By Andrea Earnest | Bugle/Sentinel Staff
sweditor@buglenewspapers.com
@BugleNewspapers
Shorewood Mayor Rick Chapman gave his 15th annual state of the village address last week, and the longtime mayor spoke optimistically about the village’s future in terms of both its finances and housing market.
The mayor welcomed several community leaders to the event – held March 22 at the Timbers of Shorewood, 1100 N. River Road – including state Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, D-Shorewood, and Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield.
During the address, Chapman spoke about the process of bringing Lake Michigan water to Shorewood. He said there were some question marks about the proposal, with one option to connect the existing pipeline in Bolingbrook to Shorewood.
“It’s a major issue,” he added. “That right there is probably more money than the village has spent in its lifetime.”
Chapman said direct and sales taxes make up the largest revenue streams in Shorewood’s general fund.
“It is supported almost 50 percent by sales tax,” Chapman said.
The mayor also noted the village’s AA+ bond rating from Standard and Poors, which he said is an indicator of Shorewood’s sound financial footing.
“If you put that up against most other municipalities in the state of Illinois, we’re going to be in the lead,” he said.
Chapman added that he was told the state’s finances are the only thing preventing Shorewood from earning S&P’s AAA rating, which is the highest rating issued by the financial services company..
“Financially, we’re in great shape,” he said.
Another area of growth highlighted by Chapman was Shorewood’s housing market. He said the village is in a good place, with two more developers set to build homes in 2016.
“I would like to see 100 homes built annually,” he said. “That would be the number that we can really support in a responsible manner.”
Business has also been booming in Shorewood, according to the mayor, with 33 new businesses coming to the village in 2015.
One of those businesses, Lenny’s Gas N’ Wash, caused a great deal of controversy in Shorewood. Many residents spoke out against the business, saying that it was too close to residential properties and would cause additional traffic and safety issues at the already busy intersection of River Road and Route 52.
Chapman took the opportunity during his state of the village to again praise the recently opened development, which also included an attached Dunkin’ Donuts.
“That corner was zoned for this type of business for over 26 years,” Chapman said, adding that he didn’t blame anyone for the uproar that came over the business. “People are going to understand that it’s not the nightmare that they thought it would be.”