Grant restored, Round Lake Park downtown plans moving ahead

During the campaign for mayor in Round Lake Park, eventual winner Jean McCue and others on her ticket were surprised at a charge by opponents that a $112,000 state grant for downtown planning was allowed to lapse.

"To this day, I don't know where it went," Trustee Robert Seminary said. "I still don't know how it got away."

The potential embarrassment is now moot as the paperwork has been unearthed and the grant reinstated.

"We contacted IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) and found a copy of it," McCue said. "We got it restored."

The grant is small potatoes compared to voter-approved funds said to be coming soon that will give the little town a base to improve the appearance of its Route 134 entry.

Voters in April agreed the village should issue $1.5 million in bonds to upgrade the area. As the bonding authority was available because other bonds were being retired, residents essentially decided to take less of a tax rebate to pursue the plan.

Village officials say the legal details should be worked out any day, paving the way for board action to issue the bonds.

"We want to do it once and do it right," McCue said.

With cash in hand, work can begin to move the electric utilities to the rear of buildings, install new lighting, and replace old sidewalks and install new ones, including a connection with the train station in Round Lake.

Burying the electric was considered but determined to be too expensive, Seminary said.

"I'd like to see something by the end of summer," he said. The work would proceed from the southeast toward the tracks.

"Let's get these sidewalks in so people can walk from point A to point B," he said. "Make it look attractive."

Only a fraction of the original grant money was used before it lapsed, McCue noted. She said the village will be reimbursed as it incurs planning expenses.

The bond money will cover only the utility and sidewalk work, and would not include any facade improvements or similar plans.

"There won't be anything left," he said. "It'll be pretty tight all the way through."