Happy Friday, Antioch!
Have you driven by the park construction at Main and Orchard lately? Construction crews started work on the perimeter sidewalks this week, which required them to take down some of the fencing. This has opened up things for us to get a better look at the progress! This park looks more amazing every time I look at it! I expect to take our village communications team on a walk through the park next week. We’ll be able to record some new video of the park construction progress, which I hope to share with you by the end of next week.
Speaking of the park, through the end of next week village residents have a chance to have their say in the name! Now through May 5th, residents can vote for their choice among the five names suggested for the park. To vote, you must be a current resident of the Village of Antioch, Illinois. You also must register with the Polco platform to vote (link below). Voting is open until Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. The results will be presented to the Antioch Village Board as part of their process to adopt a park name. For anyone who does not have access to the internet or who doesn’t want to vote online, you can vote in person at Antioch Village Hall. To vote online: https://polco.us/n/res/vote/antioch-il/vote-to-name-the-villages-newest-park-round-2
At the village board meeting this past week, trustees approved the village’s 2024-2025 operations and capital budget. Our village staff worked diligently over the past few months to put together the best budget of my administration, so far. Not only did we pass a balanced budget (with a small surplus), we were able to add $500,000 to the village’s reserve funds. This budget also funds the creation of a vehicle replacement fund, which means the village will be able to replace police cars and public works trucks with cash, instead of paying to borrow the money. Our budget also funds the beginning of a downtown streetscape program, park improvements (pickleball courts!), and allocates $1,000,000 to village’s 2024 road program. All of this comes with no property tax increases. We’ve been working hard to improve the efficiency of the village, while not breaking the banks of the property taxpayers in our town. The next fiscal year starts on May 1st. You can watch the entire village board meeting, here: https://youtu.be/i29FIazCzyI?si=UO6mEdgDj0Mc2LD1
Also this week, I had a chance to attend the soft opening of Antioch’s newest restaurant, 15 Lakes Prime Steakhouse. I am so excited to see this restaurant get ready to open! Congratulations, Duane and his team – the food was excellent and the buildout of the restaurant is beautiful! Yesterday, the Daily Herald ran a great story about the 15 Lakes opening, which also highlighted the village’s push to become a top dining and entertainment destination. Read more, here: https://www.dailyherald.com/20240424/hospitality/we-flipped-the-whole-script-15-lakes-builds-on-popular-food-truck-butcher-shop-with-new-steakhou/
Parents – do you have a child that needs a new bike for this summer? The Antioch Parks Department is holding its annual Bike Resale tomorrow morning starting at 8 a.m. It looks like they’ve got a huge selection of bikes! For more information, including some pictures of the bikes that will be for sale, visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/7089025197886521/?active_tab=discussion
The Vegas is turning 50! I hope you can join me next week for the special celebration of the 50th anniversary of Antioch’s historic Vegas Cafe. If you can, stop by and join us Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Vegas Cafe for the anniversary ribbon cutting. This is an exciting milestone for one of our most iconic businesses in Antioch. Congratulations Helen Chiappetta and the entire Katris family! More information about the ribbon cutting: https://fb.me/e/4sVij7kkj
Finally, it’s not too early to be talking about summertime! At the end of February, we let you know that Country Music star Chris Cagle was going to help us open up the It’s Thursday summer concert series at the downtown bandshell. Next Friday, the village will be selling a very limited number of VIP tickets for an area right in front of the stage. Proceeds from the ticket sales will go toward helping fund the construction of Antioch’s Veteran’s Memorial. Tickets will go on sale next Friday, May 3, 2024 at 8 a.m. for $50 each. Here’s the link to buy tickets (this will be activated next Friday once tickets go on sale): https://secure.rec1.com/IL/village-of-antioch/catalog?filter=c2VhcmNoPTMwNzg5NTU=
Enjoy the weekend!
Scott J. Gartner
#antiochil #antiochmayorsupdate
Upcoming Village Events:
April 27, 2024, 8 a.m. – 11 a.m.: Antioch Parks and Recreation Department’s Bike Resale at the Parks Department Gym (806 Holbek Drive).
May 4, 2024, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Village of Antioch Touch a Truck event along Toft Avenue
May 11, 2024, 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.: Antioch Parks Department Mother/Daughter Bingo
May 19, 2024, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.: Village of Antioch Food Truck FEASTival along Toft Avenue
