After 27 years on the job, Mokena village administrator John Downs plans to retire in the fall. The village board on Monday selected a recruiting firm to find his replacement.
Downs was eligible to retire in 2013. But after Frank Fleischer was elected as mayor, Downs agreed to stay on to help with the transition and continue to oversee some major projects. Downs committed at that time to stay until at least January 2015.
Fleischer was a trustee from 1987 to 2003 during the early portion of Downs’ stint with the village.
“It’s hard to believe those 27 years have gone by,” Fleischer said.
The board approved a deal to hire a national recruiting firm, GovHR USA, for $18,000. Firm owner Heidi Voorhees will oversee the search, Downs said.
Voorhees Associates, part of GovHR USA, is the firm that assisted the village in recruiting Police Chief Steven Vaccaro, hired last year to succeed Randy Rajewski.
“It seemed to make sense we would go back to them,” Downs said. “They do have a large database of people in our field.”
The firm’s services include outreach, initial interviewing and creating a brochure about Mokena, among others.
The search is expected to take three to four months, Downs said.
In another matter, village Clerk Patricia Patt announced the village(1)s newly organized Open-Air Market will begin May 2. It will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 17 along Front Street in downtown Mokena. The first 500 customers on May 2 will receive a free reusable tote bag, she said. New vendors this year include one that sells alpaca fiber garments.
The board approved restricting parking in the lot north of the Front Street Metra station from 10 p.m. Fridays to 6 p.m. Saturdays to accommodate the market.
Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
