The St. Joseph School sprinklers, a hot topic discussed at the last board meeting, came up again, this time at the behest of Paula Gibbs, a member of the public.
The topic dominated the last board meeting and spilled over in the days that followed, with social media sparring between trustee candidate Tom Biscan, who attended and spoke on behalf of St. Joseph Church, and current Mayor Mike Adrieansen, who is running for re-election.
Adrieansen posted on Facebook on December 30 addressing the debate, stating St. Joseph’s Church requested the village review its current code and amendments regarding fire sprinklers.
“I strive to be as transparent as possible and felt it was important to discuss the matter openly,” Adrieansen wrote of why St. Joseph’s sprinklers were on the agenda as a discussion item. “Unfortunately, when individuals or groups running for local office use these discussions for political gain, it undermines the process.”
He wrote that after speaking with St. Joseph Church’s leadership, “Tom Biscan was not authorized to speak on their behalf.”
Biscan refuted Adrieansen’s claim, insisting he was authorized, stating, “Deacon Forsythe personally gave his approval for my representation of the Church to Trustee David Beemsterboer.”
Biscan added his own zinger at the end of his comment: “It is unfortunate certain elected officials get these little details WRONG just to make others look bad.”
Adrieansen later clarified the “church leadership” he referenced in his Facebook post was Father Mike McMahon, the Pastor, who heads St. Joseph Church Parish,and with whom he had emailed regarding the meeting.
The Vedette obtained the email in question, and not only was Biscan not authorized to speak on behalf of the Church according to Father McMahon – McMahon did not know who he was.
“I had to call Deacon Pat to find out who the gentleman ‘speaking on behalf of St. Joe’s’ was and why he was talking the way he did,” Father McMahon wrote in an email to Adrieansen. “I have watched the footage of the board meeting. The amount of misinformation communicated is embarrassing.”
“I am the only legal representative of St. Joseph Church,” McMahon affirmed.
McMahon further explained that the Church had hired Chris Lavoie of C.M. Lavoie Civil Engineering and Land Development for the project. McMahon only learned about the meeting that morning and could not attend as he was hearing confessions. Lavoie couldn’t attend on short notice.
Gibbs spoke during public comments to raise her concerns about the St. Joe’s sprinkler discussion after observing the last board meeting, which she felt was “very lively and entertaining” but, nonetheless, a good discussion.
Although Gibbs did not state during her public comment that she is running for a trustee seat in the April 2025 municipal election, a recently launched website shows she is campaigning on a slate alongside trustee candidates Tom Biscan and Mike Naughton and mayoral candidate Dave Beemsterboer.
Gibbs explained that, as a Local 130 plumber for the past 20 years, she felt the disparity between the quotes for the sprinkler work was too incompatible and something had to be missing from the scope of work.
“I don’t know how important that discussion was about the $100,000 vs. $30,000, but I’ve done a lot of estimating,” Gibbs told the board. “I just can’t imagine that there’s a $70,000 swing,” she said.
During Gibbs’ comment, she acknowledged she knew the board wouldn’t handle bids for the Church, but she wanted to offer the information if it was relevant to future discussions.
Gibbs also cautioned the board against considering those numbers unless they had proposals in front of them.
This concern was echoed by McMahon when he wrote to Adrieansen, “The cost of a directional boring is presented without a quote from a contractor, and Sean Fallows admits this is based on ‘napkin math,’” indicating that the cost estimates were not based on facts.
Gibbs also took issue that the meeting minutes from the December 17 meeting excluded pertinent information.
The minutes, which were nearly five pages long, did not include an off-camera comment from Tom Biscan or a comment by Community Development Director Marc Nelson advising that school trailers are regulated by the Regional Office of Education, not the village.
Village Clerk Shelly Lewis later mentioned that comments made without a microphone are often inaudible or difficult to discern, which is why the meeting minutes aren’t verbatim.
Later, Gibbs questioned solar permit payouts to B & F Construction Services and the funds allocated to dewater biosolids. Adrieansen said she could discuss the matter with Public Works Superintendent John Tyk after the meeting to learn more, or a written explanation could be provided to her, whichever she preferred.
No further discussion occurred regarding the sprinkler ordinance at the January 7 meeting.
Other Village News
Although the first Manhattan Village Board meeting of the New Year was brief, it wasn’t just about St. Joe’s. The meeting included a design visioning session to review architectural design guidelines for the downtown plan.
The Farnsworth Group firm will hold a stakeholder engagement meeting for the downtown planning on January 30 at Manhattan Township Hall. The meeting will gather input from various stakeholders, including business owners and community leaders.
Preliminary recommendations for the architectural standards are expected to be delivered in March, and the final recommendations will be presented to the board and public in April.
In other news, the board approved the Pace Dial-A-Ride service, a long-standing transportation service helping seniors and those with disabilities or medical conditions.
Kankakee Street residents will be pleased to know the village obtained an estimate of $10,000 to add six street lights, including a transformer and wiring. Tyk reported that Baker Road lights are underway.
Community Director Mark Nelson said a new comprehensive plan map and traffic assessment, separate from the downtown plan, is anticipated to be released in January.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.