Jefferson County officials plan to spend about $1.9 million on capital improvement projects next year – maybe.
The Jefferson County Council recently approved its annual capital program and strategic plan for the next five years. The plan outlines projects proposed by the county’s emergency management, information technology, facilities, fleet services and parks departments.
After receiving the plan from the county departments, County Executive Dennis Gannon and the administration identified priority projects before the entire plan went to the County Council, which voted unanimously Aug. 22 to approve it.
The eight priorities in the 2023 plan will be included in the coming year’s budget, but Gannon said that doesn’t mean those eight priorities will be completed.
“We always want to look ahead, but there are projects on the (new) five-year list that were on it when I took office (in 2018) and haven’t gotten any closer to becoming reality. But we don’t want to take them off.
“This list is just to plan our spending. There’s no guarantee that everything on here will get done. Emergencies come up from time to time that push priorities down the list. Sometimes things cost more than we planned for, so we have to scale back somewhere else.”
Gannon said because sales tax – the main funding source for the county government’s day-to-day operations – has been relatively flat through the pandemic, the theme to this year’s priority list is “fix, repair or replace,” with no new construction projects planned in 2023.
The capital plan is the beginning of the discussion of the county’s 2023 budget.
Under the county’s charter, Gannon must submit a draft of a budget to the County Council by Oct. 31, and after meetings are held with department heads, the council is charged with approving a budget by the end of the year.
Because the budget must be balanced, Gannon said, the eight priority projects may not make the final cut – or the budgeted amount for any of them may be reduced.
“This five-year plan has more projects listed than we can fix in one year,” he said. “In a way, I guess, it’s a wish list.”
Public Works Director Jason Jonas agreed.
“Just because something’s requested in the budget doesn’t mean it’s going to be approved, and even if it’s approved, that doesn’t mean it will be done,” he said. “This (plan) is essentially a list of budget requests. They may be done in 2023, later than that or not at all.”
Vehicle purchases
The biggest-ticket item in the priority list is $820,000 to buy 14 vehicles.
The county has more than 300 vehicles that are maintained under the Fleet Services Division. If all the vehicles included in this year’s plan are purchased, 10 Sheriff’s Office vehicles will be replaced, as will two SUVs for code enforcement officers and cars for the Public Administrator’s Office and Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
“All of these (vehicles to be replaced) will be high-mileage, older vehicles that have been in use for some time,” Gannon said. “You have to remember that, especially when we’re talking about cars for the Sheriff’s Office, they’re run much harder than people usually run their cars. There is a lot of idling, a lot of fast starts and quick stops. After a certain point, it’s a safety issue, and the newer vehicles tend to be more fuel-efficient, which saves in our gasoline costs.”
County Courthouse
The second-largest anticipated expenditure, $345,000, is to “fix, repair or replace” problems at the aging County Courthouse, which was built in 1863 and has had several updates and additions.
Jonas said planned renovations include replacement of interior doors, stairwells and ceiling tile, as well as lighting and security camera upgrades.
A year-by-year project to remodel offices is continuing, Jonas said.
“Last year, we did Division 4 (Circuit Judge Brenda Stacey’s offices and courtroom) and the Circuit Clerk’s Office,” Jonas said. “That covered about 20,000 square feet, which is about a fourth of the Courthouse. We’d like to get to another 20,000 square feet this year with new carpeting, carpet tiles or tile.”
He said renovation of the former Public Defender’s Office, which moved out of the Courthouse to an office building at 300 Main St. in Hillsboro because of mold issues, is in the plan this year.
“We’d like to rehabilitate it to get it into a usable space again,” Jonas said. “That would free up about 24,000 square feet for county use.”
County Jail
Another $170,000 has been designated for work at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro.
Jonas said the plan includes items that need to be repaired because of the age of the facility.
“There are some repairs, some appliance replacements. We need to install washers with exhaust systems. There are needed repairs to the sprinkler system, a possible replacement of a walk-in freezer, and also repairs to the sewer grinder.”
An item included in the priority list but not assigned a cost concerns possible new Courthouse and Jail facilities.
A space-needs assessment study was done in late 2019, but the administration and County Council have not yet placed a bond issue on the ballot to fund the construction of those buildings.
The priority item notes that discussions will continue with financial experts and construction professionals with ideas to move the project forward.
Facility Maintenance Building
The plan includes $312,000 to draw up plans to replace the county’s Facility Maintenance Building, 739 Maple St., Hillsboro, an aging structure in front of the Administration Center.
“This is an old, decrepit building,” Jonas said. “I don’t have the exact date, but it was built in the early 1900s, maybe 1910, and added on to in the 1940s or 1950s. The foundation is compromised structurally – it’s been jacked up at least once – and the second floor also is compromised. Really, the entire building is becoming questionable in terms of inhabiting it.”
The money will be used to draw up engineering plans for a new building on property the county owns on Business 21 in Hillsboro.
ADA upgrades
The plan also includes $27,000 to continue making recommended upgrades at the county Jail mandated by the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Jonas said ADA upgrades at the Jail, Courthouse and Juvenile Detention Facility have been going on since 2018.
“Like a lot of the stuff on this (priority) plan, we’re chipping away at it, one year at a time,” Jonas said.
Much of the planned work involves the restrooms at the Jail.
“This building was designed before ADA, and new sinks need to be put in to allow wheelchairs to fit underneath,” Jonas said. “Soap dispensers and towel dispensers need to be lowered. In some cases, partitions need to be changed and doorways need to be modified to allow better entry and exit for the disabled.”
Gannon said the county has concentrated much of its previous ADA work toward the County Courthouse.
“I want to make sure we continue those efforts,” he said. “One example was a ramp (at the County Courthouse) outside of Judge (Shannon) Dougherty’s courtroom. It was far too steep for people to go up, obviously built before ADA standards. That problem has been addressed.”
Juvenile Detention Facility
Gannon said at least $250,000 worth of work is needed at the county’s Juvenile Detention Facility, 9501 Goldfinch Lane, in Hillsboro.
“The security system there needs to be replaced because it’s obsolete,” he said. “We’re going to be adding and replacing cameras there. That’s one of the projects.”
Severe warning system
A study may – or may not – be ordered for a proposed outdoor severe warning system in unincorporated areas of the county.
According to information from the Emergency Management Department, a study could cost as much as $36,000, but the county has applied for competitive grants that, if awarded, could pay up to $22,500 of that cost.
“This was on the five-year plan when I took office, and it’s still there,” Gannon said. “This is one of those things that we keep rolling over from year to year. It’s obviously a safety issue.”
The capital improvement plan includes no designated amount for a study.