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Executive committee adopts 2026–2030 CIP and recommends $9.5 million geothermal HVAC borrowing
Summary
Dunn County’s Executive Committee adopted the proposed 2026–2030 capital improvement plan on June 11, recommending debt issuance of up to $9.5 million for a geothermal HVAC project for the judicial center, and moving the highway facility project later in the five-year window to limit near-term debt-service pressure.
The Dunn County Executive Committee on June 11, 2025, adopted the county’s proposed 2026–2030 capital improvement plan (CIP) and recommended issuing debt to finance a proposed geothermal HVAC replacement for the judicial center, with an estimated maximum borrowing of $9.5 million.
Beata Piazza, who presented the proposed CIP, told the committee the recommendation for 2026 was to issue debt for the geothermal HVAC and to use about $785,000 of fund balance for smaller one-time items such as a John Deere tractor. Piazza said, “the recommendation is that... we would issue debt for the $9,500,000 That is to cover the geothermal, HVAC geothermal,” and noted the county could structure the debt up to 20 years.
The committee heard that the county’s unaudited debt outstanding at year-end 2024 was about $23.7 million and that the county’s general fund balance was about 53% of operating expenses, above the fund-balance ordinance target range. Piazza explained the presentation excluded highway construction projects (estimated at about $6.8 million) because those appear in the highway annual budget, and she outlined scenarios provided by PMA to keep the county’s debt service near a levy ceiling target (approximately 5.3 percent).
Committee members discussed alternatives and costs. Staff explained the geothermal estimate came from a vendor proposal and that the geothermal option would have a longer useful life and lower long-term maintenance and energy costs compared with a legacy HVAC system. One staff member summarized: “this isn’t voting to spend that money. This is voting to move this as a policy decision forward,” clarifying that the vote before the committee was to advance the CIP and that actual spending decisions would come later in the budget process and would require the board’s formal appropriation.
The highway committee recommended moving the highway storage/renovation project later in the five-year plan so near-term debt service would not exceed the levy ceiling; moving that project to 2028 in the scenarios would increase the projected levy debt-service percentage above 5.3 percent to approximately 5.8–5.9 percent in peak years. The executive committee accepted the CIP recommendation as presented and will send the CIP to the full county board for final adoption. Supervisor Morehouse moved to adopt the 2026 CIP; Supervisor Quinn seconded. The motion passed by voice vote.
The committee asked staff to verify certain numbers in the presentation before the packet goes to the full board; staff said audit adjustments and clarifications would be provided. The committee’s action forwards the CIP and the recommended funding approach to the County Board; formal debt issuance and any required appropriations will be handled through subsequent board votes and budget ordinances.
