County construction projects move forward, board selects finalists for administrator role

Kirsten Wisniewski | May 29, 2025

Now that spring weather has arrived on the North Shore, Cook County’s construction season is officially underway. Along with all the private projects in progress in the area, several major public building projects have begun or are in the final planning stages.

Interim Cook County Administrator Rena Rogers gave WTIP an update on the county’s construction projects, including the courthouse basement renovation, the Law Enforcement Center Expansion, and the transfer station project.

Courthouse remodel

A renovation of the courthouse basement is well underway. The project is converting a break room and storage into additional office space, with two private offices and 6 cubicles planned. Rogers said the Human Resources department will be moving into the new office space, along with Public Health Supervisor Grace Grinager and her team from Public Health and Human Services.

Rogers said the work will be a major improvement for the space. She said, “They’re changing it into office space that’s healthy and quiet and makes some sense, not just sticking people down there with cobwebs and a bunch of ghosts.”

Law Enforcement Center

In addition to renovating the courthouse basement, the county is pursuing another expansion project for an existing building. The Law Enforcement Center (LEC) was identified in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) as a building with a variety of deferred maintenance projects, and significant space and function issues. On May 27 the board voted to put the project out for bids.

The project has been presented and discussed at several public meetings, and the board held an open house on May 22 to share plans and answer questions. The plans that were shown at that open house are available on the Cook County website for anyone who missed the event or who is looking to view the plans.

Once bids come in, Rogers anticipates construction to begin this summer, and for exterior work to be concluded by the fall. Additional interior remodeling will take place during the fall and winter. Rogers said the project should be complete by early in 2026.

Transfer Station project

As the CIP projects move forward, the county is also working on the construction of a new central transfer station in Grand Marais and a satellite station in Hovland. The entire transfer station project will also include making improvements to the existing Tofte transfer station. The county is constructing and will own the buildings, but the stations will be operated by North Shore Waste.

Rogers said work on the Hovland site began this week, since the county was waiting on road restrictions to lift for heavy trucks. That project will include light construction, and will operate similarly to the current transfer station in the City of Grand Marais.

Some site work for the new Grand Marais transfer station project will also begin soon, though Rogers said the county is still ironing out some details. Costs for some materials and features of the building are higher than originally estimated, so the county is working with Johnson Wilson, the construction managers for the project, and contractors to adjust the design. Rogers said unequivocally that the budget for the transfer stations would not change, so the design team is looking for ways to minimize cost.

Rogers gave examples like eliminating windows, which are expensive to cut into cast concrete, from a space where there will also be large doors that are open during operating hours. Other potential changes include removing metal ceiling panels that are designed to discourage birds from nesting from the design, because of the current high price of metal.

“So they’re looking at items like that,” Rogers said, “Changes that don’t impact the quality of the building, to see where things can come down. ”

Though the talks with contractors are ongoing, Rogers said she expects the county to have resolved those cost issues in the next week.

Hiring a new administrator

In the midst of the assorted construction projects, the Board of Commissioners is also still working to hire a permanent administrator. At the May 27 meeting, the board selected 5 candidates to invite to an in-person interview for the role. This round of recruitment brought in 25 applications. The county has contracted with DDA, an HR firm, to assist with the process, and from the pool of 25, DDA selected 10 applicants who best met the criteria set out by the board. Those candidates were asked to submit additional application material. Two of the candidates withdrew their applications, leaving eight for the commissioners to review.

The board opted to select their top five candidates. Those who accept the invitation will have in-person interviews with the board on June 16. Those interviews are open to the public and will be recorded. When the interviews have concluded, the video will also be made available to the public. Once the finalists have officially accepted the invitation to interview, the county will make a public announcement about who they are. Thus far they have only been referred to by number during board discussions.

Similarly to the round of interviews conducted in March, the board will consider input from the Management Advisory Team (MAT) and from the public. The board will hold a special meeting on June 17 to discuss the interviews and, they hope, select one of the candidates to offer the role.

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with Interim Administrator Rena Rogers. Audio of that interview is below.