Kankakee County board amends courthouse architectural authorization, OKs up to $300,000

The Kankakee County Board on Jan. 13 voted to amend its prior authorization for architectural work on the county courthouse, increasing the not-to-exceed amount to $300,000 to cover the design and documentation phase. County staff said the additional authorization will be paid from a previously announced $6,000,000 grant for courthouse improvements.

Eric, a county staff member who presented the finance committee item, told the board the county had authorized $250,000 in September for schematic design, of which $120,960.23 has been spent, leaving $129,039.77 remaining. "As we move into the design and documentation portion of the project, the estimated cost is a $151,000," he said, and asked the board to amend the original resolution to "not exceed $300,000 to get us through this portion of the project." He added the board will return to request additional funding for later phases.

Board members emphasized priorities for the $6 million grant, citing a building generator, an additional (tenth) courtroom and replacement of the roof among top needs. One member urged consideration of seasonal exterior lighting if funds remain; staff said priorities are currently focused on critical building systems and courtroom capacity.

The motion to approve the amendment was made by Tinker and seconded by Miller and passed on a roll-call vote.

The county will continue to bring future funding requests back to the board as design and construction needs are refined. The board did not adopt a construction contract at this meeting; the approved amendment only increases the architectural authorization for the current design phase.