The Tazewell County Health Department plans to open a new building in Pekin just before Thanksgiving.
The county board approved three projects Wednesday to speed along the process. The board gave its thumb's up to:
- The purchase and installation of security video monitoring and door access controls for $41,900 from Teufel Hunden Electronics of Davenport, Iowa. The project wasn't bid because Teufel Hunden products also are used by the Tazewell County Sheriff's Department.
- The low bid of $55,700 from C&G Concrete Construction of East Peoria for sidewalk replacement and repair.
- Increasing a county-wide telephone system agreement with Heart Technologies of East Peoria from $7,383 to $8,036 monthly to include the Health Department building.
The Health Department's clinic and Women's, Infants and Children's services will move to 1800 Broadway Street in Pekin, although they will remain on a scheduled basis at the department's current building at 21306 Illinois Route 9 in Tremont.
The Health Department also plans to open a dental clinic at its Broadway building. The former county dental clinic in North Pekin was shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic and hasn't reopened.
County continues to improve its IT infrastructure
Also Wednesday, the county board:
- Approved quotes from Heart Technologies of East Peoria for fiber infrastructure and wireless internet projects at the Tazewell County Justice Center and McKenzie Building for $171,718. There was no bidding because the county entered into an IT services agreement with Heart Technologies following a November 2023 cyber attack. Heart Technologies has been reviewing the county's technology infrastructure and making recommendations for updates.
- Authorized Libby Aeschleman, the county's director of animal control, to purchase a 2024 Dodge 1500 SSV Crew Cab for $39,388 from the state's bidder after accepting a reasonable trade-in value for a 2017 Ford F150 with 160,000 miles.
Thousands of vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 5 election are headed to Tazewell County mailboxes
Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman told board members Wednesday that about 10,000 vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 5 election will be sent out Thursday to county residents, and another 1,500 or so mail-by-mail ballots will be sent out Friday after they're processed.
"I originally thought we'd have about 12,000 vote-by-mail ballots going out for this election. We're going to exceed that number," Ackerman said.
