By Jeff Vorva
When there is a big fire, chances are good that departments in the Mutual Aid network will come out and help.
There is also a similar Mutual Aid network for public works departments throughout the state. The Village of Manteno will enter another one-year intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network after the board voted on it during its Feb. 17 meeting.
Although it is not used as much as the fire department’s Mutual Aid, Manteno Superintendent of Public Works Jim Hanley finds it to be valuable.
“We’ve been in this group from five to seven years or so,” Hanley said. “This network is built like the fire departments when they have Mutual Aid response and calling other departments.
“We have helped out twice over the years. We helped with a storm cleanup in Grant Park and we went to Lake County when they needed sandbags for flooding that was going on there. It’s a great insurance program if we ever have a tornado or something come through.”
He said that the network has a vast array of equipment – everything from radios to trailers – at its disposal.
Close-by municipalities in the network include Beecher, Crete, Monee, Manhattan, Peotone, Grant Park, Momence, St. Anne and Yellowhead Township.
Turn out the lights…
Manteno Mayor Tim Nugent will finally shut down his beloved holiday lights at the end of February.
He originally wanted to keep them up throughout January because they gave the village a “Hallmark-movie feel” to it and extended it another month.
“It’s my opinion – I don’t know if it’s anyone else’s opinion – but the lights are beautiful, especially when the snow is on the ground and it looks great,” Nugent said. “It’s a nice amenity for those of us in town who don’t have houses and condos in Arizona and Florida and leave for the winter. It would be nice to help brighten the community a little bit and lets us get through the winter doldrums, when there is so much darkness.”
He said the cost to keep the lights going is $350 per month.
FOIA officer change
With Deputy Village Clerk Darla Hurley retiring March 7, the board voted that office assistant Dawn Gesky would fill the role of FOIA officer.
Trustee Joel Gesky, who is running for mayor, abstained because Dawn is his wife but he clarified that this was an extra duty and she would not be getting paid more for it.
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