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DuPage panel approves Key Tower contract and $201,407 transfer for Hidden Lakes radio tower work
Summary
The DuPage County Judicial and Public Safety Committee approved a contract to Key Tower LLC to perform maintenance and upgrades at the Hidden Lakes radio tower and approved a $201,407 budget transfer to cover improvements after a history of deferred maintenance was described by staff.
The DuPage County Judicial and Public Safety Committee on May 6 approved a contract with Key Tower LLC to perform maintenance and equipment upgrades at the Hidden Lakes radio tower and approved a related budget transfer to pay for improvements.
Committee members said the work responds to long-standing maintenance failures that left tower lighting and support infrastructure in disrepair. Dan (staff member) said the county received the tower around 1988 and the prior vendor “decided to flat out close their business mid contract, gave us no records, no information, and they left that tower in the state of disrepair.”
The committee’s motion to approve JPSP-22-25 — the contract award to Key Tower LLC — carried. The committee later approved a motion to transfer $201,407 from contingencies to repair and maintenance, described on the agenda as funding improvements for the Hidden Lakes radio tower; that motion also carried.
Why it matters: the Hidden Lakes tower supports county radio communications used by the sheriff’s office and other public-safety partners. Committee members pressed staff for a history of the facility after staff described emergency repairs last year, when ETSB funds were used to restore lighting on the 300-foot structure and a temporary building was replaced to house microwave radio equipment.
Staff said Key Tower was the only vendor willing to bid because of the specialized work (technicians who will climb 300-foot towers). Dan said Key Tower previously performed an emergency lighting repair and completed a full inspection; staff plan to later solicit a broader radio-maintenance bid covering all county towers once the Hidden Lakes work is completed. Dan also said last year the county set aside roughly $250,000 from surplus infrastructure funds; part of that will cover the pad and shed work and a portion will be used for the contract approved May 6.
Committee discussion noted uncertainty about recovery of funds from the prior vendor. Member Yu asked, “Are there clawback provisions? Do we get any of that money back or no?” Dan responded that recovery would be difficult but that the county could consult the state’s attorney’s office.
The committee did not provide a formal vote tally in the meeting minutes beyond “motion carries.” The contract award was described on the agenda as JPSP‑22‑25 and the related, approved budget transfer was listed as item 25‑11‑72.
Evidence: the contract approval, staff history of deferred maintenance, ETSB lighting repair last year, the sole responsive bidder status of Key Tower, and the budget transfer were all stated on the record during the May 6 committee meeting.
The county did not specify a single, unambiguous contract-dollar figure during the discussion; committee members used slightly different numbers when referring to the award on the record, and staff confirmed a portion of the work will be paid from a previously appropriated infrastructure surplus.
