Kane looks at familiar planner for new campus

The firm that designed the Kane County Judicial Center, Kane County Juvenile Justice Center and a host of other government buildings has been tapped to devise a master plan for consolidating most county services at the judicial center site in St. Charles Township.

Wight & Co.'s success on those projects led Tim Harbaugh, the county's environmental management director, to recommend hiring the Darien-based architecture and engineering company for this project.

Kevin Havens, the firm's senior vice president, "knows the land, he knows the buildings and he knows the prior planning efforts completed at the campus," Harbaugh wrote in a memo to the committee. "Under Kevin's direction, staff believes Wight will deliver the best product."

Havens and representatives of two other companies pitched their ideas to the county board's administration committee Thursday. The full board could approve a contract as soon as next month.

Committee members did not receive a cost estimate for the project.

Palatine-based Wold Architects and Engineers and Batavia-based Kluber, Skahan & Associates also gave presentations. A total of five firms were invited to submit proposals.

The master planning discussion came about because consolidation of the county's functions was one of the goals expressed in the strategic plan approved by the county board last year. The board also must decide in the coming months whether to renew its lease at the circuit clerk's building, the former Montgomery Ward on Randall Road in St. Charles.

County offices are scattered across 21 buildings, most of which are in Geneva and St. Charles townships. Many could be relocated to county-owned land at the intersection of Peck Road and Route 38, where the jail is now under construction.

The firm that is hired would be asked to determine the projected space needs in the years 2020 and 2030 of each county office and department being considered for consolidation into a single campus.