Village of Crete President and Board of Trustees met Feb. 9.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
President Mark Wiater called to order the regular board meeting of the President and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Crete on Monday, February 9, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. and led those assembled in the Village of Crete Municipal Building, 524 W. Exchange St, Crete, Illinois in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
The following were present in the municipal building upon roll call: Trustees Steve Bruns, Jamie Healy, Stephen Johnson, Holly Milburn, Keith Miller and Katrina Seifert. A quorum was present.
Also in attendance: Administrator Michael Smith, Police Chief Scott Pieritz, and Media Consultant Nick Borrell.
CITIZEN’S SPEAK
Visitors are always welcome to all public meetings of the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Crete. Interested parties wishing to speak should identify their intent to speak, they then may give their name and where they reside if they so choose and then make their comment. Persons may also provide their address privately to the Village Clerk if they so choose; persons are advised that addresses are considered private information under the Freedom of Information Act and thus are exempt from disclosure pursuant to any Freedom of Information Act request. However, to give proper consideration to all items on the agenda, the President has the authority to limit participants in debates and will close repetitive or abusive remarks. In addition, public comment rules are posted in the board room.
· Park District Superintendent Janel Geary thanked Sergeant Konvalinka for spending his day off by helping the Park District in their presentation at the Illinois State Park Conference in Chicago.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Special orders
UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGENDA
All items on the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine in nature and will be enacted in one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a board member so requests, in which event, the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and will be considered separately.
· Approval of Minutes : Regular Board Meeting – January 26, 2026
· Approval of Bills: January 26, 2026 thru February 6, 2026
· Ratification of Payroll – Bi-weekly payroll ending February 4, 2026
In accordance with an opinion from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, President Wiater read aloud the items as listed for approval prior to action being taken on the Consent Agenda with brief explanations.
A motion was made to approve the Unanimous Consent Agenda as presented
Motion: Trustee Johnson Second: Trustee Milburn
ON ROLL CALL:
Ayes (6) Trustees Bruns, Healy, Johnson, Milburn, Miller, and Seifert
Nays (0) none Absent (0) none Abstain (0) none Motion declared carried
REPORTS: PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES:
Finance, License and Ordinance – Trustee Katrina Seifert
· She and Trustee Milburn contacted the website contractor with concerns about agendas not being timely published. The contractor said a new email should be used resulting from their recent merger with another firm. Clerk Tellef confirmed that when she used the new email address Friday, the agenda was published within the hour. She also submitted 2 missing 2025 agendas and those were also quickly uploaded.
Water Department – Trustee Stephen Johnson
· Reminded residents that the notices about the second round of lead pipe replacements have been sent out. The company had hoped to start work last week but cold weather has delayed. Road and Bridge – Trustee Steve Bruns – no report
Public Health – Trustee Jamie Healy
· She has been working with the high school’s AP Government & Politics class. On March 6, about 100 students will be meeting with Village and other local legislators.
· She is investigating a phone app from GoGov which would enable two-way communication between residents and Village departments on things like code enforcement and road issues. Could also push out notifications similar to the current EverBridge system. Last year Homewood introduced their HomeSweetHomewood app, and she encouraged officials to check it out.
Building and Grounds – Trustee Keith Miller
· Regarding building inspections, he stated that Beecher uses a contractor SafeBuilt to perform their inspections. Suggests that as a future consideration.
· He spoke to Representative DeLuca about the Prime Healthcare purchase of Franciscan Olympia Fields. DeLuca hopes to set up a public hearing.
Public Safety – Trustee Holly Milburn – no report
President – Mark Wiater
· Statements of Economic Interest will be emailed from the County soon
· A Liquor License hearing will be held February 23, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. for Gas N Wash. Village ordinance currently requires a newspaper notice but that is no longer a State requirement. He will be asking attorney to modify our ordinance to require 48 hours public notice as is done for meeting agendas.
· FOP has been communicating, and he, Trustee Milburn, and Mike Smith are beginning the process of negotiations.
COMMITTEE AND DEPARTMENT REPORTS:
Village Administrator – Michael Smith
· He and Mayor Wiater are working on pre-annexation details for proposed Earthrise Solar project. There is a February 26, 2026 meeting of Planning & Zoning to take up special use permits. Police Department – Chief Scott Pieritz
· January 2026 statistics: 1135 total calls. Accident and mental health calls increased from January 2025, with the cold weather most likely accounting for the increase.
