Keith Owens: 2025 candidate for Gurnee village board

Bio

Office Sought: Gurnee village board (Vote for 3)

City: Gurnee

Age: 72

Occupation: Retired

Previous offices held: HOA Presidents (2)

What is the most serious issue your community will face in the coming years and how should the village board respond to it?

Gurnee is the only one of 21 villages surveyed in Lake County that doesn’t allow public comment at the beginning of public meetings, or during agenda items being considered. Public comment is only allowed at the end of meetings.

Gurnee trumpets “engagement” and “transparency,” but to achieve this they need to allow public comment at the beginning of public meetings, if not also during discussion/votes by the board. They also should consider an ordinance requiring any “New Business” agenda items — such as zoning changes, special use permits, and new additions/deletions to village ordinances — to have a “first reading” and trustee discussion at a preliminary meeting before action can be taken at a subsequent meeting.

And to have a real “conversation” with residents, the village should hold quarterly town hall meetings to share “State of the Village” information and to provide residents, staff and elected officials the opportunity to have more open and productive dialogue.

How would you describe the state of your community's finances? What should be the top priorities for spending during the next few years? Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed?

Gurnee’s finances are in very good shape. It has a AAA bond rating and the only debt is a small, low-interest loan (that is being paid down at an accelerated rate) for the construction of a water tower.

Gurnee is one of only a handful of municipalities in Illinois with no village/city property tax and no utilities taxes. Revenues come from sales, lodging, food & beverage and entertainment taxes associated with Gurnee Mills Mall, Great American and surrounding hotels. The only potential dark cloud on the horizon might be financing the replacement of a large portion of the village’s water and sewer infrastructure (20-40 years out) that came on line due to rapid residential and business growth in the 1980s and 1990s.

What do you see as the most important infrastructure project the community must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what project(s) can be put on the back burner?

Other than the longer-term infrastructure project referred to in the prior answer, the biggest need is economic revitalization in the East Grand Avenue Economic Corridor. This is the oldest part of the village and for a variety of reasons — including extended roadway construction projects and rapid growth in and around Gurnee Mills on the west side of town — this part of the village’s original business district has fallen on somewhat hard times. Over the past 15 years, the village’s long-range planning documents have called for revitalization of this area, but little has been done to put these plans/aspirations into action.

Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach an agreement and manage local government? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board.

My experience is in the for-profit business world, where my focus was on internal and external communications. I have been president of two HOAs during their formation, when building a consensus and a sense of community was paramount. I am quick to learn the details of any situation and the needs of both the group and individuals.

I take responsibility both for my actions and for the promises made to members of the groups I serve. Gurnee is very “pro-business,” but often this is achieved without fully considering the needs of residents. I believe I will facilitate more open and two-way communications among all village stakeholders so as to put village staff, the people who really get things done, in the best possible positions to succeed.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

There are four people running for three trustee positions. The other three are currently serving as trustees. While their contributions to the village in these and other roles have been important and much appreciated, there is a growing sense among residents that “business as usual” by the board is being achieved at the expense of meaningful public engagement.

The lack of public comment time at the beginning of public meetings as well as during discussion of agenda items is, in my opinion, symptomatic of a “we know what is best for you” attitude that has been the tone in Gurnee village government for some time.

Other than a decidedly pro business-development stance, I don’t think there is any “hidden agenda” on the part of village’s elected officials. However, when there is a lack of meaningful, open communication during public meetings, it is easy to understand how residents feel like there may be a hidden agenda.

What’s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

I have “banged the drum” about the need for more communication/public comment at meetings for a while. But since I have received zero feedback from anyone at the village to date, I guess you could say no one is truly talking about this.

My “one good idea,” which 20 other villages/towns in the area already do, is to have public comment time on the agenda at the beginning of all public meetings. This preliminary time could be limited to non-agenda items, assuming public comment also would be allowed during the discussion of other agenda items.

Otherwise, preliminary public comment time could be on any topic that is the responsibility of village government. And to help ensure residents have more than a few days’ notice on any significant changes being proposed to village ordinances, licensing and/or business development, I would require “New business” items to have a “first reading” at a meeting before they can have final discussions and a vote at a subsequent meeting.