By EDWARD HUSAR

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

The Adams County Health Department's new headquarters took another step toward becoming a reality Monday night when Adams County Board Chairman Mike McLaughlin put his signature on a $4,384,000 contract awarding the project to Jerry Maas Construction of Quincy.

McLaughlin's action came at the outset of Monday's County Board meeting and ended a years-long quest to secure a new facility for the Health Department, currently housed in cramped quarters on the east side of the Adams County Courthouse.

McLaughlin said construction of the new facility should begin "pretty quickly." The building is expected to be completed by the end of 2009 if everything goes smoothly.

The building, to be erected at Fourth and Vermont, will include four of the five alternate projects on which contractors were asked to submit bids -- a drive-up canopy, a movable wall, an emergency generator and a shower room. Fixed cubicles were left out of the project, according to Mike Carter, an architect with Klingner and Associates of Quincy, which provided architectural and engineering services for the project.

The county was able to add on the alternate projects because Maas Construction's base bid of $4,125,000 came in appreciably below the project's $4.5 million budget. Maas beat out three other contractors vying for the project -- Waterkotte Construction, Schlipman Construction and Bleigh Construction.

"They were all acceptable bids. They were all under budget. We're very happy," Carter said.

In other action, the board agreed to meet in special session at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 to take action on the county's proposed budget for fiscal year 2009, which begins Dec. 1.

Finance Committee Chairman John Heidbreder presented a revised spending plan Monday calling for expenditures of $13.7 million and revenues of $12.9 million.

The expense side is approximately $900,000 higher than the current budget. However, Heidbreder said around $600,000 of that can be attributed to a requirement that the county set aside some principal and interest payments associated with the bond issue financing the new Health Department building.

Heidbreder said the $600,000 will not be spent in the coming year, but the county is obligated to put it in the budget as a way to guarantee the bonds will be paid off in a timely manner.

The budget also includes a 3 percent wage increase for most county employees and a series of proposed capital expenses currently estimated at about $661,000. Heidbreder said some of the capital requests may be whittled by the time the board meets to approve the budget.

The board heard a presentation from Mike Rein and Barb Baker Chapin of Transitions of Western Illinois regarding a proposal to boost the county's tax levy for developmental disability services by approximately $300,000.

Rein said state funding cuts have put more pressure on the local community to come up with additional funding to provide basic services to county residents with developmental disabilities.

Chapin said people with developmental disabilities are "perhaps among the most vulnerable people in our society" and need lifelong care that the community must help provide.

In other action, the board:

* Awarded a $415,032 contract for property, casualty and workman's compensation insurance to the Counties of Illinois Risk Management Agency -- an insurance pool that serves various counties in Illinois.

* Appropriated $300,000 to repair an embankment slide on County Highway 14 leading to Siloam Springs State Park. The work is expected to be completed this week if weather conditions are suitable.

* Adopted a fireworks code spelling out rules for discharging fireworks at public displays in the county.

* Heard McLaughlin announce that a swearing-in ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. Dec. 1 at the Courthouse for all county officials elected on Nov. 4.

-- ehusar@whig.com/221-3378