By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — If you are looking for the Dunn County register of deeds office, the county clerk’s office or the county treasurer’s office, as of November 4, those offices will be located in the Community Services Building on Highway 12/29.
The $4 million remodeling project of the Community Services Building to house the county’s offices now located in the Dunn County Government Center on Wilson Avenue “is on schedule,” said Paul Miller, county manager, at the Dunn County Board’s October 16 meeting.
The register of deeds, the county clerk and the county treasurer will be moving from the Government Center the weekend of November 2 and 3, and as of November 4, those offices will be located in the Community Services Building.
The Community Services Building is the former Dunn County Health Care Center on the east side of Menomonie on Highway 12/29.
The administrative offices, including finance and human resources, as well as the corporation counsel’s office will be moving November 23 and 24, Miller said.
The Information Technology (IT) group and environmental services will be moving upstairs in the Community Services Building on December 7 and 8, he said.
The UW Extension offices, now located in the basement of the Community Services Building, will be moving upstairs December 18, Miller said.
The Criminal Justice Collaborating Council, now located in a building behind the Community Services Building, will be moving into the Community Services Building on December 18, he said.
Miller told the county board supervisors that if they wanted a walk-through of the Community Services Building, they should contact Scott Nabbefeld with the Dunn County Department of Public Works.
The Community Services Building “looks different. Substantially … We are making very good progress,” Miller said.
The Dunn County Board accepted the City of Menomonie’s offer to purchase the Government Center building for $775,000 at the July 31 meeting.
The estimated market value of the Government Center was $660,000.
The Dunn County Board approved moving out of the Government Center and relocating the offices to the Community Services Building on Highway 12/29 in July of 2018.
If the Dunn County offices had remained in the Government Center on Wilson Avenue, the cost to remodel and update the building would have been the same as the $4 million cost of remodeling the Community Services Building.
Offices for the City of Menomonie occupy the third floor of the Government Center.
The City of Menomonie currently pays $125,000 per year in rent to Dunn County.
The annual savings on utilities and custodial services at the Community Services Building combined with the loss of revenue from the City of Menomonie is still expected to result in a net gain of $62,000.
The Dunn County Judicial Center, which now houses the county’s circuit court branches, was built in 1998.
According to information from www.wisconsinhistory.org, the Government Center/Courthouse building was completed in 1960 at a cost of approximately $904,000.
