December 30, 2023 / By mobanmarket
PLAINFIELD, IL — When he was a young boy, John Argoudelis remembers his father stopping at a local full-service gas station, where the owner would offer any young occupants of the car complimentary Dum Dum lollipops while they waited to have the tank filled.
Decades later, after the land that once housed Roy’s Go-Tane gas station at the corner of Route 30 and Route 59 has sat neglected for years, the owner has gifted the plot back to the village. Argoudelis, Plainfield’s mayor, envisions the spot as the perfect place for an art installation project that will offer meaningful artistic expressions to serve as a welcoming gesture t local motorists.
A Facebook post written by the mayor on Wednesday about the Christmas gift from the land’s owner, Menjinder “Mac” Bhambra, has already garnered more than 16,000 views and has led to a flood of emails from Plainfield residents.
Argoudelis encouraged residents who wanted to be part of a soon-to-be-established Plainfield Public Arts Council to pass along their interest in contributing. Argoudelis told Patch on Thursday that the council will be established as a not-for-profit organization that will enhance the arts community in Plainfield — beginning with the development of the recently donated land.
The land will eventually include some landscaping as well as space for either temporary or permanent art installations that will be part of what Argoudelis envisions as a “Welcome to Plainfield” park. However, because the arts council will not be a formal village entity, the mayor says it is important that residents have a say in how the space takes shape.
“We’re one community of people with 45,000 people,” Argoudelis told Patch on Thursday. “It’s not like the village board and mayor or the employees or staff of the village, it’s not like it’s our town. It’s everybody’s town and everybody should have a voice in that.”
“When everyone has a stake in what happens here, it makes us stronger.”
The establishment of the public arts council will be the next step in building a sense of community, the mayor said. Once established, the council will begin to look at how art can add to Plainfield’s personality, beginning with the gifted piece of land and then considering other projects.
In addition to considering future arts projects, the council will work to establish private fundraising for the projects. While many of the projects may be displayed on private property, some of them will be featured on land owned by the village, which makes having an organization in place necessary.
The mayor said that in building the council up, everyone who is interested in having a role in bettering Plainfield’s arts community will have a role.
The land has sat vacant since the intersection of Route 30 and 59 expanded, making it difficult for any development to take place. Bhambra purchased the land and the gas station and kept it in operation until the roadway project began, the mayor said.
In 2012, the Plainfield Plan Commission denied a developer’s request to rezone the property for development for another gas station and drive-in to be built on the property. After years of not being able to establish the property with any meaningful retail endeavors, Bhambra reached out to Argoudelis and offered the land to the village at no cost.
“I think it’s extraordinary that someone was willing to give land that has some value to us,” Argoudelis said. “It’s such a key spot. It’s really one of those gateways into the old part of town and it gives us a great opportunity to have something very attractive and appealing to people.
“When you come into our village from any direction, I think it’s important that people see the best face of our community.”
Argoudelis has met with officials in Naperville, where there has been an arts council in place since the 1990s. He believes the development of the gifted land can serve as a springboard to adding to the public arts scene in Plainfield, with hopes of providing more public spaces where artistic expressions and creativity of local artists can be displayed.
Argoudelis has always used the phrase “Making the best Plainfield” in his efforts to enhance the village and its image, but again, he wants area residents to have a say in what the community looks like moving forward. He says he has heard two schools of thought, including one that infers that only a select group of residents speaks for the majority.
He doesn’t want that to be the case with the arts council or with developing a new aspect of the village that everyone can enjoy.
“We have people so interested in so many aspects of (making Plainfield better),” the mayor said. “I really believe that makes us stronger. I don’t see any downsides to being inclusive. When you have 45,000 people, there is a heck of a lot of talent in this town, and we should tap into that.”
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