Detox gets approval for expansion

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Local detox services are going to expand after Brown County commissioners gave their approval to an addition at the Brown County Evaluation Center.

The unanimous vote for expansion came Tuesday as a part of the center's lease agreement with Brown County. The lease requires the center to have the board's approval before making an addition to the building.

The planned addition of a 1,530 square-foot wing onto the detox portion of the building will accommodate four more beds for clients and more work space for staff. Construction is expected to start this spring although no dates are currently set.

The cost of the addition is estimated at $197,400, which will come from the sale of the center's Mankato building that was closed in 2003 because of declining usage and cost-cutting measures.

The expansion will bring the total number of detox beds to 14.

Brown County Evaluation Center Director Sharon Rhoades said she expects the center to see more clients from its contract counties.

The Brown County Evaluation Center is a private, non-profit organization that has contracts for detox services with Blue Earth, Brown, Sibley, Nicollet, Redwood, McLeod, Watonwan and Le Sueur counties. It has also served Jackson and Renville counties, Rhoades said.

Blue Earth County typically sends the most clients, said Rhoades.

Brown County is usually the third or fourth most frequent user of the center's services. Use by other contract counties vary month-by-month, Rhoades aid.

Overall usage of the facility has increased within the last five years. She said it usually has 100 to 120 clients each month.

Rhoades said the center has treated 200 people so far this year. Exactly 1,436 people used the center in 2003; 1,711 used it in 2002 and 1,634 used the center in 2001, according to the center's yearly summaries.

Rhoades said 90 percent of the people who use the Brown County Evaluation Center are brought in by police. The remaining 10 percent either check in voluntarily or are referred for treatment by a doctor.

A typical stay at the center lasts about 48 hours unless a client has withdrawal.

The center charges $216 an hour for counties with contracts and $276 for those that don't have detox contracts, Rhoades said.

"This is a big deal for us in the coming year," Rhoades said of the expansion. "Our staff is looking forward to having a bigger area to work in."

In other action, Brown County commissioners:

* Approved a Juvenile Accountability Block Grant from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety in the amount of $10,710. It will help fund Brown County's victim-offender mediation program, along with a $10,000 restorative justice grant from the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

* Approved the purchase of a cargo trailer, a light set and portable radios for the Brown County Sheriff's Department for $3,995, which came from a Homeland Security Grant. Sheriff Tim Brennan said the trailer will be used to store equipment and will be used by the county's emergency response unit.

"Our equipment was scattered around and that made it difficult to respond quickly," said Deputy Larry Wall. "This will help us (respond faster and more efficiently)."

* Passed a resolution supporting efforts by Blue Earth and Nicollet counties to get MnDOT to reconsider Mankato and North Mankato in its review of regional trade centers.

Highway Engineer Wayne Stevens said the resolution could help Brown County by encouraging state officials to boost highway funding for the U.S. Highway 169 corridor, which many feel is a major link between southwestern Minnesota and the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.

The review identified Sioux Falls, Rochester, the Twin Cities and Duluth as primary regional trade centers and put Mankato into the secondary category.

Stevens also gave commissioners another update of the Highway Department's construction plans. He said the 2004 projects are "going well" and the letting dates on some construction projects are coming soon. The Highway Department is also working on a township bridge plan.

Stevens also said February "was a busy month" for snow and ice control.

* Approved a request from M R Paving and Ochs Brick to reconsider the spring weight restrictions on a portion of County Road 10.

Commissioners decided to raise the posted limit from 5 tons to 7 tons on 1,500 feet of gravel on County Road 10 east of State Highway 4, which is currently being used to haul material from a clay pit. The board approved the request under the conditions that the approval will last only from March 2-19, that Brown County has the right to weigh a loaded truck at any time, that M R Paving is responsible for maintaining the road in its current condition, that Ochs Brick and Tile post a $10,000 performance bond to insure damages are repaired and that any additional costs are paid for by M R Paving.

The motion carried on a 3-2 roll call vote with commissioners James Berg and Andrew Lochner dissenting.