Antioch forms long-range plan

In a perfect world, the village of Antioch would build a new aquatic center, village hall and public works facility in the next five years.

Though they acknowledge finances might be an obstacle, village leaders say they're glad to at least have a list of priority projects.

The "Capital Improvement Plan" was presented to the board by Jim Keim, the village's director of physical services, at a Tuesday meeting. It's the first time the village has created a formal and long-range plan for capital improvements.

The plan details both big and small initiatives the town hopes to complete in the next five years. Projects ranging from cleaning up Sequoit Creek to building a new village hall and aquatic center are included.

Other ideas are a new public works facility, connecting to Lake Michigan water and a new hose tower for the Antioch Fire Department, among others.

Keim said the CIP is a planning tool that will add a level of efficiency in carrying out projects.

"Without a detailed long-range plan, you run into situations where certain projects conflict with others. Those conflicts can now be avoided," he said. "When you look at things in the long term you might find that two separate projects would be better executed at the same time streamlining the process."

Trustee Bob Caulfield said he was very pleased with Keim's presentation but had concerns about how all these ideas will be financed.

"I have to commend the staff on how well the plan was put together. I am very impressed," Caulfield said. "But under the current financial pressures we are under, it's hard to agree with everything with so many unknowns."

Keim admitted that some of the ideas may never come to fruition but said it's important to include as much as possible so budgets can be adjusted in advance.

"We wanted to get everything on the radar," Keim said. "This is a guide. At any point the board can change or adjust plans as they see fit. It is forward thinking."

A number of months ago, the board decided it was time to be more proactive than reactive in how it plans and executes major projects and improvements.

Trustees asked Village Manager Jill Velan to work with the engineering, finance and other departments to create a detailed and comprehensive list of improvements including their estimated costs.

Formal adoption of the CIP will be taken up a future board meeting, Keim said.