To cope with a space crunch at Plainfield’s public works facility and police department, village officials are considering a campus to serve the needs of both over the next 20 years.
Consultants presented a needs-assessment study, and village officials must decide whether they want to proceed with the project. The price tag is an estimated $17 million, including $2 million to buy the land.
Village Administrator Terry Burghard said the proposed site is 17 to 25 acres at 143rd Street and Illinois Highway 59. As presented, the plan would require a minimum of 17 acres, but trustee Kathy O’Connell said she would like to see the village acquire more to accommodate future growth.
The facility would be paid for by borrowing money at historically low interest rates or by selling current property, said Finance Director Chris Minick.
The final figures will not be available until the facility is designed and out to bid, Burghard said, adding that could take between eight and 10 months.
“I think we are ready for this,” said Mayor Richard Rock.
The village’s population is projected to be 35,000 by 2010 and to grow by 20,000 in the following decade. The plans were based on those numbers, said Fred Borich, vice president of the consulting firm DMJM H&M of Chicago.
“As the community grows, the demands grow and the calls grow for service,” said public works director Allen Persons.
The campus would include a public works facility of about 65,535 square feet, which is significantly larger than the current 16,000-square-foot metal pole barn at 833 W. 143rd St., and a nearly 30,000-square-foot police facility.
Police now are at 1400 Division St. in the 12,319-square-foot building that was the old Village Hall until a 1996 flood.
Also proposed for the campus is a fueling station for both departments. The village currently pays $80,000 for fuel at local gas stations and that cost does not include the time it takes to drive vehicles to the station, Burghard said. He estimated that by having two above-ground, 10,000-gallon tanks on site, the village could save $28,000 a year.
In addition, the public works building would allow for contract services to be done in-house, Persons said. The department currently contracts out $900,000 in services each year.
“That $900,000 isn’t going to go away, but you can bring the price tag down,” Borich said.