Cole County officials' discussion of a long-range facilities plan is proverbial music to our ears.
The county's district commissioners, Jeff Hoelscher and Kris Scheperle, were among county officials involved in discussions Wednesday to revive an effort started by Hoelscher about a year ago to develop a master plan for county office space.
We've been promoting a master plan for decades, particularly whenever a newly elected group of county commissioners revives the haphazard, and expensive, game of musical offices.
The county maintains four facilities in or adjoining a city block downtown. They include: the courthouse, annex, sheriff's department and jail, and Carnegie Library building. The county also operates a health department on Industrial Drive and a number of public works facilities.
Administrative offices are not consolidated; they are spread among the courthouse, annex and Carnegie building.
County officials generally agree they would like to vacate the Carnegie building's remaining offices - assessor and public defender - and rid the county of maintaining the older building in need of renovation.
And, as Collector Larry Vincent observed at Wednesday's meeting, the public would benefit by pairing the collector's and assessor's offices in the same building. We would up the ante and recommend a master plan designed to located the assessor in space now occupied by the recorder, in the main floor of the annex across from the collector.
Both location and money are concerns voiced both by Hoelscher, who represents the county's Eastern District, and Scheperle, who represents the Western District.
"We've got a lot of maintenance issue we're going to be face with and window repairs to the county courthouse alone look to cost a lot," Hoelscher said.
All the more reason to craft a master plan, which accounts for maintenance of existing facilities. As we have said about maintaining our state Capitol, repairs and renovations of our historic courthouse also must be prioritized.
Scheperle reiterated his stance that the county need not confine itself to the downtown complex. Such thinking outside the box is worthy of discussion as part of a comprehensive plan.
The district commissioners soon will be joined by Presiding Commissioner-elect Sam Bushman, as well as other newly elected county officials.
We encourage them to target 2015 as the year the Cole County develops a common-sense, comprehensive facilities plan that will save future tax dollars and promote public convenience.