Mundelein mayor touts flood-control project in speech to village
Mundelein Mayor Steve Lentz touted progress on flood-prevention efforts in his fifth annual State of the Village speech Monday night.
Lentz also talked about the ongoing demolition of buildings on the east side of Diamond Lake, among other projects.
"We really have been busy," Lentz said.
Lentz gave the roughly hourlong address at village hall. A video recording of the speech can be viewed on the village's website, mundelein.org.
Flood control was first on Lentz's Top 10 list of topics to tackle.
Following catastrophic flooding in the center of town in July 2017, village officials developed a $10 million plan that will see new stormwater pipes installed and the construction of a detention pond at the former U.S. Music Corp. factory on Courtland Street.
Lentz revealed the owner of that property has agreed to trade the land to the village in exchange for the current public works facility site, which the village is planning to replace.
Construction should begin this fall and take about one year to complete.
"It's a significant project," Lentz said. "It's going to be a ton of work."
Lentz also spoke about the demolition of commercial and residential buildings on Lake Street, changes he said will give passers-by a "beautiful" new view of Diamond Lake.
The village bought the buildings last year for about $2.4 million. Lentz said he expects the values of other properties in the vicinity to rise as a result, citing the lakefront views that will be developing.
Lentz touched on a few other subjects during the speech, including planned improvements to Hawley Street east of Chicago Avenue.
Mundelein and Lake County officials teamed up in 2015 and 2016 to widen a roughly 1-mile section of Hawley between Midlothian Road and Chicago Avenue. Lentz said he hopes to strike a similar deal with the county for this eastern leg.
Lentz also revealed the village has reached a settlement in a condemnation battle with the Alan Josephsen Co., 101 E. Maple Ave.
The company recycles cardboard and paper, and Mundelein officials want it gone to encourage new development of the site that's more fitting with the downtown district in which it operates.
As part of the settlement, the company can stay in place until January 2020 while it searches for a new home, likely outside Mundelein, Lentz said.