Oswego is moving forward with plans for an outdoor entertainment venue despite objections that, due to the pandemic, it is not the right time for the project.
Oswego Village Board members in a 4-2 vote recently approved a $72,000 architect and engineering contract with Itasca-based Williams Architects to design the venue.
Trustees, also in a 4-2 vote, passed a $49.8 million budget for fiscal year 2021 which includes $750,000 for the project. The outdoor stage is listed in a $52 million capital improvement plan that identifies projects for the next five years in the village.
Trustees Pam Parr and Luis Perez objected to the village including the outdoor entertainment venue in the budget and capital improvement plan, and proceeding with the design contract services for the project.
“This is my fifth year at the dais to put things into context. It is my first time I will be voting no on the budget,” Perez said. “It falls forwardly and directly on the band shell.”
Perez said he agrees with some residents he has spoken to that now is not the time to budget for a “non-essential” project.
The global coronavirus pandemic will likely have a far-reaching impact on the village and its budget, he said.
“I predict some structural pain for us as a local economy,” he said.
Oswego Village President Troy Parlier was optimistic in his last report to trustees and identified a series of “safety nets” to deal with any revenue shortage due to the pandemic.
“I feel we are in strong fiscal shape to weather this,” Parlier said at the time. “If we feel a need to cut additional programming, we can start on a list of identified non-essential items provided by department heads that total $870,000. If we still need to look further, we can look at delaying or removing items from the list of capital improvement projects.
“I feel we are in a good position to weather the storm and provide all services budgeted for our community,” he said.
The village’s revenue it receives from the state is up to three months in arrears, so the true impact of the pandemic on March and April tax revenue will not be known until July or August, village officials said.
The village was donated land off of Orchard Road to develop the entertainment venue. Officials accepted the land donation on the terms that the facility would be completed in three years.
Trustee Judy Sollinger raised the timing issue concerning the venue, although she did vote in favor of the engineering contract for the project.
“I agree the timing is not good but only because of the current circumstances,” Sollinger said. “It’s OK to have it in (the project list) as long as we are not spending foolishly or we are not spending if we don’t have it.”
Trustee Pam Parr said she had concerns about the final cost of the project.
“You are asking me to vote on something but we don’t have costs,” Parr said.
A staff report identified a budget of $750,000 is sufficient for the project, as did an architect’s preliminary design report, Trustee James Marter said.
“I feel we have had this discussion every two weeks for the last three to four months,” Marter said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
