Lakewood Village President Erin Smith writes her summer letter to residents:
From the President
Dear Neighbors,
With the advent of summer, there are numerous opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. I encourage you to take advantage of our lakes, walking/bicycle paths, and golf courses. In addition, support our local businesses by patronizing our garden centers — Kolze’s and The Gardens for all of your outdoor beautification needs. Finally, please be sure to join us on June 5 as we “Celebrate Lakewood!” Information about this year’s event can be found on page 4.
East Sewer Project
First and foremost, thank you to the residents of the East Side for your understanding and patience to date! The unusually heavy rains have made a complex project even more challenging, but all parties are working together to complete the project in a timely manner and with as little disruption as possible.
With the status of the project changing daily, it is difficult to provide you with an accurate update at the time of printing. Therefore, I will refer you to the front page of the Village’s website (under News) for the most up-to-date information on the project.
Turnberry Country Club
In my spring article, I provided information about a concept for Turnberry Country Club and said that the Village would strive to hold a town hall meeting with the potential developer.
Since that time, the developer has clarified that he will not pursue the purchase of Turnberry Country Club. Therefore, there is no need for a town hall meeting at this time, but we will keep our residents apprised of any changes.
In the meantime, Turnberry Country Club is open for business, whether it is golf, dining for lunch or dinner, or an event. If you don’t already do so, please consider supporting this important community asset!
Budget
May 1 is the start of the new fiscal year for the Village of Lakewood. The budget was approved unanimously on April 12 and is available for review on our website (as well as previous audits). In addition to the East Sewer Project, the budget includes a number of other capital items, including:
- Repaving the 400 block of Meridian Street in partnership with the City of Crystal Lake.
- Repaving Chicago Avenue in partnership with Grafton Township.
- Engineering for Lake Avenue (from the “triangle” to our eastern corporate boundaries), Wiltshire, Warwick, Cumberland, Oxford, Essex, and Pheasant. Repaving will be completed in the summer of 2017.
- Completion of Phase II engineering for the extension of utilities to IL Route 47.
- Burning our wetlands.
- Spraying for gypsy moth.
- Cleaning, restoring, and painting the water tower on Haligus Road.· Continued renovations to the sand bunkers at RedTail Golf Course.
- Sale of Surplus Property
As noted in the previous newsletter, the Village of Lakewood has a number of vacant parcels for sale along RedTail Drive. Zoned for single family homes, prices range from $7,840 to $30,887.
There has been strong interest in the properties from a number of individuals, so if you are interested, I encourage you to contact Village Hall to extend an offer. Additional information is also available on our website.
Please do not hesitate to contact me or any of our officials with questions regarding the projects highlighted in the newsletter or that you might read about elsewhere.
Sincerely,
Erin, Village President