Heritage Park to get new playgrounds, veterans memorial
The Homer Glen Village Board approved a 2022-23 budget Wednesday that projects a $150,000 surplus while investing in parks and businesses.
“It’s a good healthy budget for next year with lots of initiatives,” finance director John Sawyers said.
Among the highlights is about $575,000 in bike trail improvements, $500,000 in park improvements, $250,000 to build a veterans memorial and $225,000 to create playgrounds geared for children ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12 in Heritage Park, the village’s 103-acre destination park that is home to many special events, Sawyers said.
Trustee Rose Reynders is designing the memorial with input from veterans.
She said she is excited the project will soon come to fruition.
Veterans have requested the memorial contain tributes to all branches of the military as well as nurses and war dogs, and village officials are seeking a serene area of Heritage Park, Reynders said.
The village is also considering offering brick pavers for residents to memorialize their loved ones.
When the parks master plan was completed several years ago, consultants estimated a veterans memorial could cost between $700,000 and $800,000, but village officials are working to keep costs low and save money, Reynders said.
The village is anticipating its memorial to cost about $250,000.
The village also plans to build a playground geared for younger children at Heritage Park, which has been a request from many families who said there isn’t enough activities for that age group.
Heritage Park has tennis, pickleball and sand volleyball courts, a fitness area, walking paths, a sledding hill and a ninja-style challenge course for older children, among other amenities.
The new play area could be completed later this year.
Business grants
Village officials want to continue to help business owners through COVID-19 hardships by offering
commercial building improvement grants, up to $10,000, to improve facades, signs, accessibility or other upgrades.
The village budgeted $40,000 in its inaugural year and will budget $60,000 this year.
The program proved popular, with business owners appreciating the assistance to improve their buildings, Reynders said.
“With the pandemic, everyone suffered so much and everyone’s budgets were so tight,” she said. “This was a popular program. It really helped businesses.”
Exterior improvements make businesses look more enticing to customers, which in turn brings in more sales tax revenue to the village, Reynders said.
The village heavily relies on its sales tax, which saw substantial increases during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The village brought in $3.9 million in sales tax revenue in its fiscal year that ended April 30, 2021 and expects to bring in $4.6 million when this fiscal year ends April 30, Sawyers said.
Sawyers said the village’s mix of home improvement stores and grocery stores were not affected by the pandemic, but rather saw an uptick of activity as residents sought to spend stimulus money on home projects.
The village offered a more conservative estimate of about $4.3 million in sales tax revenue for next year as inflation-related woes kick in.
Mayor George Yukich said the village has been frugal and the board spends village money as if it is their own.
“We watch every penny and nickel,” Yukich said. “We look hard to see who can give us the best deal on everything.”
The village is always looking to add to its commercial base for more sales tax revenue, he said.
Other expenses
The village forecasts about $12.16 million of revenue and $12 million in expenses in its general fund, and will pay for many capital projects using savings that have built up over the years.
About $4.6 million is budgeted for the Will County sheriff’s department, which provides the village’s police services.
Other expenses include about $1.2 million in road resurfacing projects, $1.3 million in stormwater drainage improvement projects, $500,000 in roof repairs to the Village Hall and public works buildings, and $45,000 for mosquito abatement.
The village’s fiscal year begins May 1. Homer Glen has received a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada each year since its incorporation.