Village of Cary staff told the board on Aug. 5 that the village received $12 million in funding from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for the Rotary Park project, covering the majority of the project’s roughly $12.25 million cost.

Kaitlyn Noonan, the village’s public works director, described the award as unexpected and said the village had anticipated borrowing for the project: “we were gonna have to take out a small loan, well, a large loan, that we would have to pay back over 30 years. And the EPA came back and said, we’re gonna fund $12,000,000 of this $12,250,000 project,” Noonan said. She said the village is under contract with a contractor and will hold a pre-construction meeting soon.

Assistant Administrator Nick reported recent community events and staff participation related to tourism and village promotions; Noonan also highlighted completed public-art wraps created by Cary-Grove High School students for two traffic-control boxes. Noonan said the Rotary Park funding removes the previously expected debt service for that project and allows the village to move forward with the planned construction.

The board did not take a separate vote on the Rotary Park funding during the Aug. 5 session. No specific construction start date was announced; Noonan said a pre-construction meeting would be scheduled and that staff would provide further updates to the board as plans progress.