Board tables decision on EPIC Marathon route after public‑safety concerns about road closures

The Village Board on Dec. 17 voted to table a special‑event application for the EPIC Marathon and running festival after public‑safety staff and several trustees voiced concerns about the proposed route and timing.

Public‑safety staff said the planned route would close several major streets, including portions of Cormier Avenue and county highways Lombardi and Oneida, at a time when the nearby Resch Center had other large events and a county‑level road‑closure permit had not been resolved. The presenter noted the marathon organizer had proposed a route that would cross Holmgren, Oneida and Cormier and that Armed Forces Drive and Lombardi could not be used this year because of concurrent events at the Resch Center and Expo. “The route is different from previous years, which I guess causes a little bit more concern on my end,” the public‑safety speaker said.

Public‑safety staff raised mutual‑aid and staffing impacts (medical tent coverage, police assistance and barricade deployment by public works) and said several departments rely on constrained overtime/time‑off windows in the same period. Multiple trustees said the proposed date conflicts with a major Draft event that has road‑closure impacts in the area and suggested the race be moved to a later date such as June. One trustee also asked organizers to remove Cormier Avenue east of Ridge Road from the route because of heavier traffic on that segment.

Trustee motioned to table the application and the board voted to table the item to allow staff to discuss alternative dates and routing with the organizer (Race Day Events, represented by Ryan Griesmeyer) and to seek necessary county approvals for closures on Lombardi and Oneida. The motion carried.

There was no final denial; tabling leaves the application active while staff and organizers pursue scheduling and routing revisions.