County Board putting a hold on some committed dollars as new expenses mount

QUINCY — The Adams County Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to hold on to some committed, but as of yet unallocated, funding from American Relief Plan Act funds as more county expenses arise.

Projects that have been temporarily backburnered include $1 million to be used for housing in Quincy and Adams County. The Great River Economic Development Foundation is in the process of a study to determine exactly what types of housing developments are needed.

Other projects shelved, for now, include $510,000 for bathrooms in villages around the county, $200,000 to bury Ameren lines at Clat Adams Park, $329,000 for further exterior work on the Adams County Courthouse and $250,000 for new restrooms at the Adams County Fair.

Projects that have come up recently that require direct funding from the County include $500,000 for HVAC improvements at the Adams County Juvenile Detention Center, which is part of an overall $2.1 million project and more than $700,000 for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office to add body cameras and upgrade in-car cameras and all radios. The body cameras are mandated by the state to be in place by the end of the year.

Another issue that potentially looms is the cost of any mold remediation that may need to be done in the courthouse and the now-shuttered Adams County Jail. The County should receive an update on that project in mid-April.

County Board Finance Chair Bret Austin said he wanted to make sure any of the projects where dollars are being held haven’t actually been started on yet.

Austin did suggest that if the county did proceed and follow through on the commitments, they could borrow the $1.2 million to pay for the county’s projects, but that would also incur more than $200,000 in interest on a five-year loan.

The Board did approve spending another $204,000 for new cameras in the courthouse and jail. This is on top of an already-committed $700,000 for the project. County Board Transportation and Technology Chair Dave Bellis said the county needed to upgrade the storage capacity in the system, from 30 to 90-day retention, and the cameras were already purchased.