Hanover Park gets $500,000 state grant for sports complex
Hanover Park will receive a $500,000 state grant to make improvements at a youth sports complex on Barrington Road that has earned a reputation as an eyesore, village officials announced recently.
The funding from the state's Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will help make the aging complex - athletic fields blighted by overgrown weeds and deteriorating dugouts - into a destination for families and out-of-town visitors, village officials say.
"This is seed money to begin a refresh to that complete area," Mayor Rodney Craig said.
Meanwhile, Craig and the leaders of the Hanover Park Little League, which uses the village-leased site, are trying to repair communication issues, they say. Both sides have agreed to meet quarterly about the future of the complex, starting Thursday, Nov. 6.
"I'm hoping that we can have a constructive dialogue and reach agreement on what's the best way to use the money to serve the youth of Hanover Park," said Mike Byrne, the league's treasurer.
Both Craig and Byrne say there's no simple explanation as to what started the disconnect. But Byrne said the league's volunteer board has seen high turnover in recent years.
"I think there never was a mechanism for communication," Byrne said. "But until there was money involved, there wasn't as much at stake in making sure we're clear in what we're doing with it."
The grant announcement comes after the village budgeted for new fencing and maintenance of a parking lot and driveway in the proposed 2015 villagewide spending plan.
Officials also plan to set aside $50,000 to install a sign board. Little League leaders balked at the number, saying there are more pressing needs at the complex, but village officials say the project won't come close to costing that much.
The grant also will complement revenue from video gambling earmarked for youth programming and a makeover at the site, leased by the village from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Hanover Park's cut from five establishments reached $50,642 from January 2012 to this August, according to the Illinois Gaming Board. The village also receives an annual tax per machine.
The village, league and the Hanover Park Hurricanes, a youth football and cheerleading club that also uses the fields, will now do some "major planning," Craig said.
Although there's no clear strategy yet, Craig says officials have tossed around changing the layout of the fields to improve the flow of traffic on gravel roads. He's also floating the addition of a soccer field close to Hanover Highlands Elementary School.
"Hopefully, incrementally, we can move in the right direction to make that a viable facility for the youth of Hanover Park," he said.