The Village Board has delayed a vote on whether to permit the construction of a proposed Park District community center on a controversial site.
Park District Board President Kevin Carter said the district wanted to postpone any vote on the plan until all members of the Village Board could be present. Village President Billie Roth was reported attending to a seriously ill relative and unable to attend the meeting.
Having Roth present also would avoid a potential 3-3 vote by trustees, which would kill the district’s proposal to build the 62,000-square-foot center on 9 acres near the corner of Parkside Circle and Park Boulevard.
Although voters approved an advisory referendum in March to fund the two-level center, residents are divided over the proposed site, which is bounded almost entirely by homes.
Trustee William Carlson, who lives on Parkside Circle, expressed numerous concerns about the proposed site, and said that he is worried about the well-being of residents living in that area who have invested “half their lives into their homes.”
Some of his concerns were potential problems with flooding, light pollution, soil conditions, decreased property values, gang gatherings, traffic and the safety of children.