Fire Inspections Still a Hot Topic In Beecher

By Jeff Vorva

It didn’t take Beecher Police Officer Dylan Lorek too long to get in the good graces of the village board.

Lorek, who was sworn in on April 10, was lauded by Mayor Marcy Meyer at the January 8 village board meeting for an incident on December 7 in which he stopped a vehicle for a minor traffic stop. She said she spoke on behalf of the board as well as herself.

“In speaking with the driver, who was very upset, you learned that her husband had just passed away…and recently her daughter-in-law passed away,” Meyer said. “The driver was returning from her granddaughter’s play and was distraught due to the fact that her husband and daughter-in-law were not able to attend.

“You were extremely empathetic in speaking to her and advising her that the deceased relatives of hers were watching from heaven and are with them every day.”

Meyer said they held hands and prayed.

“The compassion you displayed toward this distraught person was admirable, and you recognized her issue and immediately addressed it,” she said.  “The impact that you had on this person was obvious when she exited her vehicle and hugged you. Your actions are a credit to the Beecher Police Department and is a shining example of exemplary police work.” 

Still a hot topic

A story that lingered throughout 2023 is still a topic in 2024.

Fire inspections.

The village board wrestled with fire inspection problems and protests of business owners by breaking an intergovernmental agreement with the fire department and hired its own inspectors.

After the first group the village hired pulled out because Beecher was too far from its home base, the village had to find another group and hired the Elgin-based B and F Construction Code Services, Inc.

The inspector from that company performed inspections in the fall and winter and now the board is mulling over whether to hire the company back for 2024 or beyond.

Meyer was happy with the inspections this year, but not all businesses were thrilled.

“Whenever you have inspections, there are always hitches,” she said at the meeting. “We had a new inspector, and she came up with a lot of things that have not been brought up before.

“Most of the businesses said she’s very respectful and did her best to show up when she was supposed to. She explained to them why things needed to be done even through a lot of things needed to be done.”

Meyer said that if the village switched and brought in a different company and start from scratch, there will be another new inspector coming in and that might not be a good thing.

“I would almost rather give them one more year and see how it shakes out with this company now that everyone knows what’s expected of them,” Meyer said. “She knows who everyone is, and it’s up to you guys (the board).”

No action was taken, but some board members opined that giving the current company a year and after that possibly lock it down for more years after 2024 would be a good way to go and also kept the door open for seeking out other companies, as well.

Beecher bits

•Bids for work on the new police facility are being accepted, and the opening of the bids will take place January 24.

•The third year of the concert series is in the infancy planning stages, but the board appears to favor cutting it down from five to three concerts in 2024.

•Former longtime village administrator Robert Barber’s recent open house for his retirement drew approximately 300 people, Meyer said.