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KANKAKEE — As Kankakee County began acquiring several pieces of equipment purchased to help maintain the Kankakee River, County Engineer Greg Heiden was running out of storage space.
“It was panic time for me, because winter is coming, snow’s falling, and we needed to keep this stuff [inside], a brand new baby,” said Heiden at this past week’s Highways and Waterways Committee meeting. “We don’t want to have it sitting out in elements.”
County Board Chairman Matthew Alexander-Hildebrand and County Sheriff Mike Downey got together with an agreement to store the equipment at one of the garages at Jerome Combs Detention Center.
“They have an unused portion of the jail undercover and secured with a garage door,” Heiden said. “And I’m happy to say that there’s no snow on our equipment. … I just want to thank Matt and Mike for making this happen, because I was sweating, and I usually reserve that for the summer time.”
The equipment is being purchased through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources using a $7 million grant secured by State Sen. Patrick Joyce, D-Essex, in 2022 for Illinois capital projects. The money can only be used for bondable items.
Right now, the county has acquired an aerial crane, an amphibious excavator, a hydro seeder and a low boy trailer for maintaining the Kankakee River. It’s waiting on a semi tractor and full tree chipper, and those should arrive in the next month or so. Barge dredge equipment is also a possibility.
“We did put a list together,” said Ben Wilson, the county’s transportation and development division manager. “We’re working off that list, but we want to make sure we’re buying the exact right pieces of equipment and not running out of money to then not be able to afford the building at the end of this.”
Initially, part of the $7 million included a building to house the equipment, and an estimate to build that was $400,000, but that could likely increase with inflation.
“Ultimately, I think the next step for us would be find a location, design and build a building, see how much money is left after that, and then buy the last few pieces of equipment,” Wilson said.
Board member John Fetherling said it was great the county was able to find the space for now.
“I don’t know how long we’ll be able to use it, but it’s a it’s a really important thing that we’re gonna do that,” he said. “Thanks for working it out.”
https://daily-journal.com/news/local/new-river-equimpment-finds-a-home/article_f1dbddf2-d518-11ef-b0fa-af93e97f5109.html