Endorsements: Price, Yuscka and Johnson for West Dundee Village Board

This endorsement is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

The specter of revitalization issues at the Spring Hill Mall property looms large in the West Dundee Village Board race.

Once a bustling retail center, the mall now sits at about 40% occupancy, according to West Dundee officials. Since 2016, the center has largely stagnated, key anchors have closed and the village has seen its property value drop from a base value of $7.6 million in 2016 to $2.15 million in 2021.

Incumbent Tom Price, a civil engineer who has served on the village board since 2007, as well as incumbent Andrew Yuscka, who is retired, were instrumental in developing a TIF district this year that would re-imagine the property as a mixed-use development that includes retail and business space.

Besides redeveloping the mall property, Price's other goals include keeping the village's financial footing solid and improving infrastructure. Price is a strong incumbent who knows what it takes to keep West Dundee humming.

Yuscka, a six-term village trustee, obviously brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the job, having served on the board for over 20 years.

Besides focusing on Spring Hill Mall's revamp, Yuscka's other goals include providing first rate municipal services to the community. He's especially proud of the village's free refuse collection and curbside fall leaf collection. Yuscka has been an stalwart steward for West Dundee, and is a natural choice for reelection.

While newcomer Mark Johnson, director of pricing at Epsilon Data, has never held public office, his experience on three nonprofit boards (including as comptroller of one) would serve him well on the school board, as he is familiar with making policies in a group setting.

Johnson speaks eloquently about finding attractive alternatives that fit with the overall strategic goals of the village while providing West Dundee the opportunity to earn tax revenue — especially where the redevelopment of Spring Hill Mall is concerned. He's enthusiastic and wants to help the community.

We like Johnson's forward-thinking approach and think he's a worthy candidate to join the board.

Challengers Pam Carr Hagerman, who works in marketing, Katherine Grimaldi, who works in human resources for Verizon and David Haas, who owns his own business all express ideas worthy of consideration. All are focused on ways to redevelop the Spring Hill property, but they are short on details.

Johnson, Price and Yuscka are endorsed.