Will County is achieving substantial cost savings by completing facility improvement projects with in-house staff rather than contracting the work out, according to a presentation to the Capital Improvements Committee on Tuesday.

County Facilities Manager Bill Fern highlighted several recent projects where county staff completed work that would have typically been outsourced, resulting in savings of tens of thousands of dollars.

“We’re using our trades more and more and combining trades with the ADF staff, the courthouse sheriff staff, and our own,” Fern told the committee. “A lot of this work would normally be bid out, but we’re expanding and doing it more and more in-house.”

One notable project involved constructing new workstations for sheriff’s deputies at the Adult Detention Facility. By utilizing two master carpenters who work for the sheriff’s department, the county saved approximately $30,000 compared to hiring outside contractors.

An even larger savings was realized on a training area project at the Laraway Road facility. County staff constructed adjustable, movable walls for SWAT and police department training that simulate different environments for practice scenarios.

“These walls can be adjusted and moved for the SWAT and the police department training as they would need to breach a home or go into an office complex,” Fern explained. “These can all be adjusted and changed. Again, we did it in-house.”

The presentation also highlighted a smaller repair at the Adult Detention Facility that saved the county about $8,000. County maintenance staff upgraded lighting at the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center, converting fixtures from 480 volts to 277 volts and installing LED technology, which will provide ongoing energy savings and qualify for utility rebates.

The facilities department is also implementing a life safety training program for county employees. Classes have begun for county departments, with eight employees at a time receiving training in CPR and the proper use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The classes are being held on Wednesdays at the facilities building.

Fern recognized Tyler, a county employee who was promoted to manager for the Health Campus a year and a half ago, for his outstanding work maintaining that facility. “Our facility ranks number one to number three in the county year after year, and a lot of that is related to Tyler and the quality of his bookkeeping,” Fern said, noting that the facility consistently passes annual Illinois Department of Public Health accreditation.

Committee Chair Sherry Freeman praised the cost-saving measures. “This is awesome,” Freeman said in response to information about the county’s efforts to consolidate leased space and complete more projects with county staff.

The committee also received an update on the former cafeteria space on the fifth floor of the county building, which has been converted to a vending area. A wall was installed to separate the kitchen area from the public space for security reasons, and new vending machines have been installed that offer fresh sandwiches and coffee.

Fern noted that response to the vending machines has been “very mixed,” but added that more people are using the space as a lunchroom for food they bring from home rather than purchasing from the previous cafeteria vendor, who reportedly sold only “six lunches” in his final 60 days of operation.