· Congratulated Sergeant Konvalinka for graduating from the Northwestern School of Police Staff & Command, a 10 week program geared towards senior command positions.
· Recognized alert Crete officers who spotted a group outside a business on Steger Rd, just as a call came in from a security company. Officers apprehended 2 suspects, their stolen car and firearms.
· Local Flock cameras (LPRs) helped officers locate a person experiencing a mental health crisis who had driven off without their medication.
Fire Department – Administrator Neal Haemker – no report
Superintendent of Public Works – Justin Pancrazio – report submitted
Building Department – Building Inspector Mike Smith – report submitted
Code Enforcement – Supervisor Ryan Allison – report submitted
EMA – Ryan Allison – report submitted
Animal Control/Code Enforcement Officer – Katelyn Tieri – report submitted
Fire & Police Commission – Jim McPhee – no report
Planning Commission – Brett Millsap – no report
Heritage & Architecture Commission – Phyllis Monks – no report
Media Consultant – Nick Borrell
· Is finalizing the recruitment video he shot with EMA.
· Is in talks with the Park District to cross-promote their events along with the Village.
COMMUNICATIONS:
WARRANTS:
Excise (Telecom. Tax) – (Col. ) 2026-$ 2025-$
Sales Tax – (Col. ) 2026-$ 2025-$
Sales Tax of ½ percent – (Col. ) 2026-$ 2025-$
Income Tax – (Col. ) 2026-$ 2025-$
Local Use – (Col. ) 2026-$ 2025-$
MFT Allotment – (Col. ) 2026-$ 2025-$
Pers. Prop. Rep.Tax–(Col. ) 2026-$ 2025-$
ComEd Utility Tax (Col. Dec) 2025-$ 24,817.94 2024-$ 21,811.43 Nicor Utility Tax (Col. Dec) 2025-$ 23,332.38 2024-$ 18,780.15 Video Gaming Report (Col. ) 2026-$ 2025-$
· Chicago Southland notice of deadline of March 1, 2026 for events to be included in their Spring/Summer Festivals & Events Guide (May-Oct).
· Statement of Economic Interest: The requests from Will County Clerk will soon be emailed out and they need to be filed by May 1, 2026 to avoid penalties. Please get this done ASAP!
OLD BUSINESS:
1. Discussion of Statewide EMA Mutual Aid Agreement for manpower and equipment
EMA Director Ryan Allison had submitted answers to the questions posed about this Agreement. Trustee Miller said he got the answers that he was seeking.
Motion made to authorize signing of the Agreement.
Motion: Trustee Bruns Second: Trustee Seifert
Ayes (6) Trustees Bruns, Healy, Johnson, Milburn, Miller, and Seifert
Nays (0) none Absent (0) none Abstain (0) none Motion declared carried
NEW BUSINESS:
1. Appointment of Ken Patterson to Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals
Ken Patterson was in attendance at the meeting. Mayor Wiater got to know Ken while both worked at the 2025 Country Christmas. Ken expressed an interest in getting more involved in the Village, and Wiater suggested that he take the spot vacated by Karen Tellef when she assumed the Village Clerk role.
Motion made to appoint Ken Patterson to P&Z Commission
Motion: Trustee Milburn Second: Trustee Johnson
Ayes (6) Trustees Bruns, Healy, Johnson, Milburn, Miller, and Seifert
Nays (0) none Absent (0) none Abstain (0) none Motion declared carried
2. Ordinance 2026-01: An ordinance authorizing the Will County Historic Preservation Commission and Will County to designate Joseph Perry House as a County landmark (365 W. Exchange St)
The owner of this property contacted Will County about getting a County landmark designation. About 10 years ago the property received a National Landmark designation. Will County contacted the Village to first ask for an IGA showing Village’s approval.
Motion made to authorize the designation.
Motion: Trustee Johnson Second: Trustee Healy
ON ROLL CALL:
Ayes (6) Trustees Bruns, Healy, Johnson, Milburn, Miller, and Seifert
Nays (0) none Absent (0) none Abstain (0) none Motion declared carried
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
None
ADJOURNMENT:
As there was no further business to come before the board, a motion was made to declare the meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m.
Motion: Trustee Milburn Second: Trustee Bruns
Ayes (6) Trustees Bruns, Healy, Johnson, Milburn, Miller, and Seifert
Nays (0) none Absent (0) none Abstain (0) none Motion declared carried
Agendas & Minutes
