Plants proved their worth in winter, so Gurnee will continue beautification plan

A day after hundreds of people attended the first running of the village's resurrected farmers market on the east side of Gurnee, the village board voted to continue their beautification efforts in the area.

The village will spend $63,535 to add more flowers and plants along the East Grand Avenue business corridor.

Mayor Kristina Kovarik said it was nice to see the plants they installed last year looking so nice when she visited the East Grand Farmers and Artisans Market on Sunday.

"It's amazing how something so simple can make such a huge difference, it's really nice to see," Kovarik said after the meeting.

The plan passed Monday will continue those efforts and even use the same types of plants.

"We have the right species, a hardy species in there," Village Administrator Pat Muetz said, referring to the flora they planted last year which survived winter weather and road salt. "They held up really well."

Muetz said the work the amount of planting they did last year will be around the same as they plan to accomplish this year. Under the plan the village will install the plants on private land and provide the initial maintenance. After two years, the maintenance is transferred to the business owners.

Trustee Karen Thorstenson has been involved with the village's efforts to help East Grand businesses through her role on the economic development committee since 2011. Locating the new farmers market on East Grand was one part of that and the beautification projects is another.

Thorstenson said Monday night that the business owners really appreciate what the village has done.

"They notice how much prettier, I guess you could say, this beautification effort is," Thorstenson said.

With its mix of empty storefronts, thrift shops, nonstandard sign heights and overhead power lines, East Grand Avenue has been a contrast to the more thriving sections of Gurnee west of the Tri-State Tollway.

Kovarik said Monday night after the meeting that the beautification effort is something they can do to help the older areas of town compete with the newer areas.

"Shopping centers do all their own landscaping and stuff," Kovarik said. "So it is a nice contribution, something the village could do on the east side."