Sugar Grove hopefuls talk unity

A decade of explosive growth brought lots of subdivisions to Sugar Grove, with names like Black Walnut Trails, Chelsea Meadows and Windsor Pointe.

And a question at a recent election forum indicated people may feel a closer affiliation with their subdivision than the village as a whole.

The four people running for three spots on the village board were asked what could be done to fix that.

“I think there is a lot of truth to that,” said Mark Buschbacher. He suggested that having more community events would get people interacting with others from different subdivisions. He also believes trustees need to work on it personally _ to “go out there and promote,” he said, in individual conversations.

David Paluch likened the situation to that of Chicago, where people strongly identify with their neighborhood. Sugar Grove also has some physical barriers to unity, he pointed out: it’s bisected by routes 30 and 47 and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.

He thinks getting people to volunteer on projects, such as he did on the corn boil, is necessary. “I would love to see more volunteerism. That would be a way to bring people together,” he said. “This is a fantastic community and there is no reason why we shouldn’t have a more cohesive unit of 9,000 people.”

Trustee Mari Johnson, who has served on the board since 1995, echoed Paluch. “It is very difficult. The town is very segmented with the physicality of everything.”

She said she thinks there is more unity since Kaneland John Shields Elementary School was built several years ago. “That was a huge gathering point for so many people,” Johnson said.

She also called for more social events, lamenting the loss of the firefighters’ pancake supper, a Boy Scouts spaghetti dinner, a fashion show and salad luncheon at a local church and the like.

“I think if we could have some more of those small-town-feeling events going on,” it would help, she said. Or maybe, she suggested, a “Beautify Sugar Grove Day,” with people gathering in one area to pick weeds and plant flowers. “I still think that would be a great thing to try.”

Trustee Kevin Geary noted the village board wants to put a bicycle path through town, but that its cost is a concern. The state is also considering putting in a sidewalk along Route 47 near the Mallard Point subdivision.

He suggested that the village could create a veterans memorial park on land owned by the village in the old downtown area, with ceremonies attracting people from all subdivisions.