Two major county building projects on track for 2026 completion

Kirsten Wisniewski | April 7, 2026

The 2025 construction season ended with two major projects in progress. County Facilities Director Brook Lessard told WTIP that work on both the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) and Transfer Station was well underway.

Transfer Station

The county set the goal of completing much of the exterior of the structure before winter set in last year. Lessard said that some initial delays pushed the construction schedule back a little, but that the entire Grand Marais transfer station should be completed and operational this summer. He estimated that the build would be completed in June, and then North Shore Waste would take over operations.

The transfer stations in Hovland and Tofte were also part of the larger transfer station project. Work on the Hovland site was completed last summer. The Tofte station was already operational, but the county does have some work planned for it this year. Lessard said that work will have to wait until trucking restrictions are lifted for the year, but that once it is completed the Tofte station will be comparable to the Hovland station.

Law Enforcement Center

The county broke ground on the LEC expansion project last fall. The aim was to complete the envelope of the building before the end of the construction season, which would enable work on the interior to continue through the winter. Lessard said that the project has run largely on schedule. He said the first phase of the project should be completed in the second half of July. That part of the construction includes building the addition onto the LEC. At that point, staff currently working in the existing LEC will move over to the new space, allowing for the completion of a host of deferred maintenance items.

Lessard said he expects that the entire project will be completed by the late fall.

Capital Improvement Plan

At a recent Board of Commissioners meeting, Administrator Kristen Trebil-Halbersma told the commissioners that the county would be pursuing an update to the existing Capital Improvement Plan. With the LEC project underway and another project that created office space it the courthouse basement, Trebil-Halbersma said it was time to revisit the plan and update it to better evaluate what needs still exist for county buildings.

Part of the CIP was a significant list of deferred maintenance items compiled by the consulting firm CRBPS. Lessard said that at an April 3 work session, he reviewed the remaining deferred maintenance list with the commissioners and Trebil-Halbersma. “We did a deep dive through each individual system about what would be our priority on fixing first,” Lessard said. “The current state of affairs with each building and each system.”

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with Facilities Director Brook Lessard. Audio of that interview is below.