Comments on: Dakota County Cabins Down From $90k to $56k?!

By: Ryan M

Ryan M — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 01:16:56 +0000

Camping? I thought we were talking about roughing it in a cabin!

0 0

By: MSPD

MSPD — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:29:09 +0000

MSPD, without a road, trails, electricity, bathrooms, water, shelters, and picnic areas, all you have are woods.

Oh the horror! Imagine….(gasp)….people….shudder)…..CAMPING…..in…..WOODS……

(insert sound of me fainting and hitting the floor)

1 0

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:01:15 +0000

MSPD, without a road, trails, electricity, bathrooms, water, shelters, and picnic areas, all you have are woods.

A fucking travesty.

0 0

By: Ben Franklin

Ben Franklin — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:58:04 +0000

This is completely ridiculous!! I also wonder what the architects were paid! Sounds like some politically correct design that is way too modern for the average consumer. Seriously – we shouldn’t build them until we know how they will be paid for. Who operates these budgets. Seems like it is easy to spend other people’s money. If it is so great – maybe they should become personal investors in the idea.

1 0

By: Ryan M

Ryan M — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:48:41 +0000

MSPD, without a road, trails, electricity, bathrooms, water, shelters, and picnic areas, all you have are woods.

0 0

By: MSPD

MSPD — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:44:28 +0000

If the rent for these will pay them off, as the article suggests, I see nothing wrong with this.

Let’s be clear on this Ryan. The “article suggests” that the County EXPECTS the rent will pay for the cost of OPERATING them.

NOT building them or “paying them off” as you say…..OPERATING THEM.

Here’s the reality of the situation according to the article:

- $5.5 MILLION DOLLARS just to get the “park” up and running. That’s because our County Commissioners define a “park” as “roads, 8 miles of trails, electricity, bathrooms, running water, shelters, large picnic shelter, an overlook, and picnic grounds.”

- The plan is for the park to have upwards of 23 cabins. That’s an ADDITIONAL cost of $1,120,000 (20 x $56,000).

- They don’t mention how much they had to pay HGA architects to design these things. I can’t imagine it was done pro bono.

Nearly $7 million dollars for a park-that-isn’t-a-park and “camping”. (And people like “cripes” can’t fathom why I think our local government/public officials are horrible.)

This idea sucked from the start and continues to suck. Period.

6 0

By: NW Rochester Guy

NW Rochester Guy — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:21:18 +0000

You can get the materials to build a 24′ x 24′ x 8′ 2-Car with Log Siding Garage
(Model Number: 1950466 | Menards® SKU: 1950466) at Menards for $7,308.01. http://www.menards.com/main/project-center/garages/24x24x8-2-car-with-log-siding/p-1491178-c-9891.htm Have the same students build it for free and modify it to be a cabin for quite a bit less than $54K.

Yeah it’s a garage, but it sounds like the new design of a basic rectangular cabin isn’t too different from a garage design.

4 0

By: Ryan M

Ryan M — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:08:45 +0000

If the rent for these will pay them off, as the article suggests, I see nothing wrong with this. I appreciate that the county found a more cost effective solution. Full disclosure, my wife works at DCTC. I have seen houses being built year after year at the college. It provides the students with real world application and provides a service to the county.

1 0