By Jeff Vorva
Beecher Trustee Jonathan Kypuros had heard enough.
In recent years, some businesses have been complaining to board members about fire inspections that have been conducted by a third party under the watch of the Beecher Fire Protection District, and it’s been a hot topic in recent months.
What rankled Kypuros the most was that during the board’s recent discussions and mulling over whether or not to break an intergovernmental agreement with the fire department, there have been more complaints, including one from as recent as March 20.
Stating that “a tiger doesn’t change its stripes” Kypuros was ready for a change.
“That’s enough,” he said at the April 10 board meeting. “Here we are. We’ve had numerous meetings and everything else. There have been 25 inspections done since we started addressing this, and we’re already getting complaints.
“That’s what brought us here to begin with.”
So, what started out as an informational discussion turned into a motion by Kypuros to eliminate the intergovernmental agreement for the enforcement of fire prevention codes.
Most of the board agreed and voted 5-1 to vanquish the agreement.
Ben Juzeszyn cast the lone “no” vote, citing that he wanted to give the fire district one more chance to respond.
The agreement will end May 1. The village will take over in hiring the new inspector and board members said they will keep the fire department in the loop with their findings.
Mayor Marcy Meyer had met with fire department representatives in recent weeks, and the two sides came to agreements on some of the amendments.
The fire district board was scheduled to discuss the changes at its April 27 meeting, but that appears to be a moot point, now.
Levy published
The tax levy for 2023 was announced, and there will be $724,934 in new property recorded, according to Finance and Administration Committee Chair Jonathan Kypuros.
Existing property was increased to 7.48 percent in value, bringing the village’s portion of the Equalized Assessed Value to $123,747,847, which was close to the value in 2008.
“It has taken 15 years to fully recover from the recession,” Kypuros said.
Beecher bits
•Police Chief Terry Lemming was given a standing ovation at the meeting for being named the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police 2023 Chief of the Year.
•After listening to a presentation regarding the final plat of subdivision for lot 26 in the Illiana Crossroads Business Park, the board approved plans for the plat.
•Dylan Lorek was sworn in as a full-time police officer. He replaces Krystow Szwab, who joined up with the Village of Worth.
•Rachel and Phil Espinoza have been appointed to the Beecher Youth Commission
•The village will purchase a Duraclass stainless steel dump body for the 2003 International for $21,546 and a John Deere Z960M ZTrac rider mower for $14,093.31.
•Maggie Speaks was announced as the band to play during the September 2 finale of the Summer Concert Series. Also, the polka band night was changed from August 6 to August 12.