Peotone Swears in New Officers; Approves Budget

By Andrea Arens

The Peotone Village Board swore in two new part-time officers on March 13. David Garza from Beecher and Donald McRoberts of Calumet City, who is also a patrolman for the Village of Riverdale.

The public hearing on the 2023-’24 fiscal year budget was heard with no comments from the public. The budget included $3.4M in capital outlay, a minimal draw on the fund balance, and items such as increases in payroll and expenses for each department, but it also laid the groundwork for a capital improvement plan that suggested things, such as purchasing a new village hall and future paving projects.

The budget was unanimously approved with no questions from the board.

A resolution waiving competitive bidding and authorizing the acceptance of a proposal from local contractor Kulacz & Sons for heating and cooling system upgrades in the amount of $30,268 was unanimously approved. The noise of the AC unit in the village meeting room was cumbersome and affected audio during official meetings. Municipalities are required to send any expense over $25,000 out for bidding but putting it to a board vote allows the village to waive the bidding process. The bid includes updating heating and AC in village hall, the meeting room, and police headquarters with electric units and capping the current boiler system. The repairs were expected in the 2023 budget.

A partial payment to Iroquois Paving was unanimously approved for $43,615.15 for work on Railroad Street.

Another payment to M & J Underground for camera and cleaning at Main, Second, and Railroad Streets was unanimously approved for $22,944.39. The expense was at the request of Robinson Engineering to get a good look at what’s underground in preparation for the downtown streetscape. Trustee Bowden asked what they found, and Mayor Peter March said the storm sewers were in good shape and didn’t need a lot of repair.

In the Mayor’s comments, he spoke about meeting with legislators and lobbyists in Springfield. March said they’re working on fighting the TIF bill and looking to increase their local government distributions. March also said he and Administrator Ingalls attended the Will County Planning and Zoning committee meeting and the solar farm on the Ruhbeck property passed. March also said the village is working with Ruhbeck to annex the property into the village to control that section around I-57 for future development.

Mayor March then addressed his thoughts on backyard chickens. He said, “Personally I’m not in favor of backyard chickens, but I want to keep an open mind.” He went on to explain zoning ordinances are in place, and the village has to enforce them. The village doesn’t have the resources to enforce the ordinance until a full time code enforcement position is open. March added he has been approached by many village residents who are not in favor of backyard chickens.

An attendee called out and asked the mayor to put it on the agenda at the next meeting so he can know who to vote for.

March was asked by The Vedette his thoughts on the Peotone Airport bill that passed committee on March 9. March said, “On behalf of the village, I have been following the progress of HB2531 through the current legislative session. Our lobbyists through the Will County Governmental League and the Illinois Municipal League have kept us informed of this bill from the start. As I understand, if this bill passes, it will force IDOT to request qualifications from interested private parties who may want to develop a cargo-based airport. This bill in no way authorizes any start of construction. We will continue to work with our local legislators to make sure this does not negatively impact our community.”

In other board news, Julie Busich spoke during public comments. She owns 113 N. Second Street, which is for sale. She has owned the building for 23 years, and she addressed Mike Jones concerning the comment he said at the last meeting to the prospective wine bar business owner about checking out the roof. Busich said Jones’ building also was for sale at the same time her building was for sale, and his son, Adam Jones, had shown both properties.

“Over the last year, my building and your building were being sold at the same time. For you to make a comment like that, on my building, sitting here as a representative of Peotone Village Hall, is absolutely disgusting to me.” Busich said Jones making the comment was intended to quash the sale.

She continued, “I think that was a huge conflict of interest. I don’t think people like you have any room on this board anymore. This good ole boys club, protecting your own; I just don’t think you have room anymore in this village, Mike.”

Busich said she was extremely disappointed and would like to file some sort of complaint. There were no comments after she spoke.