Village Making Progress on New Police, Public Works Buildings

As the village discusses next year's budget, there's some progress being made on a major component of it: a $24 million in capital improvements that include .

Last year the New Lenox Village Board voted to increase its sales tax by a 1/2 a cent, bringing the total rate to 8.5 percent, and also increase its utility tax 5 percent on gas and electric to help pay for the projects.

Mayor Tim Baldermann said he hopes to discuss the new public works location with the Village Board at its next meeting, which is April 9. The board would talk about it in closed session and take a public vote later.

The mayor previously said somewhere along Gougar Road was an option for the new public works facility but that there were a few locations the village was considering. 

Baldermann said that if everything goes as planned, construction for the new public works facility could start in the next two months and staff could be moved in by the end of this year or in early 2013.

The new police station is further along in the process and the village could soon make official the plans to move the department to the in the land just north of the library. The plan is to swap land with the , which will take over the existing police station and use it as office space.

Baldermann said requests for quotation and proposal are being sent and the board could vote on one in May. He said that because the planning process would be more complicated than public works, it might not be until spring 2014 that the police department moves into a new building.

According to the village's fiscal year 2013 budget, the estimated cost of the police station is $10.5 million and the public works building could cost $9.5 million. 

The village anticipates a $3.6 million boost to revenue this fiscal year because of the tax increases. The largest chunk of that ($1.85 million) will go toward the capital improvements, including engineering, right-of-way, furniture and even some architectural fees for the projects. 

Village Administrator Kurt Carroll said the village wants to borrow the least money possible for the projects.

The third part of the capital improvements plan is to extend Nelson Road between Haven Avenue and Illinois Highway, which would cost an estimated $4.5 million. The village continues to negotiate that plan with the landowner, Voss Homes. 

"That's more likely to be a drawn out process," Baldermann said.

that would have saved New Lenox money on land purchases for the new buildings in exchange for Voss saving on future road construction through its planned retail development. But those negotiations stalled.