McHenry County facilities need more space, money

McHenry County leaders got a glimpse at their future Thursday.

It looked big and expensive.

A five-month study of the county's future building needs showed that nearly all county facilities are out of space today and officials will need to invest millions of dollars constructing new buildings and expanding or renovating old ones to keep up with a growing population and demand for services.

The study, presented publicly Thursday to county board members and other officials, offers more than 60 options for dealing with future space needs. They range from the big and costly, like construction of new buildings to host the Health and Sheriff's departments, to small and relatively inexpensive, such as expanding the sheriff's crowded impound lot.

The good news for county taxpayers, however, is that leaders are in no rush to put what's on the drawing board into action.

"We're envisioning way out into the future," County Board Chairman Ken Koehler said. "This is not even a five or 10-year issue, we're thinking of where we need to be in 50 years."

The study is part of the county's effort to design a campus plan surrounding its government center and administration building in Woodstock. The two buildings currently house nearly all county departments, along with the McHenry County jail and the courthouse, but are running out of space even with recent additions and renovations.

Among the options the county is considering sooner rather than later is the construction of a public safety building to hold the sheriff's department, emergency communications and disaster relief.

Also high on the list, Koehler said, is a new building to house the health department. Both options would cost more than $10 million, according to the study.

"The health department really is strapped with the space they have," Koehler said.

After Thursday's presentation, officials offered comments and indicated what facilities they believe need to be addressed first. The study's authors, county consultants Kluber, Skahan & Associates, will take that input and return next month to discuss the comments and narrow down the county's priorities and present a final plan in May or June.