By Andrea Arens

A 90-minute Peotone special board meeting on Thursday, October 24, resulted in the immediate resignation of Building and Zoning Administrator Henry Walters.

Walters was hired in late April 2023, after the election but before new trustees were sworn in. Walters background was in security, and he was working on his degree in public administration from the University of Phoenix at the time of his hire. The Village Administrator, AImee Ingalls, recommended Walters for hire despite his lack of building knowledge, adding that she was looking for skills that were “transferable” and the goals was to staff an entire building and zoning department. Ingalls said Walters would receive on the job training at the village’s expense. Ingalls resigned the end of July of this year.

Then Trustee-elect Todd Sandberg had spoken against the hiring of Walters, suggesting any candidate hired at $60K annually should be qualified for the position and not require any additional taxpayer expense to train.

Documents shared to Facebook through a FOIA indicated Walters approved a contract for software he had no authority to approve.

Village Administrator Nick Palmer mentioned current permit inspection vendor B & F taking over code enforcement. A contract likely would be presented at the next board meeting.

The October 28 board meeting included a payment of the bills, a reintroduction of a fiber optic company, Pavlov Media, installing fiber optic network for internet, giving residents more options for broadband, and updates.

Leaf collection is in full swing. Residents are asked to pile leaves near the curb for pick-up.

A couple of ongoing transportation studies are upcoming allowing public input. Will County’s long term transportation plan for the county allows for public input at www.ourwaywillco.co. Another transportation study meeting regarding I-57 access between Monee-Manhattan and Peotone-Wilmington Roads will be the discussion on November 13 at the Will County Atrium.

Palmer said, “This is an early stage for this, but it is an opportunity for our residents to speak out and call for funding and work to continue to improve the infrastructure in this part of the county and the state. That happens because people comment and participate. So, I encourage everyone to get to the event.”

Chief DeMik obtained two grants: One for $2,500 from ComEd for holiday lighting and another for $15,686 for new tasers. The police department also awarded their annual Halloween and fall decoration awards. Overall winner was 123 Hickory, who will be retiring their decorations after more than 20 years of magnificent displays. The winner list was posted to Facebook.

Upcoming meeting dates include one board meeting in November on the November 18 and a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on November 20.

Trustee Todd Sandberg is the husband of Editor, Andrea Arens. Any coverage of his activity is not an endorsement of such.