Energy conservation, tax revenue among priorites for Deer Park trustee candidates
Energy conservation and maintaining a solid flow of sales tax revenue are among the priorities for Deer Park's trustee candidates.
Four candidates are competing for three seats with 4-year terms in the April 4 election: incumbents David Lemme, James Oakley and Jimi Psarakis; and former trustee Michael Mann, who lost his seat in 2021.
In Daily Herald questionnaires, Lemme and Psarakis both said the key issue facing Deer Park is the development of land along Rand Road north of Lake-Cook Road. Neither Mann nor Oakley completed questionnaires, but both addressed this issue in emails.
Lemme, a retiree who has been on the village board since 2016, said he's most concerned about development of that Rand Road land that's at the heart of the village's commercial corridor. He wants whatever is built there to blend into the village while also being a revenue source.
"Over the past year, the village board has approved a TIF program for the development areas," Lemme said, referring to the special tax increment financing district created to generate funds for infrastructure improvements and other types of projects.
The next step is to "attract one or more business developers" and then to review and approve plans, Lemme said.
Mann who was appointed to the board in 2020 but lost the seat in the 2021 election, said the health of the Rand Road corridor is a priority.
"We need to make sure to stay strong and ahead of trends and promote the business within the residential community," he said.
Oakley, a lawyer who's been on the village board since 2018, said the need to bring in sales tax revenue is Deer Park's most serious issue.
He noted Deer Park is one of the few Illinois municipalities that doesn't assess a local real estate tax. Oakley supported the village's creation of the TIF district and its efforts to encourage retail development along Rand Road.
"The village board has a duty to maintain this unique and important aspect of our village," Oakley said of the lack of local property taxes. "As trustee, I have focused my efforts on implementing the TIF and other strategies to encourage development of additional sales tax revenue in order to fuel continued investment in our parks, roads and drainage projects."
Psarakis, an executive with a digital billboard company who was appointed to the board in 2022, cited "green energy" as a priority.
Village officials need to educate the community about the benefits of renewable energy and lessen Deer Park's carbon footprint, he said.