DANVILLE — Millions in improvements are coming to the Vermilion County government buildings.
The Vermilion County Animal Shelter will be getting $2.5 million in improvements with a donation from the Julius Hegeler II Foundation.
The Vermilion County Board accepted the gift during its meeting on Tuesday evening. County Board Chairman Steve Miller said the money will be used for needed improvements.
“A lot of changes have occurred out of the animal control department, and a lot of those play a good role in gaining confidence in the foundation of our situation,” Miller said.
Board member Jerry Hawker spoke about the changes the shelter has gone through.
“About 1984, we had our first edition built out where the shelter is, and in the early 2000s we had the second edition,” Hawker said. “And it’s time for another, but I cannot say how proud I am of the staff, the animal regulation, how much improvement in the last 18 months that have happened there.”
The board also approved a transfer of a 2017 Ford Transit van to the county animal shelter in exchange for $4,500 in services. The van will be used to provide extra transportation for the shelter.
The Joseph G. Cannon Building and Rita B. Garman Vermilion County Courthouse will be receiving a little over $3 million in upgrades.
Board Member Mark Steinbaugh spoke about the projects that need to be completed with the Rita B. Garman Vermilion County Courthouse and Joseph G. Cannon Building, stating the replacement of the cooling tower in the building is necessary, calling the current one “almost inoperable.”
The cooling tower will be replaced, with new roofing, as well as upgrades to modernize the elevator. The cooling tower is 40 years old, and county officials were told it must be replaced or there will not be “any air conditioning.”
Kyle Richards, the maintenance supervisor, said the inside of the cooling tower has “busted” following a “real hard winter.”
“The cold days we had shouldn’t have done it, but it did,” Richards said. “And then the inside liner… all the material from the inside of that has fallen out and getting into the system now, so it’s created havoc on all the new stuff that we’ve already had put in the building.”
The cooling tower replacement will be completed by Allied Mechanical Services, Inc., approved by the county board at a cost of $219,000.
The facility improvements to the Rita B. Garman Vermilion County Courthouse and Joseph G. Cannon Building were approved at a cost of $2,975,618
“The other project is within this building (Cannon), and we’ve talked about for quite some time, is with [the] elevator,” Steighnbaugh said. “Now the elevator cannot be replaced. We are grandfathered in because of the building… but the cabin will be remodeled inside [and] outside, new electronics, hydraulics…I would say the elevator project will not be completed until 2027.”