La Salle County may have to move location of early voting due to building concerns

The La Salle County governmental complex on Etna Road in Ottawa has had issues with flooding and mold in the basement. Workers have shared concerns, and county officials have asked, “Is the lower level safe for jurors and voters?”

Some of those questions may be answered Friday. The County Property Committee will meet at 9 a.m. to resume a discussion about the government center, specifically the lower level, and whether to continue using it for jury service and early voting.

Last month, office heads reported that conditions have become unhealthy for county office workers. That, in turn, raised questions about whether the area is suitable for public access.

County Chairman Don Jensen, R-Deer Park, said at a July 26 meeting that he was sensitive to the workers’ concerns, but he wanted a formal determination on whether the basement is safe for use.

“Is it actually uninhabitable?” Jensen said. “Or are there measures we can take to make it inhabitable?”

Testing has since been done, and the results are pending.

The La Salle County governmental complex has a laundry list of problems, which prompted board member Joe Savitch, D-La Salle, to question whether it’s time to explore building a new courthouse complex.

“We keep patching this thing,” Savitch said, “and it keeps falling apart.”

The most immediate problem is poor drainage. At first blush, the complex roof looks flat, but it in fact has a subtle slope that funnels rain into drains and into pipes tucked behind the walls. Those aging pipes are failing and have made sections of the complex damp and humid.

Board member Doug Trager, D-Ottawa, asked whether the rooftop drainage system was a bad design.

“That would be like me having my gutters drain through my house instead of outside,” Trager said. “Isn’t that really the root cause?”

Maintenance chiefs said that’s how buildings in that era were constructed – Etna Road is not unique – but now the materials are failing and perhaps pushing the complex nearer to the end of its life expectancy.

The first day for early voting is Thursday, Sept. 26, at the La Salle County Clerk’s Office.