Will County facilities director reviews renovations, in‑house savings and Copperfield, courthouse work

Chair Freeman convened the Will County Capital Improvements & IT Committee and heard a facilities update from facilities staff member Mr. Fern, who outlined renovations, energy upgrades and an ongoing facilities needs assessment.

Fern told the committee the Fifth Floor cafeteria counter was being closed off for security and safety so courthouse visitors could not access the kitchen area, and that the closure can be reversed if a live cafeteria returns. He said the county’s vending vendor, Chris’s Vending, has added fresh sandwiches and programmatic changes to accept only credit cards; “that is no cost to the county,” Fern said.

The update covered several larger projects. Work on the state’s attorney offices on Level 2 is in design and the scope has been adjusted, Fern said, so construction start and anticipated completion are still to be determined. The County is performing interior renovations at 1300 Copperfield after lease negotiations with landlord John Bays; Fern said work is scheduled to start “at the beginning of next month” and that several contracts went out through the county purchasing process (RFQ/RFP) where bids are required for procurements over $20,000.

Fern reported LED…