Dodge County to consider use for Clearview North facility

JUNEAU The Dodge County Board of Supervisors will consider spending up to $6.2 million to renovate Clearview North facility and possibly demolish the countys office building when it meets later this month.

The five-member Clearview North study committee will give a special presentation on its proposed plans to the board at the March 20 session. Those plans include moving the human services and health departments, creating a specialized community based residential facility, and creating a central storage area for the maintenance department, all at the Clearview North facility on Home Road in Juneau.

The members of the study committee were appointed in April of 2011 to consider the options available for the building when residents of the facility are moved to new quarters currently under construction across the street.

The building options that committee members considered included selling the building; razing the structure and selling the property; renovating it entirely for human services and health department; or renovate the building for multiple uses.

The committee hired Engberg Anderson in December 2011 to prepare a report on the building. After receiving the report, the committee opted to study renovating the building for multiple uses.

Selling it did not seem to be an option, study committee Chairman Glenn Stousland of Beaver Dam said. No one wants it. If we leave it for Unified Services, we still have to heat it. It did not make good economic sense not to use this building, he added.

After 11 meetings, the committee is suggesting the county consolidate all programs and operations of the Dodge County Human Services and health department into the north building. The Unified Services are currently located in the facility. That would move all the operations now being conducted in the Dodge County Office Building, 143 E. Center St., Juneau, to the Clearview North building.

The committee states in the resolution the county would make efforts to sell the vacated office building, but in the event those efforts are unsuccessful, razing the four-story structure would be considered.

Human Services Director Eric Pritzl discussed with the committee his presentation to the board on the benefits and challenges of a move to Clearview North.

In December I assembled a building team to talk about design, Pritzl said. There will be several benefits to the consumers, he added.

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Dodge County to consider use for Clearview North facility