Lee Pulaski, lpulaski@shawanoleader.com
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski The Shawano County Public Property and Public Safety committees toured this warehouse Wednesday to see if it would be a suitable facility for evidence storage, as well as storing other items. The warehouse is at the Fellman Center on Elizabeth Street in Shawano.
Shawano County might be changing course yet again on how to address its issues with evidence storage and processing.
The Public Property and Public Safety committees on Wednesday toured a warehouse at the Fellman Center, which is owned by Shawano County Job Center Inc., in Shawano to see if it would suit the county’s needs for evidence storage.
No decision was made, but several committee members indicated the space would be adequate.
Spokesman Mike Schuler said SCJC would be willing to rent half of the 30,000-square-foot warehouse to the county. Another renter is interested the remaining 15,000 feet, he said.
The Sheriff’s Department has said it needs about 7,200 square feet for evidence storage.
The County Board approved plans in 2013 to build a facility at the Huber Work Release Center in Shawano, but has not been able to decide where the estimated $715,000 would come from.
Recent efforts by Green Light Grants to find grant funding for the county project bore no fruit, according to Administrative Coordinator Tom Madsen.
“There wasn’t much out there, and I told them to slow up,” Madsen said.
Schuler said the space could be divided between evidence storage for the Sheriff’s Department and other items currently stored in the basement and attic of the Shawano County Courthouse.
“It’s an open building that we’re looking to rent out,” Schuler said. “We have the building; you guys have a plan. If you rent the building, you do whatever you want to do.”
The warehouse already has restroom facilities and an office, which would likely need to be renovated to suit the county’s needs, according to Schuler.
County officials in 2012 looked at space on the east side of the Fellman Center, 607 E. Elizabeth St., Shawano, as a possible evidence storage site, but it was rejected due to some structural issues, including a bad floor.
The warehouse viewed Wednesday is on the west side of the center, next to the job center and the Social Services Department.
Social Services has enjoyed a positive relationship with SCJC as its landlord, department director Rick Kane said.
The department moved into the building 12 years ago, and the rent has stayed the same despite an option in the contract that allows SCJC to raise the rent 2 percent annually.
“It’s been a great fit for us. We couldn’t find a better building,” Kane said. “We haven’t had any problems. If something is wrong, they come and fix it.”
Sheriff Randy Wright, who has been pushing for years for a evidence storage facility, did not say much during the meeting and offered little comment on whether it would suit his department’s needs.
“There’s nothing much to say,” Wright said. “If this is what the committees thinks is right, that’s their decision.”