of Commissioners in 2021 voted to use a construction manager to facilitate the project. That allowed bids to go out piecemeal instead of in one large package. That should help local firms, allowing them to secure contracts and benefit financially from the project.

A $48.86 million bond sale will help finance construction of the Public Safety Center. That was approved by the Board of Commissioners July 19, 2022.

The Board of Commissioners asked the state Legislature to allow it to place a .375% sales tax on the November ballot. Because the facility will benefit the entire region, county officials recommended spreading the expense to those living outside the county who spend money in Rice County.

Taxes collected could only be used to repay construction bonds for the Public Safety Center. The tax would last a maximum of 30 years, but if the debt is paid more quickly, it would sunset. Among the items left undone during the 2022 Legislative session was the county's request.

Groundbreaking for the center was in August 2022. The first walls were placed in mid January 2023. Anticipated completion is fall 2024.

County leaders break ground on new Public Safety Center

More than three years and thousands of man hours culminated Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, with the turn of a shovel as the Rice County Board of Commissioners broke ground on a new 83,300 square-foot Public Safety Center.

The new center will be located on Faribault’s northern edge off Hwy. 3 just east of its intersection with 30th Street.

Rice County Sheriff Jesse J. Thomas marked the occasion by issuing a “welcome to progress.”

“Let’s go move some dirt,” he cracked.

Jim Purfeerst, chair of the Board of Commissioners, noted that the safety center groundbreaking is the first of several expected projects on what had been a Faribault Foods spray field.

“It’s anticipated that much-needed housing will be located north of the Public Safety Center and that to its south, will be the beginnings of a city road connecting the east and west sides of Faribault,” he said.

“Just beyond that, the city of Faribault plans for open space to enhance the community, and commercially zoned property to bring jobs into Rice County and add to its tax base.”

The new center, which includes a 76-bed jail and offices for the Rice County Office, also offers opportunities in its focus on staff and detainee safety and well-being. With most detainees dealing with mental/chemical health issues, the facility addresses those needs with natural light, color, and space to learn, relieve stress and prepare to return to the community.

Find the rest of the story here.