Commission declines proposed loan for Supervisor of Elections facility amid questions on size and cost

County financial advisors and staff asked the board to approve documents to borrow up to $22,075,000 through a term loan to finance a proposed new Supervisor of Elections facility on Lane Park Road. Financial adviser PFM recommended a fixed-rate loan from Pinnacle Financial Partners with a 15-year term, prepayment options and an interest rate locked pending approval.

Election Supervisor (name on record) presented the facility need, saying Lake County requires roughly 48,400 square feet to accommodate registration, vote-by-mail, tabulation, early-voting operations and a central call center; he and staff argued current leased and scattered warehouse space is inefficient and that growth in registered voters requires a long-term solution. Staff recounted prior steps: purchase of 13 acres on Lane Park Road, consideration of renovating a former Sears building (costs rose after asbestos remediation and design work), and a later two-steel-building concept estimated higher than earlier budgets.

Commissioners debated alternatives, including consolidating functions, retaining existing leased space as warehouse and building a smaller administrative structure on the County-owned Lane Park parcel, or deferring construction and reallocating infrastructure-sales-tax proceeds. Concerns included a prior $14 million estimate that had grown to about $22 million, the long-term debt service (estimated in the materials) and whether existing leased space could be adapted more cheaply.

A motion to proceed with the financing failed. Commissioners asked staff to return with alternative options, including smaller footprints, phased designs, possible use of existing county-owned parcels, and revised funding scenarios that minimize borrowing and preserve flexibility. The board voted unanimously to deny proceeding with Pinnacle loan documents at this time.