By Stephanie Irvine
The Village of Manhattan’s June meeting, once again, started off a bit rocky with an airing of grievances from individuals expressing frustration over slow-moving issues and decisions made by the board. Despite tensions that occurred at the beginning of the meeting, the board came together for a productive comprehensive kickoff workshop before adjourning the nearly two hour meeting.
Perhaps most notably, the appointment of the now-former Police Chief Jeff Wold to Village Administrator drew ire from Trustee Justin Young, who read a prepared statement that ultimately chastised the board for not following a standard process for hiring a village administrator.
Young took issue with “simply offering up a promotion,” with no resume submitted nor an application process made public. He noted Wold would be Manhattan’s third village administrator in three years and said something needed to change.
“That’s not how it’s supposed to work. It’s not what I can support as an elected official. I’m not saying he isn’t the right guy, but I’m saying this isn’t the way it’s supposed to go,” Young said.
Young wished Wold well and vowed he would work with him if the board approved him, which the board subsequently did with Young being the lone vote in opposition.
Wold replaces Interim Village Administrator Marc Nelson, who also serves as the village’s community development director. Nelson took over the administrator duties after Nick Palmer’s resignation.
Ahead of the vote, Mayor Mike Adrieansen stated he did not think it would be fair to go through the lengthy process of hiring someone the traditional way when they could not offer a longer-term contract. He noted it would be difficult to find someone willing to agree to a nine-month contract.
The village administrator position follows the mayoral term, which is up in May 2025. He stated the village already has people capable and willing in-house, and Wold was willing to do the job through May 2025.
Tom Doyle made a motion to approve Wold as the new village administrator, with a $146,000 contract. Beemsterboer seconded the motion.
Replacing Wold as Police Chief is Commander Ryan Gulli, who also serves on the Manhattan School District 114 Board. He took a moment to express his gratitude for the appointment. His term as police chief also will follow the mayoral term.
Prior to the appointment, public comment drew forth Manhattan Township Road Commissioner Jim Baltas, who addressed the board seeking the status of the jurisdictional transfer of the remainder of Baker Road, which was part of an agreement just waiting on formal board approval. This item was previously on the last board agenda, and the board voted to table the decision until they got more information after questions were raised by Young and Trustee Ron Adamski.
Baltas expressed frustration because the agreement was made a long time ago. He stated he has held up his end of the bargain with the jurisdictional transfer of Baker Road for the stop sign. Adrieansen apologetically made several requests to discuss the situation further outside of the meeting, noting he wasn’t trying to cut Baltas off, he just had to follow the public comment process.
At that point, Village of Manhattan Attorney Jeff Taylor joined the conversation to provide context to the public, stating the intergovernmental agreement had been reviewed by the attorneys but was always subject to board review and approval. At the last village meeting, the board had questions regarding the plan and what was paved, which was the board’s right.
Baltas stated he was at the meeting to address any concerns the board had preventing the approval of the agreement. Baltas stated the bridge deck was 171 feet and will cost the township approximately $3.2 million dollars.
Also during public comment, Chris Boswell spoke as a member of the Stonegate HOA Board asking for the village board to take action on behalf of the Stonegate Subdivision, because there are issues with vacant land slated to be a park. The developer, Lennar, won’t respond to grading and drainage complaints because the village holds the bond, so Boswell is seeking assistance. Adrieansen stated Nelson would be able to assist the resident with the development.
Moving on to standard business, the board cleaned up their liquor license process to allow them to issue the specific Class “L” beer garden liquor license at the same time as the main license. The board also approved a collective bargaining agreement with the Local 8 AFL-CIO Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ union.
The remainder of the meeting was dedicated to the Comprehensive Land Use Workshop, which included a presentation and project kickoff from Nick Davis with Houseal Lavigne, the engineering and planning firm leading the project.
Davis offered a powerpoint presentation that showed a five-step process, including the kickoff and public engagement, plan visioning and key recommendations, a draft plan, and then the final plan.
The village and firm have a website for the public to learn about the plan process, get key information, provide meaningful feedback through a questionnaire, and get updates as it progresses. The website is accessible through the village’s website, or residents may access it directly with the URL: hla.fyi/ManhattanCompPlan.
Following the powerpoint, the board got together for a discovery workshop led by Davis to better understand the concerns and needs of the village. Concerns brought up by the board during the meeting included the need for new business to offset taxes, Joliet’s encroaching territory and border, the future of NorthPoint Development, infrastructure updates – including Rt. 52 to support current and future populations, a need for industry and light industrial improvements, and general concern over the types of future development.
The board noted a need for pedestrian accessibility and walkability, wastewater and water capacity concerns, the preservation of open space, beautification and landscaping, and a need for senior living.
Prior to the conclusion of the workshop, Adrieansen brought up that congruent traffic studies had been a major point of discussion with the board, and Davis noted it is often 50/50 whether a traffic engineer is brought in. Davis said they do take into account already completed traffic plans.
The workshop also identified community assets, including the schools, police department, Round Barn Farm, the people and small-town charm, and proximity to other positive places, such as Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, before concluding.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.