Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Our town is moving forward in a positive direction. Along with some new faces dedicated to leading our town, some ideas and projects are taking shape.
First, please join me in welcoming our newest village trustee, Bob Mesec, an environmental project manager who now chairs our Streets and Parks Committee. Some of you have already worked with Bob to resolve safety concerns by adding speed bumps in the Liberty Grove area. Bob's environmental expertise gives the village board an advocate to ensure the woodlands feel of Willow Springs.
The village board has implemented some very important changes to the way your local government does business. Officials' salary increases and insurance perks have been rescinded and put back to the way they used to be.
New legislation now prohibits future boards from giving themselves costly insurance benefits without public scrutiny. Board members will no longer receive pay for meetings they do not attend. The emphasis is on serving and responding to residents. These changes are fair and promote accountability in our local government.
Board Committees and ordinances, the nuts and bolts of how a village shapes new development and re-development, have been streamlined to save time and money. The result will be less time spent in constant meetings and more time put into productivity by the committee members.
The village is in the negotiating stage of gaining traffic signals to provide access entering and exiting the Town Center at Archer and Willow Springs roads. We are aggressively working to review Town Center documentation and meeting with interested business owners to form some timeline for completing this long running project. Signals have been deemed vital to the health of businesses interested in locating here. This measure is imperative to the completion of the Town Center .
The village has conducted a search for the important role of Chief of Police. The plan is to have a new chief in place by October. Also, meeting dates will be announced in the next newsletter for our Citizens Advisory Panel which is in the formative stage. Please do not hesitate to call me or the clerk's office if you would like to participate.
I hope all of you find time to get out and enjoy our beautiful village this fall and participate in some of our local events. A big increase in the turn-out for July's “Night Under the Stars Luau” helped make the event very successful and a lot of fun for all. And it was the initiative of local residents at this summer's Candlelight Drive Block Party to raise money to equip our Fire Department with oxygen masks designed to save pets being rescued from smoke and fire. It is this type of generosity and “people working together” that helps strengthen our town.
I invite you to bring your comments and ideas to the inaugural, Coffee With The Mayor, being held at the Village Hall on Saturday, October 15 th , starting at 9:00 a.m.
Finally, keep in mind that children are back in school. Please drive safely. I hope to see you at our Harvest Fest on September 17 th .
Sincerely,
Alan Nowaczyk
Mayor
