Kendall County Times

The village of Plainfield recently reorganized the board of trustees and said goodbye to departing committee members.

During the May 1 Plainfield village board meeting, officials recognized the results from the April election and made formal changes to the members of the board. The village board had three seats up during the election, with the terms of Harry Benton, Kevin Calkins, and Margie Bonuchi expiring at the end of April. Bonuchi will serve another four-year term after being successfully reelected. Calkins choose not to run for reelection along with Benton who chose not to run for reelection because he was elected to serve as state representative for the 97th district and, as Plainfield Mayor John Argoudelis joked, will be moving “on to much more important things.”

Joining Bonuchi for new terms were newcomers Richard Kiefer and Brian Wojoswki. The village was excited to have Plainfield native Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Dan Rippy administer the oaths of office to the newest board members. After the oaths were administered, the board and their families had a brief celebration with refreshments before resuming normal business.

The village also said goodbye to three members of their commissions. John Renzi and Dan Seggebruch both served on the Plan Commission for several years, with Renzi serving since 2005 and Seggebruch serving off and on between 2001-2009 before becoming a more permanent figure on the commission in 2009. Mayor Argoudelis thanked them for the “great period of time they've dedicated to the well-being of the village of Plainfield.” The village also said farewell to David Hagen who was retiring from the Historic Preservation board. The village awarded plaques to the three commission members in recognition of their years of service to the community.

The board also approved several appointments and reappointments to village commissions. They approved Rich Valerga, Karen Goins, and Patrick Nicholson for terms on the Plan Commission expiring April 30, 2026. Brian Minnis was named Chairman of the Plan Commission until April 30, 2024. Jeff Cook was appointed to a two-year term on the Police Pension Board, and Greg Chapman was appointed to the Fire & Police Commission for a term expiring April 30, 2026. Finally, Michael Bortel and Suzanne Derrick were appointed as Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively, on the Historic Preservation Commission until April 20, 2024.

"We have a lot of appointments, reappointment, new chair people," Mayor Argoudelis said. "It's again, an exciting time to have some new blood infused on different levels with new ideas."