Cottonwood County hosted the Association of Minnesota Counties’ District 7 meeting in Windom, MN, last month. Following the September meeting, Nick Klisch, Engineer/Public Works Director, gave a tour of the new Cottonwood County Public Works facility currently under construction, and scheduled to be completed in 2025.
The tour brought the other regional county engineers through the building just as the in-floor heating’s tubing was being laid out for the concrete pour.
The 38,684 sq. ft. facility features office space, a wash bay, maintenance bays, heated storage, and storage bins for salt, cold patch, and pea gravel. A separate cold storage building will house equipment, and a dual-tank fuel island will serve multiple trucks. Separate parking spaces are provided for the public and county staff.
The new facility consolidates public works, parks, and other county operations on a rural site that is more easily accessible for highway and maintenance vehicles. It replaces the existing facilities in downtown Windom, where the site is cramped and buildings are inadequate for present and future needs.
