Plan for Ela Township offices needs final OK

Ela Township's proposal to build new offices on 5 acres next to the township's Knox Park off Route 22 got a green light from Lake Zurich's planning and development committee this week.

The proposed new offices, 22155 W. Route 22, must be annexed into Lake Zurich for water and sewer connections and police services.

A public hearing on the annexation will be held Nov. 5 before the Lake Zurich village board approves the plan.

Township officials can't wait for the project to start.

"It's going to be nice," Township Supervisor Lucy Prouty said. "We're going into winter and already my feet are freezing here. We freeze in the winter and melt in the summer."

The current township office building at 99 E. Main St., Lake Zurich, is not insulated well, she said.

But the main reason for the new digs is Ela Township's services have outgrown the current office space and there is no more room for storage of township documents.

The proposed two-story, 11,200-square-foot building will house offices for the township supervisor, assessor and social worker and their respective staffs.

It would also include a community room for public hearings and civic activities, kitchen, and conference rooms, and would be handicap accessible.

Ela Township has $1 million set aside for building improvements in its general fund. But the cost of the project has not been determined.

"We're not sure right now how we're going to fund it," Prouty said.

Prouty anticipates accepting construction bids soon after getting the Lake Zurich village board's final nod.