DeKalb Times

DeKalb County Facilities & Technology Committee met April 2.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

The Facilities & Technology Committee of the DeKalb County Board met in Sycamore, Illinois on Wednesday, April 2, 2024. Vice-Chair Laurie Emmer called the meeting to order at 6:30pm. Those Members present were Scott Campbell, Rhonda Henke, Kathy Lampkins, Stuart Ogilvie and Ellingsworth Webb. A quorum was established with six members present; none absent.

Also present were Administrative Analyst Liam Sullivan, Facilities Director Jim Scheffers, and IMO Director Sheila Santos.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

Lampkins moved to approve the agenda. Campbell seconded the motion and it was carried by voice vote, with all votes cast in the affirmative.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

It was moved by Campbell, seconded by Ogilvie and it was carried by voice vote to approve the Minutes of the February 6, 2024, Facilities & Technology Committee Meeting.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were no public comments.

RESOLUTIONS

Resolution R2024-059—A Resolution Authorizing the Transit Facility Remodel Project.

DeKalb County Government has a partnership with Voluntary Action Center of Northern Illinois (VAC) to provide rural transit services. DeKalb County Government owns the property and structures located at 1606 Bethany Road in Sycamore, Illinois, from which VAC operates. On behalf of DeKalb County Government, VAC has applied for and has been awarded $1,360,000 in IDOT Rebuild Illinois Grant funding to upgrade/remodel the transit facility.

The Voluntary Action Center is proposing that these funds be used to remodel the administrative area of the facility, replace the garage floor, repair the sewer line that runs under the garage floor and upgrade exterior siding, windows and garage doors. All expenses associated with the remodel project would be funded through these Rebuild Illinois grants with zero cost burden for the County. Due to the County ownership of the facility, County Board authorization is required for the project. This portion of the project is expected to cost $825,000.

Lampkins moved to forward Resolution R2024-059 to the County Board. Henke seconded the motion and it was carried by voice vote, with all votes cast in the affirmative.

CONSIDERATIONS

County Board Laptops/Tablets

At the February 6, 2024 Facilities & Technology Committee meeting, Webb requested that staff secure quotes for the procurement of tablets or chromebook laptops for County Board members to utilize at County Committee meetings rather than paper agenda packets.

IMO Director Sheila Santos provided the Committee with a memorandum and price options for ipads and chromebook laptops. Additionally, the options included a quote for a charging station if the devices were to remain on site for protective cases if the County Board decides that they would like to institute a take home policy.

The Committee discussed the pros and cons of the ipads vs chromebooks. Additionally, they discussed the benefits and drawbacks to allowing County Board Members to take the devices home. The Committee reached a consensus that they would like to further consider the matter and bring this forward as an action item at the next Facilities & Technology Committee meeting. Additionally, the Committee requested that Staff reach out to other local governmental bodies to determine what the best practices are for presenting board materials.

Review of Ongoing County Maintenance Projects

Administration Building Bathroom Remodel

Administrative Analyst Liam Sullivan explained that the Public Building Commission has awarded the contract for the project to Weaver Construction Inc. There were two bids submitted for the project, with the lowest responsible bid being from Weaver in the amount of $176,189.00. Weaver anticipates that the project will take 60 days to complete from the start of construction. The project will be paid for using PBC funds. County Staff is currently working through the permitting process with the City of Sycamore prior to the start of construction.

Legislative Center Projects

The majority of these projects have been placed on hold for the time being. Sullivan stated that one of the major motivators of the planned projects was to have sufficient space to accommodate the newly established Human Resources Office. Staff of the Administration Office are voluntarily moving to new office spaces, meaning there is now sufficient space available for the Human Resources Department to collocate in Administration Office. Due to this, the plans to remodel “Guest Services” are no longer necessary.

Parking Lot Improvements at the Community Outreach Building

Facilities Director Jim Scheffers explained that Staff is waiting for warmer weather before further work is done on the parking lot.

OLD BUSINESS

Lampkins asked if there was an update on the US Cellular tower that was discussed for the Highway NEW BUSINESS

There were no new business items.

ADJOURNMENT

Osland moved to adjourn the meeting. Porterfield seconded the motion and it was carried by voice vote.

https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/packet-ft-05072024.pdf