Design firm presents plans for permanent sound stage and civic space at Depot Park; board offers direction

Consultants from White and Company presented initial design concepts for a permanent sound stage and civic‑space improvements around Depot Park, and trustees offered guidance on priorities and phasing for construction.

The concept plan covers the area south of Railroad Street up to the depot and proposes closing Railroad Street (temporarily or permanently) to create a contiguous event lawn, placing the stage at the south end so performers face north and avoid afternoon sun, and using natural site contours for lawn seating. The design includes a raised or depressed loading area and backstage ramp, a specialty paving “dance floor” in front of the stage, catenary (string) lighting, a permanent picnic pavilion (80×40 shown), flexible tented vendor space, a splash‑pad or playground option, gateway features on the west side to connect future development, and recommendations to convert the nearby Meyer Street segment to two‑way traffic for circulation and parking flexibility.

Consultant Patty King (associate principal and landscape architect at White and Company) described materials and amenities — from lit, glow‑aggregate paving to removable swings and low pathway lighting — and said the design can be phased: the sound stage and critical infrastructure would be specified and costed for first‑phase construction while other elements (pavilion, splash pad/playground, specialty paving, gateway art) could follow.

Trustees and staff discussed orientation and stage height (consultants suggested roughly 3–4 feet above lawn but noted higher stage options are feasible), sightlines from the depot lawn, whether the splash pad should be sited elsewhere (some trustees preferred a different location for year‑round kid activity), and the operational impact on the existing caboose vendor location. Trustees also raised public‑safety and access questions — such as using a low ornamental fence to separate the Fox River Trail and pedestrian traffic during events — and encouraged the consultant to refine plans to echo the area’s railroad/industrial heritage in gateway and canopy details.

Board members asked staff and the consultant to produce a phased scope and cost estimate concentrating on the sound stage and essential systems so work can begin in an initial year, and to coordinate design elements with the adjacent lumber‑yard redevelopment (developers are expected to construct road improvements while the village would retain the public right‑of‑way). The board also asked staff to discuss the caboose’s long‑term placement with the affected vendor and developer. No construction funding or formal approvals were made at the meeting; trustees gave direction for additional design work and phasing.