International Falls council to discuss proposed law enforcement center lease next week

International Falls City Council will discuss next week a proposed lease for Koochiching County’s law enforcement building.

The city has inquired about using the building for its own police department.

The department shared space with Koochiching County’s Sheriff Department, but relocated to the Backus Centre a few years ago.

New facilities for the Sheriff’s Department are scheduled to open later this year, making the existing law enforcement center available.

Acting on an inquiry from the city, the county is putting forward a 20-year lease, costing the city $50,000 each year for the first two years, followed by inflationary increases afterwards.

County Board Chair Jason Sjoblom says they are not in a position yet to say if they would ever sell the building.

“I think we’ve got some plans for the second floor that we’re kind of working on through our space committee,” says Sjoblom.

“We have some needs that we might be able to use that second floor for, but there’s always an opportunity in the future to discuss this.”

The lease also proposes that the county be responsible for maintaining the building and splitting the refurbishing costs with the city.

“We went through and had a consultant look at what those costs will be,” says Sjoblom.

“That would be lights, floors, walls, paint, ceiling tiles, and I think we were at $160,000-ish. That’s obviously an estimate.”

The city would also have access to three garage bays, while sharing space in the basement with the county at no additional cost.

The county is using a fourth bay for storage of emergency equipment that Sjoblom says could be handed over to the city at a later date.

City council intends to discuss the county’s proposal at a committee of the whole meeting scheduled for next Monday night.

Mayor Drake Dill says it will give council the time to review the lease with its city attorney.