When the Village of Grant Park said it planned to scrap an antique light pole in front of the historic building that houses Wick’s Bicycle Shop, owner Christine Wick said the village ignored requests to save the light pole.
Wick said she made multiple attempts to talk with village officials, attended meetings, and sent emails to no avail. She was then told the village would not be keeping the pole because it was a liability.
At that point, Wick took to social media, pleading for the public to join her fight for the pole to stay and even spread #savethepole on Facebook.
Her efforts went unanswered.
The board held its next regularly scheduled meeting—the recording of which never made it online—the pole came down, and business continued as usual, much to the Wicks’ dismay.
Wick again attended the Grant Park village board meeting on Sept. 21 and expressed a desire to “clear the air” after the “heated” board meetings. She said that she only wanted to have open communication about the pole but became frustrated when no one engaged in a conversation with her about it.
“It’s very confusing as a business owner when you cannot get a clear answer from your village, from the people you know or other small business owners you interact with. It’s greatly disappointing when the same community members do not discuss the issue at all and stick to the same conclusions they started with.
“No communication begins to look like nobody cares about our concerns. And that’s where we start to get upset,” Wick said.
Wick said she went ahead and hosted an event the village asked her to put on after the pole debacle, but again, Wick was disappointed because she said the village didn’t communicate about setup, and she didn’t see anyone from the board at the event.
Trustee Susie Wiedl said she was there in her car, and Clerk Scott Dillman said he was there. Wick thanked them but said, ultimately, it was about the lack of communication.
Valgene Raloff spoke to the board prior to Wick. She said the new proposed sign at Hilgert Park should be the same size as signs at each park.
Later, the board engaged in a lengthy discussion regarding the sign, establishing uniformity among the park signs, and what they would approve. No final decisions were made.
The board moved on to its regular business and approved bills for payment, meeting minutes, and buying a new plow truck.
The board approved a 2025 Chevy truck for the maintenance department for $90,758.
Trustee Jason Martin proposed the installation of a new yield sign at Greenwood at Mosier Streets. A sign would need to be ordered. The board gave the go-ahead. He was going to also propose a stop sign at Prairie and Greenwood but was advised by the police chief it was unneeded.
Raloff said he wanted to see the yield sign installed in the same proximity to the sidewalk as at the other ones.
The intergovernmental agreement between Grant Park and Yellowhead Township is still fluctuating as the township was looking for liability certificates of insurance to be stipulated in the contract. The board discussed the contract regarding plowing.
“We’ve been borrowing equipment back and forth for 25 years,” Dillman said.
Trustee Jason Martin suggested it was possibly the lawyer wanting additional stipulations.
“To continue to be good neighbors with the township, we’re going to make it clear that this is either you want to do it, or you don’t want to do it. And if you don’t, if you’re not interested, we have a plan in place, and we’ll be willing to bring that in front of the board at a later date if it comes down to that,” Mayor Ben Detloff said.
The agreement is pending. Officials said it would be discussed at a later date.
Dillman provided a construction update and noted they’ve gotten statements from residents who have seen issues with it.
Dillman said there will be five seats up for election in April. There will be two two-year trustee positions and three four-year seats. Nominating petitions are now available.