Tazewell County's downtown Pekin campus is getting a makeover.
In a project that county officials said is long overdue, improvements will be made to the grounds at the courthouse, justice center and McKenzie Building; trees around the courthouse will be removed and replaced; and trees will be removed at the justice center.
Chambers & Sons Landscaping of Peoria will do the work for about $203,200 after the project was approved recently by the county board.
The company offered a $186,500 option using trap rock and mulch in the landscaping, but the board opted for the slightly more expensive option using just trap rock because of the look and lower maintenance costs.
"The landscaping will look nicer, last longer and we won't have to add mulch," County Administrator Mindy Darcy said about the trap rock-only option.
Jon Hopkins, a member of the board's property committee that reviewed four bids for the project and recommended Chambers & Sons, called the work "long needed."
In a related action, the board approved the low bid of about $84,500 from Davis Blinds & Specialty of Morton for the installation of roller shades in the McKenzie Building.
County renews VMware subscription
The board also recently approved:
• A three-year license subscription renewal costing $67,200 for VMware, a management tool that uses cloud technology to reduce the number of physical servers that are needed. East Peoria-based Heart Technologies, which provides IT services for the county, utilizes the software.
• Using motor fuel tax funds totaling more than $4.3 million to have resurfacing work done on several roads. The low bidder was R.A. Cullinan & Son of Tremont.
• Purchasing a 2026 four-wheel drive technician truck and a 2006 four-wheel drive maintenance truck from state bidder Morrow Brothers Ford of Greenfield for slightly more than $112,300.
• Accepting a nearly $15,500 safety grant from the Illinois Public Risk Fund, the county's worker's compensation insurance provider, to purchase items such as vehicle stop/spike strips, sign post installation and removal equipment, and first aid kits and supplies.
• The appointments of Cathryn Stump of Morton to the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission; Dan Lane of Washington to the Northern Tazewell Fire Protection District Board; and Timothy Behm of Washington to the Northern Tazewell Public Water District Board.
• The reappointments of Thomas Bessler of Washington to the Northern Tazewell Fire Protection District Board; Brian Tanner of Morton to the Morton Area Farmers Fire Protection District Board; Traci Kraemer of Deer Creek to the Deer Creek Fire Protection District Board; Bill Carlin and Scott Haney of Washington and Jason Chapman of East Peoria to the Northern Tazewell Public Water District Board; Meghan Brake of Hanna City to the Human Services Transportation Planning Committee; and Roger Cramer of East Peoria to the East Peoria Sanitary District Board.
