WILLMAR - The pain of standing in line at the Kandiyohi County License Bureau will be eased somewhat with the creation this summer of a waiting area where customers can sit down until it's their turn at the counter.
The Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners gave the go-ahead Tuesday to the project at the County Office Building in downtown Willmar.
Construction will start within the next month.
Lines have been growing at the License Bureau ever since the introduction almost two years ago of a new statewide system, MNLARS, for motor vehicle transactions. The new system shifted much of the workload to local license bureaus, a move that allows transactions to be completed at the counter but takes more time, leading to longer lines and longer waits, especially at peak times.
The rollout last fall of the enhanced Minnesota driver's license and Real ID has added to wait times at the License Bureau.
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As early voting expands and grows in popularity, county officials anticipate more traffic during election years as well at the County Office Building, where key functions such as the License Bureau, County Auditor's office, County Recorder's office and Environmental Services are located.
The renovation will create an area where people can sit down and spend at least some of the wait in relative comfort.
Kandiyohi County also plans to add a queuing system, using technology shared by Anoka County, to help manage customer wait times.
The total cost of the renovation: $94,912. That includes construction, furnishings and the cost of the queuing system.
The county obtained three contractor quotes for the project and ended up choosing the lowest quote from Carlson Construction of Willmar.
Early estimates had yielded a higher cost, said Larry Kleindl, county administrator. "We're very happy that it was under the engineer's estimate," he said.
According to Kleindl and Andy Thorson, facilities manager, the renovation will take about 70 days to complete.
The County Office Building will stay open while construction takes place, but the east doors will be closed to the public, Kleindl said. Customers will be asked to use the west entrance instead.
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"I ask the public to be patient with us," Kleindl said.
