Plans to build a $44 million, three-story Tazewell County Justice Center Annex are moving full speed ahead.
An opportunity for the county board to take a step back and consider a $41 million, two-story option for the annex went by the wayside Thursday at a committee of the whole meeting called by new Board Chairman Brett Grimm.
A straw poll taken after a sometimes emotional debate that included discussions about the future of the historic but aging Tazewell County Courthouse, rapidly improving criminal justice technology, concerns about county needs and the uncertainty of future state and federal funding resulted in a slim board consensus to continue to move forward with the three-story option, which was approved by the board 12-7 in August.
The 79,000-square-foot annex, which will include a basement, will be built just north of the Justice Center on South Capitol Street in downtown Pekin.
Nineteen of 21 board members were present Thursday for the committee of the whole meeting. Nick Graff and Kaden Nelms were absent.
"The bottom line is we're going to get an annex, the most expensive project in county history. This board is going to have to live with it and own it, good or bad," said Grimm, who is uncomfortable with the $44 million option.
Because of 2024 election results and appointments to fill vacant seats, nearly half the current board was not on the board when it voted in August for the $44 million option, which was the culmination of 3 1/2 years of planning. The $44 million cost is $10 million more than the original budget for the project.
Four of the 12 board members who voted for the $44 million option are no longer on the board.
The county will pay for the project using $19 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) COVID-19 economic stimulus finds, and the rest from budget reserves.
Grimm said he called the committee of the whole meeting because he wanted to bring the new board members up to speed on the project, and give all members information on the $41 million option and possible negative impacts on county finances and facilities that could be caused by the more expensive option that were not presented to the previous board.
"You need to hear the whole story about this project because you're going to have to own it to your constituents," he told board members.
Pressing against the information discussed Thursday is the timeline for the project.
Drawings for the annex are nearly done, the first set of bid packages will go out next month, and construction is expected to begin this summer so the project can be completed in late 2026.
The annex will contain three criminal courtrooms, state's attorney and probation offices, and the circuit clerk's traffic office. All will move from the nearby courthouse, which was built starting in 1914, dedicated in 1916, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The unfinished third floor of the annex that could house three civil courtrooms moving from the courthouse could eventually raise the cost of the building far beyond $44 million.
An additional $1.5 million is needed now to shell a circuit clerk's office on the first floor of the annex, bringing the building cost to $45.5 million.
Each civil courtroom is expected to cost $2 million to finish, and the clerk's office would need $1.5 million to finish, which would bring the total cost of the project to $53 million.
"If all six of our courtrooms are located in the annex, we have to move there," Circuit Court Clerk Linc Hobson told board members.
The $41 million option did not contain the unfinished third floor.
"But that option still had the structure to add a third story if at some point a board decides that it's needed and has the funds," Grimm said.
Grimm cautioned board members that the county needs to pay for a desperately needed new $3.5 million animal control facility that is scheduled to be built this year, and likely will have to come up with $2 million to $2.5 million after a salary study is done to raise the salaries of county employees to both retain employees and attract new ones.
Then there are needed repairs and renovations of county facilities, including the courthouse.
"The Justice Center was built 20 years ago and now sits at half capacity," Grimm said, referring to the jail. "We need to plan for the future with the annex, but not overspend at the cost of current needs we have because of the neglect of the last seven years."
Board members Max Schneider and Russ Crawford spoke strongly against the $44 million option before the straw poll was taken.
Schneider, a real estate broker, used a term in his field to describe what the county might be facing.
"Our county could be house poor. We could have money to pay for this project, but not much else," he said. "We have so much technology we need to pay for and buildings to maintain, and we need to raise the wages of our hard working county employees.
"I don't wait to cut services or raise taxes. We need to rein in this dangerously expensive project."
Crawford said the project defies financial logic and makes dangerous inroads into the all-important general fund in the county budget that pays for many county services.
"With so much uncertainty in the world, this is no time to build a Cadillac," Crawford said. "I'm all for progress and criminal justice, but I'm also a fiscal conservative. We've kept the tax rate low in this county because we haven't spent like drunken sailors."
Board member Greg Menold spoke for the $44 million option, expressing concerns that a third story would cost far more in the future.
"Plus, we're not a bank. We shouldn't be sitting on money," he said.
Grimm praised Peoria-based construction manager PJ Hoerr, and Wold Architects from Palatine for their work and professionalism through the transition from one board to another.
