Library poised to advance

• Nobles County

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Talk about it

WORTHINGTON — While no official decision could be made during a special work session Monday morning, Nobles County Commissioners appeared to agree on one thing — to take the next step in the quest for improved library services in Worthington.

The work session followed a regularly scheduled board meeting last Tuesday, during which George Lawson, hired to conduct a needs assessment on the Nobles County Library and Information Center, gave a detailed report on the library’s growing pains and its inability to adequately serve consumers.

Before Monday’s discussion even started, Commissioner Vern Leistico asked fellow commissioners if they were willing to spend $2 million to $3 million on a project.

“I think we all agree that we are crowded in the library,” said Commissioner Diane Thier. “At this time, how do we pay for it? I would love to see a new library built, but how?”

County Administrator Mel Ruppert acknowledged that while in difficult economic times, commissioners are planning for tomorrow — five, 10 and 25 years down the road.

“We’re not saying tomorrow we’re going to build a new library,” Ruppert said. “A library is a very important asset in a community. Basically … we’re falling short.

“This could be an opportunity (with) financing as low as it’s been,” he added.

The library, Nobles County Art Center and Nobles County Historical Society are all located in the War Memorial Building on 12th Street in Worthington. Constructed in 1962, the building has experienced problems with its HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system in recent years.

“It is an aging infrastructure,” Ruppert said.

Commissioner Marv Zylstra said the county had initially looked at keeping the library where it is and moving the historical society out, but space and parking limitations have commissioners looking at other options — including collaborating with the City of Worthington on a project.

“The City of Worthington is looking at a senior center and community building,” said Zylstra. “Let’s get together and envision this all together.

“We need to look at the big picture. We need to think outside the box,” Zylstra added.

“If there is a possibility of doing something with (the city), let’s work together,” said Benson, adding that both the city and county could save by developing one building for multiple entities.

Prior to the needs assessment conducted by Lawson, the county had already placed Short Elliott Hendrickson, an engineering firm with a Worthington office, on retainer to assist with planning.

Ruppert said the item will be placed on the next board agenda for commissioners to consider authorizing SEH to begin working on ideas.

Other points of discussion during Monday’s work session included:

• The potential to do more collaboration with area counties, specifically in the areas of public health and emergency management.

  Ruppert said Rock County has expressed concerns about its one-third, two-thirds arrangement with Nobles County for public health services, and said there are a couple of alternatives the county may want to look at, including the number of services the agency provides in the county, and the potential for further collaboration.

  “Are there efficiencies in size?” Ruppert asked, referring to another public health agency in the region that consists of four counties.

  In reference to emergency management, Ruppert told commissioners that perhaps Nobles County isn’t large enough to justify being on its own with a full-time director.

  “Maybe if you had one really good person do two or three counties — if we do it well, we can contract with them,” said Commissioner David Benson.

  “We’re pretty well solid (in emergency management) as long as we’ve got Dan (Anderson),” added Commissioner Norm Gallagher. “We’ve got the expert.”

  The counties in Region 8 have outlined all areas of county government and identified those at the top of the list for potential collaboration. At this point, county leaders continue to evaluate by department.

• A report from the county’s information technology (IT) specialist Kelly Kruse on the implementation of the new filtering program in the county’s computer systems.

  A spam filter was installed to cut down on the amount of unwanted e-mails county employees received. Kruse said before the filter was added, only about 2 percent of e-mails to county employees were wanted, while the remaining 98 percent was considered junk e-mail.

  Because of some access issues with the “head end” of the county’s communication system, which is located in the Prairie Justice Center, there was discussion on Monday about creating a fiber line between the Nobles County Government Center and Minnesota West, which is in the current fiber agreement. Kruse said the Nobles County Public Works facility could be added into that fiber line as well.

  By creating a new line, all of the equipment Kruse would need to access would be at the Government Center. This would include the three or four pieces of equipment that are now housed at the PJC.

  There will be a committee meeting later this month to discuss the option further.

• The assessment of the Southwestern Mental Health Center and ongoing needs in Nobles County for both juvenile detention and chemical dependency programming.

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