Redwood County pavilion to expand (new law)

Redwood County residents will have more space for their summertime class reunions, wedding receptions and church picnics.

House Minority Leader Marty Seifert (R-Marshall) and Sen. Dennis Frederickson (R-New Ulm) sponsor a new law that allows the upgrade of a popular picnic shelter to accommodate larger groups. Visitor numbers to the site and its surrounding grounds of the historic Gilfillan Estate have more than doubled in the past decade.

The law, effective May 21, 2009, will allow an exemption to the state building code so the pavilion can be remodeled without a costly sprinkler system that would ordinarily be required by state code. The county has raised $150,000 in private funds and sought no additional funding, but only a code exemption to save it the $75,000 sprinkler system price tag.

HF1946/SF1477*/CH146