July 24, 2024 3:30p
(WGTD)---With the aura of the late county executive hanging over the meeting, the Racine County Board, in a series of unanimous votes Tuesday night night, gave final approval to a package of capital improvement projects that had been passionately pushed by Jonathan Delagrave.
Delagrave died unexpectedly last month, and ever since, has been lauded as a visionary who brought people together.
At the meeting, the board approved construction of a new sheriff’s department substation with a revamped 9-1-1 communications system. Also approved were improvements to the county-owned Reefpoint Marina and construction of a mental health and substance abuse treatment center.
There was one major modification to what Delagrave initially rolled out a couple of months ago. Instead of approving the county’s proposed share of the construction of an ice arena, the board—by another unanimous vote—approved $200,000 to simply hire an architect and engineers to further develop the plans with an eye toward getting a better handle on costs.
County Board Chairman Tom Kramer praised the non-profit that has raised $8.3 million in private funds for the project. But he too questioned whether the amount—coupled with the requested $5 million allocation in county funds—would be enough to cover the full cost. "Is $13 million enough money to build an ice arena?" Kramer asked. "This is how we find out. The last thing anybody wants to do is come back here and ask for 2, 3 or 5 million more. And that's why I want to take this step first," he said.
The architecture and engineering work is expected to be completed in time for the information to be considered when the county board begins to work on next year’s budget, which potentially could include the full $5 million.
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