The so-called "Mission" appears to be vacated.

Friday, January 07, 2000

The so-called "Mission" appears to be vacated.

That’s the conclusion of inspectors who visited the place earlier this week.

On Tuesday, inspectors from the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s office, Minnesota Department of Health and Mower County Environmental Health Services visited the facility in Lansing Township.

John Jacobs, the owner, maintains a private residence at the former motel along Mower County No. 45 (Old Highway 218) and near the intersection with U.S. Highway 218 north of Austin.

The rest of the former motel was turned into a dormitory-style temporary lodging facility by Metro-Temp, an employment agency based in Des Moines, Iowa.

Hispanic adults live there and brought what they called unsafe and unhealthy living conditions to the attention of the public last summer. A group first went to the Austin City Council to complain about the conditions only to be told it was outside the Austin city limits and, therefore, the responsibility of the Mower County Board of Commissioners.

Metro-Temp also operated a similar lodging facility in a farm home south of Austin in Lyle Township near the intersection of Mower County CSAH No. 5 and Highway 105 South.

That facility never has been the target of fire marshal or Department of Health inspections or county officials’ concerns.

Austin Fire Department personnel joined the Tuesday visit to the Mission in Lansing Township as a courtesy extended by Doug Akkerman, the Owatonna-based inspector for the fire marshal’s office.

According to Buckley, the only member of the inspection party available for comment today, "The Mission appeared to be vacated."

Furniture had been removed from rooms visible from the outside and no other vehicles or personnel were there Thursday.

Jacob did not participate in the inspection.

Metro-Temp was given a deadline of Dec. 29 to upgrade the facility to the satisfaction of fire marshal and Health Department inspectors or to vacate it.

Because the facility appears to have been vacated, the inspection party concluded the "case is closed," according to Buckley and no further action is required.

Lansing Township officials were immediately informed and the Mower County Board of Commissioners will receive a detailed account of the outcome of the Mission’s inspection later, according to Buckley.