Village of Crete President and Board of Trustees met Jan. 12.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
REGULAR BOARD MEETING:
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, January 12, 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, Holly Milburn, and Keith Miller. Trustees Stephen Johnson and Katrina Seifert were absent. A quorum was present.
Also in attendance: Administrator Michael Smith, Police Chief Scott Pieritz, Fire Chief Neal Haemker, DPW Superintendent Justin Pancrazio, 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.
· Former Village Clerk Deb Bachert said she likes the new electronic sign in front of the Village Hall. Trustee Healy mentioned that they need to train staff and establish procedures on usage of the sign. Deb appreciated the recognition given to her at the After Holiday Party, along with mentions of Mike Einhorn and Phil Hameister. Mayor Wiater noted that there was over 100 years of service to the village between those 3 people.
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 – December 22, 2025
· Approval of Bills: December 22, 2025 thru January 9, 2026
· Ratification of Payroll – Bi-weekly payroll ending December 24, 2025 and January 7, 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 Milburn Second: Trustee Healy
ON ROLL CALL:
Ayes (4) Trustees Bruns, Healy, Milburn, and Miller
Nays (0) none Absent (2) Trustees Johnson and Seifert Abstain (0) none Motion declared carried
REPORTS: PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES:
Finance, License and Ordinance – Trustee Katrina Seifert – absent
Water Department – Trustee Stephen Johnson – absent
Road and Bridge – Trustee Steve Bruns
· Will be attending a meeting Thursday about the Earthrise solar project and their construction process as it relates to road use.
Public Health – Trustee Jamie Healy
· Northern Illinois Food Bank truck will be at Heritage Park this Thursday the 15th, from 4-5:30pm, offering both perishable and non-perishable food items. They have 28 volunteers, and EMA will help with traffic.
· She will be submitting suggestions for changes to the state FOIA request requirements relating to police departments.
Building and Grounds – Trustee Keith Miller – no reporrt
Public Safety – Trustee Holly Milburn – no report
President – Mark Wiater
· The Audit is almost complete, should be presented at the next meeting. Thanked Nate, Mike and Kim for handling the bulk of the work, the first audit since departure of previous Finance Director.
· The virtual closing on the Crete Marketplace property is this Wednesday the 14th.
· Received registered letters from the Sergeant and Patrolmen unions requesting dates to begin negotiations. Current contract expires the end of April.
COMMITTEE AND DEPARTMENT REPORTS:
Village Administrator – Michael Smith
· Filed the final paperwork relating to ARPA funds to be received from COVID era Police Department – Chief Scott Pieritz
· Thanked Trustee Healy for her work in calling for changes in FOIA requirements.
· Submitted stats for 2025: December had 1290 calls, with a total of 14,747 for the year
· The two new recruits sworn in in December have started their 16 week police academy.
· Two Special Olympics fundraisers are coming up. Saturday March 7, 2026 is the annual Polar Plunge at Manteno Sportsman Club, starting at 9am with the plunge at 2pm. Tuesday March 10, 2026 is the Unified Basketball Game against Fire Dept, at Crete Monee HS, 6pm.
· Officers utilized Flock cameras to locate a missing person and reunite with their family. Fire Department – Administrator Neal Haemker
· Submitted stats for 2025: 2096 calls, up from 1975 in 2024
· 3 new Metro Contract employees were hired in 2025 to replace openings.
· Some statistics are not yet available due to ongoing work with the new Image Trend Elite and NERIS Incident reporting programs. Code Enforcement may be able to use this software.
· Awaiting delivery of final hardware to be able to install 8 CAD tablets for Apparatus
· New Fire Engine 77 is in production, estimated to arrive in 1st or 2nd quarter 2026, then will undergo customized buildout.
Superintendent of Public Works – Justin Pancrazio – report submitted
Building Department – Building Inspector Mike Smith – no report
Code Enforcement – Supervisor Ryan Allison – no report
Fire & Police Commission – Jim McPhee – no report
EMA – Ryan Allison – no report
Animal Control/Code Enforcement Officer – Katelyn Tieri – no report
Planning Commission – Brett Millsap – no report
Heritage & Architecture Commission – Phyllis Monks – no report
Media Consultant – Nick Borrell
· Is working on a recruitment video with EMA.
COMMUNICATIONS:
WARRANTS:
Excise (Telecom. Tax) – (Col. ) 2025-$ 2024-$
Sales Tax – (Col. ) 2025-$ 2024-$
Sales Tax of ½ percent – (Col. ) 2025-$ 2024-$
Income Tax – (Col. ) 2025-$ 2024-$
Local Use – (Col. ) 2025-$ 2024-$
MFT Allotment – (Col.Jan) 2026-$ 34,270.23 2025-$ 31,786.85
Pers. Prop. Rep.Tax–(Col. Dec) 2025-$ 7,282.34 2024-$ 6,801.63
ComEd Utility Tax (Col. Nov) 2025-$ 17,719.41 2024-$ 12,369.27
Nicor Utility Tax (Col. ) 2025-$ 2024-$
Video Gaming Report (Col. ) 2025-$ 2024-$
· Email from Sarah Brubaker representing Crete Energy Venture (power plant on Hartmann) submitting renewals to Illiinois EPA of Clean Air Act and Acid Rain permits. Public comment period open until January 21, 2026
· Thank you note received from Crete Country Christmas Committee for the “generous and invaluable support” from the Village.
· Crete Monee High School is having a Show Choir Spectacular, February 7, 2026, 8am – 10pm
OLD BUSINESS:
None
NEW BUSINESS:
None
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 7:25 p.m.
Motion: Trustee Milburn Second: Trustee Bruns
Ayes (4) Trustees Bruns, Healy, Milburn, and Miller
Nays (0) none Absent (2) Trustees Johnson and Seifert Abstain (0) none
Motion declared carried
Agendas & Minutes
