Kane courthouse elevator may cost less, official says
Replacing the elevator in the Kane County Courthouse in Geneva might not cost as much as planned, the county board learned Tuesday, meeting as a committee of the whole.
The county might be able to put the new one where the old one is rather than near the western stairwell, according to county operations staff executive Donald Biggs, who mentioned it when he reviewed what buildings-and-grounds projects the county should focus on in fiscal year 2015, which starts Dec. 1.
Biggs started working for the county in December. The county board approved the initial elevator project construction budget in 2012, but costs rose when the county learned it would have to enclose the stairwell and install a standpipe to meet fire codes.
He said Tuesday he reviewed the elevator proposal, and by moving some walls 6 inches, the county might be able to put a new, larger elevator in the same spot. The current elevator is too small for emergency medical workers to transport a person on a gurney, and the doors aren't wide enough to meet handicapped-accessibility codes, he said.
Biggs left the amount already approved by the board — $1.04 million — in the capital improvements plan, just in case.
The county's previous facilities director had estimated, based on the age of the parts, that the elevator was installed in the 1950s or 1960s. The building is 122 years old.
The five-year plan identifies and prioritizes a total of $6.76 million worth of work and equipment purchases for 2015. That figure does not include construction of a new wing and a parking garage at the Kane County Judicial Center, or building a new coroner's facility or diagnostic center. The committee also saw the final draft of the county's proposed 2014-15 budget.
The budget is expected to be posted for public comment Oct. 23; the county board is likely to vote on it Nov. 10.
It calls for keeping the operating-funds portion of the county's property tax levy the same as last year but raises fees for licenses and services in the clerk's, recorder's, and sheriff's departments.
It also doesn't account for potential pay and benefits increases as a result of collective bargaining with several groups of employees, including court security workers.
The proposed budget calls for spending $258 million, $3 million less than was budgeted for 2014.