Cook County board moves forward with infrastructure and building projects

Kirsten Wisniewski | May 1, 2025

In a nearly five-hour meeting, the Cook County Board of Commissioners took steps on April 22 to further several building projects slated for work starting this year. They also made an indication of an intention to acquire land from a Cook County property owner for potential public use.

Transfer station project

The board meeting included a public hearing before the county could issue bonds to help fund the transfer station project, which includes construction of a central facility in Grand Marais, as well as creating a satellite station in Hovland, and improving the existing Tofte transfer station. The project is in partnership with North Shore Waste, who will operate the waste management in the county-owned facility. Former Interim County Administrator Rowan Watkins previously told WTIP that issuing the bonds was simply the next step in closing the funding gap for the project.

While the county was statutorily obligated to hold a public hearing, no members of the public appeared to speak or submitted comments in writing. Current Interim Administrator Rena Rogers told WTIP after the April 22 meeting that the transfer station has seen a lot of community support.

She said, “I would say in all the projects I’ve done in my life, I have never, ever been on a project where it seems to be so universally agreed to that this is something we need to do, that it’s it’s the right thing to do.”

Next steps for the transfer station

With the bonds issued, the board was able to move forward on several other transfer station-related agenda items, including signing a lease with North Shore Waste. The county will own the building, but North Shore Waste owns the property on which it will be located. They agreed to a 120 year lease, beyond the expected life of the building. Cook County will pay for all 120 years in advance at a rate of $1 per year.

The board also approved bids for several of the elements of the construction. Rogers said the bids for the concrete, the concrete infrastructure, groundwork, and steel, plus labor for most of those materials, comprise about 60% of the cost of the building. The collective bids came in about $100,000 under the original estimate. The labor for steel work is being put out for another round of bids, in the hopes of a more competitive price.

Rogers said that with all of these steps completed, the county plans to begin construction this summer. She anticipates that the Hovland satellite will be completed and ready for operation before the end of the summer, since the construction is relatively minimal. The envelope of the main facility should be completed before winter, because pre-cast concrete buildings take minimal time to construct. She said residents may see the space open and operational early next year. The Tofte transfer station is currently functional, so Rogers said those improvements are planned for later in the project.

Law Enforcement Center

Along with bonds for the transfer station, the board also voted to issue bonds that would help cover the cost of renovations to the Law Enforcement Center (LEC). Improving the LEC is part of the county’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). On May 22 the county will hold an open house for the public to speak with both BKV Group, the project’s architects, and representatives from the county. Rogers said the plan is for the final design to come before the board on May 27 for approval.

If it is approved, this project is also planned for this summer. Rogers said the addition will, again, be made from cast concrete, allowing for a short construction timeline. Once the addition is built, more work on the existing building and interior spaces can continue into the colder months.

Budgeting

Though spring is just beginning in Cook County, leadership is already looking to next year’s budget. Rogers said this is a typical timeline for the county. Department heads are asked at this point in the year to begin evaluating their department’s needs early in the year to allow the board time for several rounds of budget talks before the year is out.

This year, according to Rogers, department heads are being asked to be especially careful in their budget drafting. With the unknown impact of federal and state funding changes, she said it is important to remain flexible.

“I’ve kind of started describing it a little bit like it’s a giant Jenga game,” Rogers said. “You know, generally speaking, you build it every year with all the blocks, and you just assume the blocks are going to be there, and you just proceed. But this year, it feels like you could do that, but you never know when somebody’s going to pull one of those blocks out and what that’s going to do to the whole thing.”

Rogers added that she sees maintaining services as the priority, and ensuring that the county is able to continue to provide those services for the people who depend on them.

The Scheef property

While no binding agreements were made, the board also indicated at the April 22 meeting and intention to acquire an 80-acre parcel on the Sawtooth Bluff. This would mark the end of a decades-long conversation with property owner John Scheef.

The property is adjacent to the proposed Sawtooth Bluff park, and the potential development of the land has drawn opposition over the years from neighboring property owners.

Scheef has, on several occasions, approached the county either requesting an easement for the land-locked property, or looking to explore the option for the county to acquire it. At the April 22 meeting, the board was in agreement that they did not want to see the land developed, and made a deal with Scheef. He will not make any further changes to the property or sell it to anyone else, and the county will have until Dec. 1 to arrange the purchase of the land for Scheef’s asking price of $475,000.

The board will have to discuss how to pay for the land. “We don’t know how we’re going to purchase it,” Rogers said, “but the guarantee that we were given was that they will not sell it to someone else or do anything with it until Dec 1. That the board or the community has that period of time to figure out how they would come up with $475,000 and I will guarantee you that that’s not going to be a check the county writes.”

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke to Interim Administrator Rena Rogers following the April 22 meeting. Audio of the interview is below.