Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Wright County public works building has problems



When buildings get old, it is inevitable that some things
wear out or break down. But, when a building is only six months old, there
shouldn’t be problems ­ at least that was the feeling of the Wright
County Board at its March 14 meeting.

County Highway Engineer Wayne Fingalson came before the
board to ask direction concerning severe humidity problems at the new Public
Works Building. He told the commissioners that both extremes are occurring
inside the building, ranging from static pressure problems that open the
automatic doors to brutal humidity problems.

“When it’s warm, pages of paper on desks actually
stick together,” Fingalson said. “When it’s dry, the humidity
is only 10 to 12 percent. We’ve been told the Mojave Desert has humidity
higher than that.”

The board was frustrated about the problem, as it should
have been addressed in the engineering phase of the project, since it is
clearly an engineering issue.

The estimated cost of repair is less than $2,000 and something
the county board refuses to pay. The contractor, Beutow and Associates,
was going to meet with the county that same day to discuss work on the county’s
remodeling of the Annex Building. Commissioner Pat Sawatzke said the county
could then get an immediate answer from Beutow about the problem.

“Just tell (Beutow) that this is their problem,”
Sawatzke said. “This is a new building and we’re having these types
of problems only six months later? That’s wrong. Tell them if they don’t
fix this, there’s no need to talk to them about Phase II of the remodeling.”

The board was scheduled to meet with Beutow later that
day and took no action pending a decision by Beutow to make the needed repairs.

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