Will County facilities staff review 2024 projects, roll out door-numbering and new work-order system

Ken Rogalski, assistant facilities director for Will County, told the Capital Improvements and IT Committee that facilities work completed in 2024 included exterior and interior finishes at the old courthouse, a Children’s Advocacy Center build-out, roofing, tuckpointing and mechanical upgrades across county sites.

“The old courthouse . . . is complete now. Everything looks great,” Rogalski said, describing hydroseeding and other exterior work. He said the former preschool now used by the Children’s Advocacy Center was finished in May and that a new roof membrane installed on another county building is a 30-year product completed in the second week of December.

The report covered multiple completed projects: replacement of oversized boilers with high-efficiency hot-water heaters at Sunnyvale Nursing Home (reported to produce a 30–42 percent reduction in natural gas costs), a fire-pump replacement in a detention facility fire pump room, elevator refreshes in the court annex, completion of new beds for the nursing home, and finish work at a 95 South Chicago building where tuckpointing and matching paint were completed in November. Rogalski said staff staged mattress/bed assembly off-site to avoid disrupting operations while installing new beds.

Rogalski also announced operational upgrades: rollout of a new computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) named Aptura to replace Hippo, migration of existing work orders into the new system, and the county’s adoption of a door-numbering system that Philip Smith, the county’s life-safety specialist, is implementing across county buildings to speed emergency response. Rogalski said the door-numbering will be tied into dispatch maps and appear on internal evacuation plans.

On safety training, facilities staff ran a fire-extinguisher training exercise in a Sunnyvale/Nursing Old Sunny Hill parking area. Committee members asked whether the extinguishing agents contained PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Rogalski said new life-safety oversight goes through Philip Smith and that staff would confirm compliance with applicable standards and chemicals used in training.

Rogalski closed the operational summary with department metrics: about 13,000 work orders completed in the year, roughly 9,000 labor hours reported, an average labor cost of $19.50 per hour, and a stated 95% completion rate. He said the facilities department has migrated most work-order data to Aptura and expects remaining issues to be resolved within days.

Committee chair Micah Freeman and other members asked follow-up questions about costs and maintenance strategy for stainless-steel exterior finishes at the courthouse; Rogalski said crews use a clear sealer and perform periodic cleaning and polishing and that he would provide cost estimates. Members discussed whether to continue recurring maintenance or consider alternate exterior materials or coverings on future projects.

On capital planning, committee members reported a previously passed county resolution authorizing an RFP for a facilities master plan (space-needs and capital assessment) has moved to implementation. Staff said the scope updates the 2019 plan and covers roughly 20 county facilities; completion of the master plan is expected in about nine to 12 months.

Votes at a glance: the committee approved the minutes of Oct. 1, 2024 (mover: Oxley; seconder: College; “all in favor” was recorded; individual vote tallies not specified). Committee members also noted a prior Board resolution authorizing an RFP for a facilities needs assessment is being implemented (vote details not specified in the meeting transcript).

Why it matters: The work affects county-owned buildings where county employees and the public access services daily, and the master-planning RFP will guide capital investments and repairs over the coming years. The door-numbering and life-safety changes are intended to shorten emergency response times, and the CMMS migration is intended to make maintenance work and labor accounting more trackable.

The committee scheduled its next meeting for Feb. 4; staff said they will provide requested cost estimates and follow up on PFAS/chemical information for fire-extinguisher training.