George Sakas: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: AntiochWebsite: http://www.facebook.com/antioch.sakasOffice sought: Antioch Village boardAge: 45Family: Married with two childrenOccupation: City PlannerEducation: Master of Urban Regional Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1991. Bachelor of Science in Physical Geography, Illinois State University 1987Civic involvement: American Institute of Certified Planners. Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association, APA/AICP National Testing Standards Setting Committee member, Illinois Assoc. of Floodplain Stormwater Managers, Illinois Tax Increment Finance Association, Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church Libertyville.Elected offices held: Antioch Village Trustee, 2009-2011Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Jobs and business - they go hand-in-hand. The majority of American jobs are in small businesses. Antioch has the benefit of many vibrant small businesses, but we can attract large corporations to locate here. We must be business and job-friendly. Antioch Industrial Park improvement. We need to improve the industrial park east of downtown. Many properties are abandoned and deteriorating. The roads and infrastructure are sub-par. We must clean it up and attract new businesses. It might not accommodate huge multi-national corporations, but there are many viable spots for small businesses to thrive.Antioch Corporate Center. One of this administration#146;s biggest successes is attracting Parker Hannifin to this new industrial park. Parker Hannifin is an international company on the cutting-edge of industrial hydraulics employing engineers and researchers. The Corporate Center can accommodate many more high-tech international businesses providing high paying jobs. I hope that our representatives in Springfield and Waukegan will help us in this effort.Key Issue 2 Downtown. Someone once told me, #147;Antioch looks like America#148;. Our downtown is the picture post card of small-town USA. We have businesses, shops, offices, restaurants and entertainment venues. We also have year-round events catering to every taste. Preservation and improvement of the downtown have consistently been among the very top priorities for the Village#146;s administration. We have invested in numerous plans and studies. Now we must implement. I#146;m an advocate of a big plan completed with small steps. Main Street reconstruction will be complete in 2011. We should do a project a year in downtown. Toft Avenue is a short but very important street. We can add parking, trees, benches and landscaping while maintaining traffic flow. With annual projects from a long-range plan, we can renovate downtown and maintain it for generations to come. We recently purchased some deteriorating properties at bargain-basement prices. When the economy improves, these properties will give the village maximum flexibility in redevelopment scenarios. We#146;re looking at others. We#146;ve implemented long-term professional marketing of Antioch with the successful #147;Authentic Antioch#148; campaign. We need to attract more shoppers to downtown by pushing Metra to provide North Central weekend rail service.The special events, fairs, holidays, and parades in our downtown are the life-blood of our community. When our budget was very tight, this administration found innovative ways to keep and even expand our community events. Antioch#146;s calendar is filled with fun for every walk of life and it centers on our downtown.Key Issue 3 Long-term capital planning. It#146;s not exciting enough to make the headlines or blogs, but it#146;s very important. In previous times, the village lived hand-to-mouth #8211; paying for things in #145;crisis mode#146; with little foresight or planning. We#146;ve since instituted multi-year plans and reserve funds. For example, a particular public works truck costs $50K and will reasonably last 10 years. We should be socking away $5K per year in a replacement fund. In 10 years, we buy a new one with available funds, rather than scramble around trying to find the money to pay for it. Usually, public works had to just use the old one for 15 or 20 years, patching it together until it was literally unsafe and inoperable. We#146;re well on the way to professional long-term management of the taxpayer#146;s investment.The Village of Antioch recently completed a $15 million wastewater treatment plant project on-budget and on-time. We resurfaced more roads in 2010 than the previous five years combined. We purchased critical equipment and vehicles for public works, police and the fire department. This administration has put in place numerous reserve funds and plans for more. The list is long but crucial: police cars, fire trucks, backhoes, playground equipment, water valves, etc. With a long term plan and every day diligence Antioch can have quality public improvements into the future.Questions Answers Antioch has recently instituted a utility tax on electricity, gas and telephones. Do you support that tax, and why or why not?In 2009, Antioch's budget was running a deep deficit. Beyond cost-cutting and administrative staff cuts, we were forced to consider public safety cuts #8211; police, fire and public works. Residents I spoke to preferred spending a few dollars a month to compromising police and fire protection.Antioch was previously alone amongst the hundreds of municipalities in Illinois without a utility tax. It is simply a