Development key issue in Fox Lake

Economic development in Fox Lake is one of the top issues confronting village trustee candidates running in the April 7 election.

Voters will select from two incumbents and six newcomers to fill three, 4-year trustee seats on the ballot.

Incumbent Noel Working and newcomer Harry Schippers are running as independents against trustee candidates on two slates. Incumbent Carol Ulasy is running with business owners Don Otway and Donnie Schmit on the United Fox Lake slate headed by Village President Cindy Irwin. Zoning board member Kevin Burt and planning board member Val Griseta team up with newcomer Jon Mumford on Fox Lake Focused, headed by Trustee Ed Bender, who is running for village president. Alberta Meyer is running for village president as an independent.

All trustee candidates placed a priority on attracting and keeping business in Daily Herald questionnaires and in editorial board interviews.

The Focused slate said updating the overall comprehensive plan is a top priority to help securing new business. Burt noted "in our current situation, the wrong business is worse than no business." He added the comprehensive plan should set goals for five, 10 and 20 years, and include incentives and identify the types of businesses that should be allowed.

Griseta said she would put a priority on attracting smaller, stronger businesses, and added "it's time we pursued businesses like Payless Shoe Source or Fashion Bug - not the big box retailers, but retailers that can open up and do well."

Mumford said cleaning up the town is a priority, and noted Fox Lake should be "presented in a way that people will want to invest" in the village.

Ulasy and the United party said they would like to expand the village Web site, the economic development department and utilize the American in Bloom project to beautify the village.

Otway said more parking downtown would help business, and he'd "like to see the College of Lake County put a satellite school in town to bring additional traffic" to the area.

Schmit said studies should be done to identify traffic patterns to attract retailers to Route 12. "We have to make personal contact with corporate headquarters that only look at census figured and demographics," he said.

Working said a qualified community development director is needed, and the America in Blooms project should help clean up the village. He also stressed the village should not employ a village administrator because it "adds administration costs with the village looking to cut costs."

Shippers also would like the town cleaned up, claiming "it only costs us our time" to make that happen.