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Cass County building committee accepts architects' space-needs report and forwards it to commission
Summary
The Cass County Building Committee reviewed a space-needs assessment by JLG Architects covering the courthouse campus, discussed priorities including IT relocation, election storage and juvenile services, and voted to accept the report for consideration by the full county commission.
The Cass County Building Committee on a recorded vote accepted a space-needs assessment prepared by JLG Architects and agreed to forward the report to the full county commission for consideration.
JLG presented a multi-page study of the courthouse campus, including the courthouse, annex and the Robert D. Johnson (RDJ) building, laying out priorities, project phasing and recommended relocations. Dan Janstrom of JLG told the committee that "this document is not intended to be a deep dive of any 1 department" and is intended as a high-level plan to guide subsequent detailed design work.
Committee members and multiple department heads pressed JLG and county staff on several topics the study identifies as priorities or potential projects: creating a permanent location for county IT, the possibility of using the RDJ building for storage and training for election equipment, the relocation and safety needs of veteran services, how to preserve courthouse operations during phased construction, and whether proposed temporary landing spaces — notably a basement area shown for Juvenile Court — would be feasible.
Nicole Leichner, Director of the Juvenile Board, warned the committee that temporary basement space proposed for Juvenile services was inadequate for the program’s traffic, saying, "Short answer is, if that's what we're given, we will make do with it. Long answer is no. Not even close." Judges and court administrators said they were concerned the report’s conclusions about future court facility needs could be used later to oppose additional space requests and urged careful wording.
On the RDJ building, JLG told the committee the structure contains asbestos and interior systems that likely require extensive upgrades. JLG staff estimated that bringing the building to a level suitable for broad office use could range from a relatively small storage-only investment to a multimillion-dollar renovation; they described a light retrofit at roughly $1.5 million and full upgrades in the multi‑million range. Architects emphasized that a tighter scope — storage only versus training plus offices — drives the cost.
County staff and department leaders raised operational concerns: the sheriff’s office and veteran services emphasized the need for close proximity to security and quick responder access; emergency management and human services noted high staff counts and public-facing functions that affect layout and circulation; IT staff asked that the permanent IT location be prioritized to reduce repeated moves.
Committee members asked the firm and county staff to collect remaining edits and corrections and clarified the committee’s intent that the report be accepted now as the committee’s product for the commission to review, not as final design authorization. County Administrator Russell Wilson said the committee would "run that to ground" where necessary and preferred to get known constraints resolved before construction design moved forward. The committee chair scheduled the item to be considered by the full county commission on June 2.
The committee voted on a motion to accept the architect’s findings and recommendation document and forward it to the commission for consideration. Taylor Kalseggen recorded a roll-call vote; the motion carried.
