Village of Roscoe seeks bids for street repair, website, and comprehensive land use plan
New Village President Carol Gustafson began by inviting residents to participate in Village decisions and activities.
At the May 2, 2023 Village of Roscoe board meeting, after new board members were sworn in, Police Chief Sam Hawley introduced three new Roscoe Police officers, who were sworn in, received star-shaped pins, and posed for photos with friends and family.
New Village President Carol Gustafson told the audience, "All of you are invited or encouraged to join, participate.... If you are interested in learning more, or perhaps participating and serving on any of our standing committees, and I understand we will have some openings, or becoming a member of a focus group when we get our comprehensive plan underway, or participating in a general information session apart from these board meetings."
Gustafson also invited residents to help with special events sponsored by the Village of Roscoe.
"You can offer your talents by making an in-kind contribution of skills or materials, a monetary contribution, or assist with setups and tear downs." Interested residents and volunteers can contact the Ann
Gustafson said that right now, the Village's special events are the "soon to be annual Halloween extravaganza and the Christmas Hometown Holidays," but she said other things may be coming in the future.
After that announcement, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved Live REAL Foundation's Family Fun Fair, Saturday, May 13, 2023, at Leland Park. The board confirmed that no ball games are scheduled that day at the park.
The board voted not to allow an exception for a commercial parking lot to be built without curb or gutter at the back of Senz Redieske Insurance Agency at 11291 Main Street. The new owner had wanted to leave off the curb and gutter at the back to make it easier to expand the lot later. The Zoning Board of Appeals had recommended that the variance request be denied, and the Village board agreed.
The board voted to authorize the solicitation of public bids for the construction of the 2023 Village of Roscoe residential street program. One project covers the Sagewood subdivision. The other base bid will cover all the east-west streets in downtown Roscoe. Certain needy intersections were specifically targeted for the base program, though not Broad and Harrison. The north-south streets from 2nd Street to 6th Street will be included as an alternate scope of work. When the Village receives the bids, the board will decide what projects they can afford, but Village Administrator Scott Sanders says, "We're optimistic that we'll be able to award the full scope."
The board voted to seek design proposals for a new village website. The current website at www.villageofroscoe.com was developed by Astute Web Group, which is owned by former Winnebago County Republican Central Committee chairperson Eli Nicolosi. The most recent copyright date on the website is 2020, though Nicolosi continued to update it occasionally until Village staff took over maintenance of the website a few months ago.
The board also authorized "the issuance of a request for qualification for the preparation of a new comprehensive land use plan for the village of Roscoe." The previous comprehensive plan [PDF] was created in 2008.
At the end of the meeting, the trustees voted to reverse their earlier approval of Hawks Pointe Plat 6, which was to be part of the Townhomes of White Oak on Roscoe Road and Old River Road.
