By Sara QuamThe Rock County Pool and Fitness Center will have just one owner at the end of the year.Rock County cancelled its joint powers agreement with the city of Luverne, and now the two have to decide how the split will be handled.Last week the Rock County Board of Commissioners discussed options for the division and sent a request to the city of Luverne to come up with a proposal.In the county meeting, County Attorney Don Klosterbuer said, "Each has an equal right to the whole."The county is concerned about liability issues, because even though it is breaking off from the facility, it will still own half.Klosterbuer said the county and city have a few options: They could extend the joint powers agreement; go through litigation so the courts decide the split; the county could sell its half to the city; or the entire facility could be sold, and the city and county could split the proceeds.Determining value of a facility like the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center is difficult. It is insured for $2 million but likely wouldn’t sell for that much. A neutral appraiser would probably come up with a totally new value, which may or may not hold up on the market if sold.Klosterbuer said, "The actual selling doesn’t take long, provided you can agree on a price."Commissioners said they had no interest in closing the facility’s doors even though they won’t be involved after Dec. 31. They will wait for a proposal from the city of Luverne and then discuss in detail what action to take at their next meeting.
