Tazewell County board members discussed adopting a master facilities plan to track building systems and carry out a capital improvement program, and raised the possibility of selling an underused county annex to free funding for higher-priority projects.

The discussion centered on a software-backed master facilities plan that would inventory components down to air handlers and establish a maintenance schedule tied to budgeting. Supporters said better maintenance planning could prevent recurring emergency repairs and lower long-term costs.

Board member (Speaker 4) said the software would “track all of our different buildings and the different components, the air handlers down to the different components, replace them,” adding that the approach would help the county “get on that good schedule from both [a] budgeting standpoint and also doing the work.”

Speakers noted the county created a capital improvement plan (CIP) fund in recent years and said the master plan should guide how CIP dollars are spent. “We’ve created the CIP fund two years ago,” one speaker said, urging continued progress on projects already budgeted. Several board members linked past emergency repairs to deferred maintenance and said proactive tracking could reduce emergency resolutions.

Participants also discussed an older county building the board previously purchased but now considers ineffective for housing departments. One board member described it as “limping around and costing us money,” and said the county should “dump it or sell it if we can,” to free resources for needed work.

Board members emphasized alignment between the board and department heads, saying projects will succeed only if elected officials and staff agree on priorities. No formal motion or vote on selling the annex or approving a specific master plan was taken during the recorded discussion.

Board members said next steps include developing the software-backed inventory and carrying out projects through the CIP fund, and they urged support for administration when it brings specific proposals for implementation.