Gurnee's Welton Village Plaza taking shape
Richard A. Welton Village Plaza is taking shape on Old Grand Avenue in Gurnee in time for when crowds arrive in the area next month for the community's annual festival.
Village Engineer Scott Drabicki said goals for construction of the plaza named for Gurnee's longest-serving mayor are being met, with a pergola the first significant piece in place. Crews most recently constructed sidewalks and are doing other concrete work.
Officials said they hope a partially built Welton Village Plaza will have flowers and other landscaping when Gurnee Days begins Aug. 11, a few blocks east at Viking Park on Old Grand Avenue.
"We'll have Welton Plaza looking really nice and pretty in anticipation of the Gurnee Days festival in August," Drabicki said. "So, we are making great progress in a very short period of time here."
Welton, who was mayor from 1973 to 2001, died July 31, 2015. He attended a groundbreaking ceremony at the 1-acre site in September 2014.
In addition to the 60-foot-diameter, half-circle pergola that's built, the gathering place is to include rain gardens, perennial plantings, seating, a bicycle rack and markers indicating Gurnee milestones and Welton's contributions. It's on public land just east of the Des Plaines River that was once home to the village hall, police headquarters and public works facility.
Mayor Kristina Kovarik said Friday it hasn't been easy preparing the site ready for the plaza.
"Last year, there was a huge mess out there to clean up," Kovarik said. "(Crews had to) stabilize the soil, a lot of infrastructure that needed to be done. This year, we're trying to get some of the fundamentals in, the basics, so next year we'll put all the finishing touches on it."
Instead of the temporary sign with the plaza's name on it off Old Grand Avenue, there will be a permanent bronze marker erected at the site as part of the last leg of work scheduled in 2017.
"We had always said we'd complete it over three-year period," Kovarik said, "and we're still on track for that."
Village board trustees in December awarded a $64,000 contract for the pergola work to New World Restoration of Broadview.
The elected officials went with a plaza evaluation committee's recommendation to have the pergola built with synthetic fiber-covered aluminum for the best balance of quality, aesthetics and value.
Some private-sector donations have been made to the village to help with the plaza's costs.
For example, the Gurnee Chamber of Commerce contributed $3,000 in Welton's memory last year.
Welton was a lifelong Gurnee resident. He served during the village's major growth spurt, which included Six Flags Great America, Gurnee Mills and several residential subdivisions.