Cash for concerts, roads in new $6.9 million Deer Park budget

A new summer concert series and road improvements are among the projects funded in Deer Park’s $6.9 million budget for the next fiscal year.

That spending estimate is down about 15% from the current year’s $8.1 million total, Village Administrator Beth McAndrews said. Expenses are decreasing, she said, because improvements at Town Center Park and Charles E. Brown Park are nearly complete.

No major parks upgrades are planned for the new fiscal year, which begins May 1.

Playground equipment, pickleball courts and other amenities were added at Town Center Park, 21880 W. Field Parkway.

“The updated design will make this space a true community destination — enhancing accessibility, improving pedestrian circulation, and celebrating the park’s natural beauty,” McAndrews said in an email.

Most of the $1.4 million Town Center Park project was funded in the current fiscal year’s budget, and construction is expected to be substantially completed by April 30. But the new spending plan includes $210,000 in case there are delays from weather or unforeseen events, McAndrews said.

Coinciding with that park renovation will be the launch of a summer concert series there that’ll cost the village an estimated $50,000. Shows are planned for May 2, June 24, July 29 and Aug. 26.

The improvements at Charles E. Brown Park, 23125 Long Grove Road, include reconstructed tennis courts and new fences at the pickleball courts.

The budget also includes $685,000 for road construction and engineering work, and $402,500 for flood prevention projects and engineering, McAndrews said.

Revenues from taxes, fees and other sources are expected to decrease slightly in the next fiscal year, to about $6.9 million from $7 million.

McAndrews attributed the decrease to the absence of a $600,000 state grant that helped pay for the Town Center Park renovation.

The village board unanimously approved the new budget Thursday night.