Meeting Summary and Briefs: Will County Board Capital Improvements & IT Committee for October 6, 2026

Will County Capital Improvements & IT Committee | October 6, 2026

WILL COUNTY — The Will County Board’s Capital Improvements and IT Committee met for roughly 47 minutes on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in the County Board Committee Room at 302 N. Chicago St. in Joliet, with Chair Mica Freeman calling the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. The session was dominated by a line-by-line debate over the county’s draft artificial intelligence usage policy, which the committee amended and then voted to recommend to the full County Board — covered in full in a separate story. Director of Facilities William Fern delivered the October capital projects update, which produced two additional stories: a disclosure that the clerk’s, treasurer’s and assessor’s offices had never been connected to the County Office Building’s standby generator, and a board member’s report that the building’s electric vehicle chargers are not delivering power. A third story covers the Department of Transportation administration building and maintenance garage under design in Monee.

There was no public comment and no executive session. The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026.

September Minutes Approved Without Discussion

The committee approved the minutes of its Sept. 1, 2026, meeting on a motion by board member Steve Balich, seconded by board member Herbert Brooks Jr., on a roll call recorded in the transcript as six ayes. There was no discussion. The September minutes, included in the October packet, record that the committee postponed the AI policy at that meeting to allow the state’s attorney’s office to make changes to the policy’s definitions, and that an assistant state’s attorney corrected her own August account of advice given in June about whether a referendum would be required to move the county seat. Those matters were not revisited Tuesday.

Work Order System Nears Completion

Fern told the committee the county’s new work order system is close to launch. The packet reports that in the most recent meeting with ICT/GIS and Pro West, the vendor hosting the system, significant progress was made and the work order request page is nearly complete. Requestors will be able to select their building, enter a request and receive emails tracking its progress. Fern described a mapping feature that lets users “fly through the building” as if on a drone to locate the work order, and said the system runs on drop-down menus. “Nobody else has got one like this,” Fern said. “We’re setting a bar on this work order system.” He said he hoped to have it finished within the next couple of months.

More Than 500 Work Orders Logged in September

The Facilities Department completed more than 500 work orders in September, according to the packet’s operations summary, representing over 400 hours of labor at an average cost of $15 per work order, with 98% completed on time. The same summary reports the Courthouse water softeners have been modified and are working more robustly, that Sunny Hill Nursing Home completed its annual sprinkler inspection, and that the custodial supervisor and Courthouse team completed a window cleaning covering exterior and interior windows, interior glass partitions, escalators and the clerk’s windows. Power outages at the County Office Building caused by recent storm damage have been resolved through ComEd and the facilities team.

Life Safety Training Nears Countywide Completion

Fern said CPR, AED and Stop the Bleed training classes continue at the facilities building across the street from the County Office Building, and estimated the county’s life safety specialist has now covered roughly 90% of departments. Departments that have not been through the training, or individuals wanting one-on-one instruction, can still be accommodated, he said. The packet reports CPR and AED classes are completed countywide and that Stop the Bleed courses continue, with a make-up class schedule upcoming. The packet also reports ongoing inspection planning for the egress fire doors at the Will County Office Building to ensure exit pathways remain clear and compliant.

Sunny Hill Hosts Walk to End Alzheimer’s Event

The packet devotes five pages of photographs to a Walk to End Alzheimer’s event held at Sunny Hill Nursing Home, 421 Doris Ave. “This was a great event. The whole facilities team took part,” Fern told the committee. Images show residents in wheelchairs accompanied by staff, a balloon arch at the facility entrance and a Hope the Bear display promoting the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Will County event in downtown Joliet. Fern said the balloon decorations were made by a member of his own staff, who does balloon art as a side pursuit.

Sunny Hill’s Old Furniture Sent to Be Reclaimed

Traynere asked what became of the furniture replaced when Sunny Hill Nursing Home received new furnishings. Fern said the replacement covered the whole building, not a single wing, and that the old furniture “was sent back to be reclaimed.” Asked what reclaimed means, he said the furniture was not usable and would probably be shredded and made into wood chips. “At least not in a landfill,” Traynere said. “I could think of better places to put it, but that’s okay.” The record does not say who removed the furniture, what the replacement cost or how many rooms were involved.

No Public Comment; Next Meeting Nov. 4

Freeman called for public comment twice and received none. “I see no unfamiliar faces,” she said. The agenda listed an executive session, but the committee did not enter one; Freeman said simply, “Executive session. None.” The committee adjourned on a motion seconded by board member Dawn Bullock. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Nov. 4, 2026 — a Wednesday rather than the committee’s usual Tuesday, Freeman noted, because it falls the day after the election.