basic municipal revenue stream and we were not collecting it. This revenue has allowed us to build up a cash reserve and initiate capital improvement projects (road repairs, street lights, plow trucks etc.) We spent some on road construction this year and have committed to strict oversight of these funds.Should Antioch proceed with plans to build a new aquatic center in Williams Park? If so, how would you ensure the financial success of the center amid concerns about competition from similar facilities in neighboring towns?An appropriate 21st Century pool will cost $4.5 million. We have applied for a state grant of $2 million. If we receive that grant, the village will spend $2.5 million for a $4.5 million facility that will last 40-50 years. It#146;s a good investment, and we have a revenue source to cover that amount. If we don#146;t get the grant, we the residents will have to pay the entire cost. Presently, the Village does not have the cash on hand or a revenue source sufficient to pay for it. A community pool is a terrific amenity, but we cannot raise taxes or bankrupt the village to build a new facility.#147;Financial success#148; for public swimming pools or water parks means that the municipality has a way to pay for the construction and the facility generates enough revenue to fund everyday operations. A new water park properly managed will cover its expenses through passes, concessions, and party rentals. The construction cost, however, is always paid by some other source #8211; property taxes, sales tax, etc. (taxpayers). The planned aqua center is much larger than our current facility but is actually on the smaller end of public pools. Six Flags and RecPlex draw regional customers #8211; Pleasant Prairie#146;s year-round. Our pool#146;s market area would be more limited. There are currently no comparable outdoor pools with basic amenities in the immediate vicinity on either side of the border. Our draw would be the same as it is for downtown shoppers, July 4th parade, Taste of Summer, and all the other great events we have. A pool would be successful if and when built. The real issue is paying for the construction initially.I favor the pool being built in Williams Park because it is close to downtown. We must, however, preserve or replace the current facilities. The replacements could be even better than the existing.Are you in favor of spending the money needed to bring Lake Michigan water to Antioch? Why or why not?I personally prefer Lake Michigan water coming out of my faucet, as do many residents. But the cost estimates for it are huge #8211; hundreds of millions of dollars. Our water quality is good, but it might not last another 30 or 40 years. DuPage County had a similar situation, but allowed it to reach a crisis. It#146;s prudent to look into the future and act accordingly. This might not be a matter of #147;if#148; but #147;when#148;.Apparently Lake Michigan water will require a new regional governing body. Different scenarios have been proposed, but certainly there would be another level of government and another line item on our tax bills. I don#146;t support bigger government unless there is a very compelling reason and definite restrictions. So far, neither has been demonstrated.The Lake County working group has requested our funding without offering a detailed budget. This is unacceptable. The Village of Antioch does not write $50,000 checks based on a few vague sentences. The cost per month per household is still unknown. Even a few dollars a month adds up to real money per year. The only way to keep costs down is the same way we conduct village business every day: competitive bidding, only necessary spending, cost reduction, etc. Yet another reason any new governing body must have strict oversight.The bottom line: There are two ways to get Lake Michigan water #8211; a complicated legal maneuver allowing the Lake County Board to create a new government body, or a voter referendum. Antioch#146;s mayor and village board have consistently advocated putting it to a referendum. Voters should decide when they want Lake Michigan water and at what cost. With the Lake Villa parks and recreation department shutting down, should Antioch pursue those residents as potential customers? Why or why not?We strive to serve our broader community and region. The budget situation in Lake Villa is unfortunately common in Illinois today, but Lake Villa residents have always been welcome to participate in our programs, along with residents of all neighboring communities. As the Parks Recreation liaison, I know our parks board has done a great job of offering the best possible facilities and programs to the broadest possible audience. We#146;re all neighbors.What do you think the village must do to move forward on the development of the Antioch Market Place property?The Antioch Market Place development is a private business. When the economy turns around, there will be more retail demand. Potential retailers will want to build and the property owners will respond by making plans to build. Private property rights and free enterprise are the drivers, as they should be. The Village#146;s role as a government is to approve plans based on well-considered laws and guidelines while providing minimal financial help as appropriate. Any help would be limited to infrastructure needs #8211; #147;pipes in the ground#148; as I call it. Moving forward is really up to the US economy, the developer, the American consumer, and the businesses.