Mayors in some south and southwest suburbs say as their communities enter 2023, they’re encountering many of the same challenges they faced in 2022: looking for ways to repair crumbling infrastructure and supply chain issues that have meant long delays in getting new municipal vehicles.
They’re also optimistic about commercial development opportunities.
The Daily Southtown reached out to several mayors to ask what they consider the biggest challenges their communities face this year, and how they plan to address them.
Blue Island
Mayor Fred Bilotto said he wants to move the city to having advanced life support ambulances from the existing basic life support vehicles, and said the city is negotiating with firefighters to get that accomplished.
Addressing city streets is also a priority, and Bilotto said revenue sources, such as from motor fuel tax, are not sufficient to keep up with repairing and resurfacing. According to a Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning study, more than half the city’s streets are considered to be in inferior or poor condition, he said.
Bilotto said supply chain issues have also been a problem.
“I ordered vehicles over a year ago that I still have no timeline on receiving,” he said.
He said the city ordered four large snowplows, replacing older equipment, and the city, in the meantime, bought a used plow from Bremen Township.
Flossmoor
Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson said two of the biggest challenges involve flooding.
In the central business district, the village will begin engineering work on a project to reduce flooding with work expected to get underway in spring 2024, she said.
Flossmoor voters approved a $10 million bond issue in 2020 to address flooding and fix streets, including a project on Flossmoor Road at the viaduct under the Canadian National Railway and Metra tracks.
Nelson said she also wants to establish a tax increment financing district in the downtown area to help spark development. She said the village could finalize the TIF, which could be used to offer incentives to developers, during the first quarter.
A goal, she said, is “to attract a developer who is interested in building a project that will provide additional residential and commerce options in the village.”
Lynwood
Lynwood Mayor Jada Curry said economic development remains a priority, with plans for an equestrian center in the works.
The Family Christian Center in Munster, Indiana, which has long owned property at the northwest corner of Burnham Avenue and Glenwood Dyer Road, has begun work on the facility near Lynwood’s Village Hall and fire station.
The equestrian center will offer a variety of horse-related activities, including riding lessons and camps. Programs that teach participants about horses and agriculture are also planned, according to the church.
Lynwood also hopes to “attract a grocery store, restaurants and entertainment venues,” Curry said, but that being on the Illinois-Indiana border, the tax differential presents a challenge to her village.
“We plan to present a compelling argument for why Lynwood is an ideal place for retail, restaurant and entertainment chains,” the mayor said.
Mokena
Mokena Mayor Frank Fleischer said the village is doings well going into 2023, but large projects including a new police station and waste treatment center have run into problems because of supply chain issues that have plagued the nation’s economy.
“Each one of our projects, we’ve run into (cost) overruns or we can’t get the material,” he said. “It’s touching every aspect of the business.”
A police station is to be completed in September, but while the building might be ready, it’s not certain an transformer needed to provide electricity will be delivered in time, Fleischer said.
He said the village is also waiting on delivery of two new police squad cars as well as delivery of materials for a new sewage treatment plant.
“That is what’s scaring us,” Fleischer said. “This is a big problem because it’s supply chain plus inflation.”
New Lenox
New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann said his village is moving ahead with plans for accommodating future population growth, including building a sewage waste treatment plant to replace three existing plants.
The cost is estimated at more than $100 million, and the village has been able to set aside more than $30 million for the project, which is in the engineering stage but planned for a site southwest of Laraway and Gougar roads, Baldermann said.
New Lenox has a population of a little over 30,000 now, but. considering developable land available, projections are the population could reach 90,000, he said.
Building the sewage treatment plan will accommodate for that growth, he said.
Oak Forest
Oak Forest Mayor Hank Kuspa said inflation and supply chain issues are among challenges, along with aging infrastructure.
“We have water mains almost 80 years old in Oak Forest,” Kuspa said. “The cost of that repair is astronomical.”
“We are all living with it, dealing with it,” Kuspa said of he and fellow mayors.
He said it has been almost two years waiting on needed vehicles, such as a large truck equipped with a snowplow, as well as dump trucks. Kuspa said his city bought a used front-end loader “just to tide us over” until a replacement vehicle arrives.
Oak Lawn
Oak Lawn Village President Terry Vorderer said his village is on a strong footing for 2023, with the budget for this year boosting pension obligations, which have long been a concern.
“We are maintaining our level of police services with a full complement of officers and adding a K-9 unit to our force,” he said.
Vorderer said Oak Lawn is also working to attract retail development along the village’s main commercial corridors, including Paisans Pizzeria.
Paisans has seven other Chicago-area locations and will open at the northwest corner of 111th Street and Cicero Avenue in the Stony Creek Promenade. The retail center’s tenants include Mariano’s Fresh Market and Cooper’s Hawk restaurant.
Palos Heights
Palos Heights Mayor Bob Straz said one of his city’s biggest challenges is an aging infrastructure, primarily its water system which is more than 50 years old.
“We are developing a capital improvement plan to replace the aging mechanicals,” he said. “The intention is to do this before we have an emergency situation.”
Straz said a big issue is how to pay for the project, and he asks if there will be state or federal money available or if the city will have to issue bonds.
“This is where the economy and interest rates really come into play,” he said.
mnolan@tribpub.com
