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Peoria County amends GMP for courthouse plaza renovation; ARPA funds exhausted, tight Sept. 30 schedule
Summary
Peoria County’s infrastructure committee on April 10 approved an amendment to Core Construction’s guaranteed maximum price for the courthouse plaza and block renovations, a $6,559,729 package to be paid from courthouse ARPA dollars and with critical work due by Sept. 30.
Peoria County’s infrastructure committee on April 10 approved an amendment to the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) with Core Construction Services of Illinois for the county courthouse plaza and block renovations, a project budgeted at $6,559,729 including contingencies and scheduled so key areas can be complete by Sept. 30.
The amendment, presented to the committee as a construction-manager-led package and funded with the county’s courthouse allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, will exhaust the county’s ARPA courthouse funds; future courthouse projects will be paid from the capital projects fund, staff said.
The county staff member who presented the package summarized the scope and timeline and walked the committee through subcontract awards by construction division. He said the total “comes in pretty close to where we estimated it to be.” He detailed lead subcontractors named in the packet: Tazewell County Asphalt (asphalt paving); Autobomb (storm sewer, site utilities, concrete excavation, demolition, site masonry and restoration); Illini Drilled Foundations (drilled piers); Tri County Irrigation (irrigation); C.R. Schmidt Inc. (paver installation); Art of Bronze (bronze sculptures); Laughing Waters Inc. (fountain installation); Fleming Electric (electrical); and Penn Landscaping (landscape). The presenter said Core must complete the most-critical area (area L1.3) by Sept. 30 to support fall bicentennial events.
Committee members asked schedule and budget questions. Committee member Terry pressed whether overtime in the contractor schedule could push completion into December; the presenting staff member answered the schedule is “extremely tight” and that overtime and weekend work are likely to meet the September deadline. When asked how this amendment compared with an earlier, larger overall estimate, the presenter explained that the original program budget was in the roughly $9 million to $10 million range and that this amendment represents the first individual project budget drawn from that program-level total.
The presenter also told the committee that the plaza amendment will use all of the ARPA dollars assigned to courthouse projects, so “any future projects will be capital project fund dollars.”
The committee approved the amendment with two members recorded as abstaining. The motion to approve was moved by Sharon and seconded by Paul.
During public comment, Michael Sanders, a resident, asked the county to “Please get the fountains working again,” and suggested lighting ideas for downtown. Staff noted the fountain installation subcontractor is Laughing Waters Inc., listed in the project packet.
Why this matters: the plaza and block work is the first major courthouse-focused capital expenditure tied to the county’s ARPA allocation and affects downtown appearance and scheduled bicentennial activities; the compressed schedule and the use of one-time federal funds are factors the committee flagged for continued oversight.
Looking ahead: staff said they will return with updated schedules and division-level progress reports; any additional courthouse projects would require different funding once ARPA courthouse dollars are spent.
