Kane County reveals project wish list

When it comes to Kane County's list of construction projects for the next five years, elected officials have a Dom Pérignon palate but a Keystone Light budget.

County board members, elected department heads, judges and county employees gathered for a four-hour meeting Monday afternoon to discuss the county's construction needs. The conversation comes as the county enters the final year of its five-year capital plan. The county's first capital plan originated in 2007 and carried an $11 million price tag. The main accomplishment of that plan was the buildout of a new Kane County sheriff's office.

The new wish list is much more ambitious. It envisions the transformation of the current judicial center campus into an all-inclusive home for Kane County government services. That plan will take much longer than five years to accomplish, but meeting attendees Monday indicated sizable chunks of that plan are achievable in the near future. The catch is those chunks come with a price tag of up to $39 million. The county has only about $7 million of that on hand.

“Any time you talk about capital, it means you have to spend money,” said county board Chairwoman Karen McConnaughay.

McConnaughay hinted borrowing some or all of the $32 million balance has real potential via the issuance of bonds. She told attendees the county is only using about 25 percent of its bonding capacity right now.

The staff then unveiled the wish list of projects, placing particular emphasis on the need to enhance the county's law enforcement and judicial systems. Attendees were then asked to rank which projects are most important to accomplish first. Those individual rankings will be tabulated, and results will be presented at a later date.