Skip to main content

Local officials concerned over new USDA office

By
Mavis Fodness

Plans to move two federal service offices to a new location in Luverne has Rock County officials concerned about the impact on area farmers.
The Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service lease space in a privately owned building on Gabrielson Road.
Rock County’s Land Management Office is also housed in the same complex creating a “one-stop shop” for area landowners and producers.
On Friday county commissioners, LMO representatives and SWCD supervisors met with two USDA officials about keeping the three entities at the same location.
“It’s critical that we stay together,” said County Administrator Kyle Oldre.
Two decades ago the county’s environmental services and soil and water conservation district merged into a single entity. The combined staff eliminated task duplications and provided better customer service.
“We wanted that same producer to be able to walk into one building and answer all of his or her questions at one stop,” Oldre said.
For more than a decade LMO has worked with the two federal agencies in the same one-stop service environment.
The three have conducted joint monthly meetings, shared training and software resources and have been able to leverage state and federal dollars for the similar soil conservation and water quality projects within the county.
The county recently signed a 10-year lease on the current facility to continue this one-stop service. The lease is contingent on the USDA programs occupying the same location, however.
USDA’s current lease in the same building will expire in December 2017.
The facility, however, ranks low with USDA standards, prompting federal officials to consider other long-term leasing options.
Jen Frohnauer, FSA realty specialist, and Cathee Pullman, NRCS state conservationist, attended the local meeting from the USDA St. Paul office.
Frohnauer said due to the age and condition of the current office complex, a new building was the best long-term option for the two USDA programs.
“We decided we could open up the market and see if we can drum up competition to improve our space,” she said.
While the USDA prefers a new building, proposals would be accepted to improve the current facility.
One new building proposal is already in the works for the USDA to consider.
A representative from the Paul E. Moriarty Trust out of Brookings, South Dakota, recently signed a purchase option for .86 acres with the city of Luverne.
That new building, which would be located just south of the ice arena, cannot be expanded to include the LMO due to land constraints, Oldre said.
Federal rules prohibit the USDA from owning its own facilities; instead it operates on long-term leases. Rules also prohibit Frohnauer from working directly with county officials or releasing specific lease information for a possible co-location site.
She encouraged county officials to advertise their co-location needs and/or submit their own building proposal to the USDA.
Frohnauer expects two other new building proposals to be submitted before the June 1 deadline.
“I have that same scenario with several municipalities that came up against this and said ‘we want you on-site,” she said. “By no means is this a done deal; we are very much in the infancy stage at this process.”

You must log in to continue reading. Log in or subscribe today.