Courthouse to Receive a Makeover
- 6 hours ago
- 1 min read
by Trinity Gruenberg
The Wadena County Commissioners held their regular meeting on Tuesday, July 7. Commissioner Murlyn Kreklau was absent.
ADA Entrance Project
The county board approved a modified design for an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)–compliant entrance on the north side of the courthouse, choosing to keep an existing pine tree and drop a previously discussed connection to the annex.
The project will add the new entrance ramp on the north side of the courthouse, remove approximately 840 square feet of existing concrete, and install about 975 square feet of new 4-inch concrete sidewalk. The design also includes new galvanized pipe railings with edge protection.
County Engineer Anthony Maule explained that staff have coordinated with MnDOT to relocate a pedestrian curb ramp associated with the Highway 71 project. The curb ramp will be moved farther north so that the county’s new approach to the building can maintain a running slope of 5% or less, consistent with ADA requirements. MnDOT’s curb ramp work is expected later this summer as part of its broader highway project.
Commissioners discussed whether to include new steps in front of the courthouse in addition to the ADA ramp. Adding steps would require removal of existing landscaping, a retaining wall, and aging railings, but commissioners agreed it made sense to consider them as part of the broader entrance update...
