Kane County may move its health department facility out of Aurora to a new location in St. Charles.
The proposed $30 million building in St. Charles would be more centrally located in the county, have more room for programming and get the health department out of its current aging building in Aurora, which is across North Highland Avenue from Ascension Mercy medical center, officials said.
By primarily using federal dollars awarded to the county through the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, officials say the new building can be constructed without raising taxes or requiring the county to take on additional debt.
“This project itself, it’s only viable with the ARPA funds,” Roger Fahnestock, Kane County executive director of information technologies and buildings management, told the Kane County Board’s Executive Committee on Feb. 7.
At that meeting, Fahnestock said that recent studies, such as the facilities master plan and a needs assessment for the health department, found that the building in Aurora is insufficient for the department and is in poor condition.
County staff studied whether renovating the existing building in Aurora, buying another building and renovating it or constructing a totally new building was the most cost-efficient plan, officials said. The study found that each would cost a similar amount but constructing a new facility had the most benefits, according to Fahnestock.
He said the current Kane County Health Department building in Aurora is 18,500 square feet, and the new building is proposed to be between 40,000 and 50,000 square feet.
The extra space would allow the health department to increase its programming and services, something it will be able to do without increasing its budget, according to Health Department Executive Director Michael Isaacson, who spoke to the county board at its Feb. 13 meeting.
He said the new location would also help centralize services across the country, helping to keep costs down and more effectively use staff’s time.
The proposed new building would be located on the same site as the Kane County Judicial Center at Lincoln Highway and Peck Road in St. Charles.
The Kane County Board is expected to vote on funding for the project at its Feb. 27 meeting, which is a continuation of its Feb. 13 meeting.
The plan has drawn some criticism from board members and the public alike, primarily because of the building’s location and the project’s proposed use of ARPA funds.
Kane County District 8 board member Michelle Gumz said at the Feb. 7 Executive Committee meeting that constituents are going to complain about the location because, despite the fact that it is geographically located in the center of Kane, it is not located where many people live in the south end of the county.
The health department currently has a satellite location in Elgin, and Fahnestock said there are no plans to close it. If the move to a new building in St. Charles is approved, a similar satellite location may be considered for Aurora.
The proposed new location in St. Charles would be close to a number of different transit routes, including public transportation, according to Fahnestock. However, Gumz said at the Feb. 7 Executive Committee meeting that, even with various transportation options, the location would be inconvenient for people because it would take more time to get there for residents in the south end of Kane County.
Gumz and other board members were also concerned about funding the project using ARPA money. A recent report by consulting firm Ernst & Young details the potential risks of using ARPA funds for the project, and Gumz said those risks are too great to go forward with the project as proposed.
“I’m not prepared to gamble that money, but I do not want people to think that I am not supportive of this idea,” she said of a new health center. “I just do not believe this is the funding source.”
The report does not recommend against using the federal funds for the proposed project. However, it said the county may be required to pay back the federal government up to $18 million of the funding after construction of the new facility if it is found the project didn’t meet the criteria for use of ARPA money.
Fahnestock has said the project would meet all the federal requirements for use of the funds.
Although there are risks, the report from Ernst & Young says the county is prepared to deal with them.
“The county is prepared to create the necessary elements to comply with the associated federal procurement, reporting and administrative requirements,” the report says.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
