Kendall County Times

Village of Oswego President and Board of Trustees met Oct. 7.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

President Ryan Kauffman called the meeting to order at 7:12 p.m. Chief Bastin led us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.

ROLL CALL

Board Members Physically Present: President Ryan Kauffman; Trustees Jac Cooper, Jennifer Hughes, Rachelle Koenig, Karin McCarthy-Lange, Karen Novy, and Andrew Torres.

Staff Physically Present: Dan Di Santo, Village Administrator; Jean Bueche, Asst. Village Administrator; Tina Touchette, Village Clerk; Jason Bastin, Police Chief; Joe Renzetti, IT/GIS Director; Curt Cassidy, Public Works Director; Andrea Lamberg, Finance Director; Rod Zenner, Development Services Director; Kevin Leighty, Economic Development Director; Maddie Upham, Asst. to the Village Administrator; Lisset Padilla, Communications Manager; and Dave Silverman, Village Attorney.

RECOGNITIONS/APPOINTMENTS

D.1 Oath of Office

a) Brian Holstead - Patrol Officer

President Kauffman asked Chief, Brian and members of the Police Commission to come to the front. Chief noted his mother and father were in attendance and briefly spoke about Brian’s background. President Kauffman administered the oath and Brian’s father pinned him. Brian shook the hands of those at the dais. Pictures were taken.

D.2 Employee Service Awards

a) Nicholas Carrington- 5 Years of Service (Police Department)

Nicholas could not attend. President Kauffman thanked him for his service.

b) Dan Di Santo- 10 Years of Service (Administration)

President Kauffman asked Dan to come to the front and stated the following: Dan is the longest serving administrator for the Village of Oswego. He has been a fearless leader and mentor to many in the community. He has been a rock star. Without him, this Village would not be nearly as successful as it is and continues to be. I was a Village Trustee along with Trustee McCarthy-Lange and Gail Johnson as the Village President when we hired Dan. Gail called me and said we have this amazing candidate for Village Administrator. At the interview we started peppering Dan with very challenging questions and he was knocking it out of the park. I recall exchanging glances with several of the other Trustees, and you could see that we got our guy. When we left the meeting, I can remember calling Gail and told her this is amazing; he's perfect. And here we are 10 years later. I don't know what we would do without Dan and the love for him in this community is incredible. Everybody loves Dan whether you're on the Board or you've been off the Board. He's just an amazing person. President Kauffman noted that previous Board members Pam Parr, Kit Kuhrt and Jennifer Jones Sinnott were in attendance.

Dan stated: It's been a pleasure and an honor to work for this community, for this Board and with this great staff. And thank you to Pam Parr for hiring me, and thank you to Jennifer, Kit and the rest of you for not firing me. I want to give a shout out to our softball players out here in the in the blue. Let's continue to keep it rolling. Thank you very much. It's been my honor.

D.3 Business of the Month Recognition - Ron Westphal Chevrolet

President Kauffman noted they were unable to attend the meeting and asked Director Kevin Leighty and Economic Development Commission members to come to the front. He read the following write up:

This month features Ron Westphal Chevrolet, which was founded by Ron Westphal and run by General Manager Bill Houlis. Ron Westphal Chevy has been a part of the Oswego community for over 45 years. While they originally started out of Yorkville, they moved their operations to 1425 Route 34 in the 1980’s and have been there ever since. As a result, the dealership has truly grown with the community since Ron has always said that when they first moved to Oswego, they were surrounded by nothing but cornfields, and Ogden Avenue was just a two-lane road. The origins of the dealership all started with Ron Westphal himself, a farm boy who knew the value of hard work and taking care of the local community. What began as a small business has grown and evolved alongside the very communities he and his team now serve. As a family-owned business, Westphal Chevy believes in treating customers like friends and family. They say this simple idea is at the heart of everything they do. Whether you're at the dealership for a new or used vehicle, a great financing deal, or just a reliable place for service and parts, they promise a low-pressure, friendly experience. Over its history, Westphal Chevy has been significantly involved in the Oswego community. They are members of the Oswego Area Chamber of Commerce and have been previous and reoccurring sponsor for major civic events such as Christmas Walk and PrairieFest along with numerous other local causes and organizations. Please join me once again in congratulating Ron Westphal Chevrolet for being the September 2025 Business of the Month and thanking them for all the contributions they have made to our community.

Director Leighty stated Bill Houlis extends his apologies for not being able to make it tonight. I'll be delivering their business of the month award to them.

PUBLIC FORUM

Public Forum was opened at 7:25 p.m.

Al Gegenheimer addressed the Board regarding motorized vehicles on bike paths and roadways being driven very fast by children and teenagers. He lives in the Southbury Villas 55 and older area; have a lot of elderly people who walk their dogs and the motor bikes are moving extremely fast; they don’t follow the stop signs; not sure if the bikes are electric or gas; was afraid he might hit one of the kids with his vehicle; he called the police but there is no ordinance against it.

Administrator Di Santo noted that he had previously asked the Chief of Police to look into this. A Committee of the Whole discussion is scheduled for November 4, 2025, to discuss the motor scooter issue.

Sam Figola addressed the Board regarding motorized scooters and bikes. He lives in Southbury and wants to provide the HOA perspective; they have declarations against motorized vehicles on paths; parents think it’s ok to ride these on the streets; the HOA gets calls before they call the police; need this to be a team effort to better educate and put a program together to enforce the walking paths; putting something in writing like Plainfield and Aurora on what is allowed and not allowed; open to suggestions and meeting to discuss further.

Tom Kubatzki addressed the Board regarding electric bikes and scooters. He lives in Southbury in the Villas; big problem with the motorized scooters and bikes; have called the police; there isn’t an ordinance in the Village to enforce them; didn’t hear a young child pass him and his dog almost knocked the child off the bike; Village should take this seriously; maybe stop this or at least get it under control.

Mary Murray addressed the Board regarding the old Traughber building. She lives on Tyler Street and has been here for over 40 years; she has seen the plans from the developers; knows the buildings need to come down and the school district needs to sell it; development doesn’t fit in the neighborhood and it’s ugly; we are a downtown neighborhood; kids are on scooters on Washington Street after dark; if the development was ownership versus rental it would be ok; who is going to maintain the buildings in 10 years; they are building an outdoor pool and said they can use it; whether buses and fire trucks get through there; only have one entrance out on 71 and Washington; knows the presentation won’t come to the Board for two weeks, but wants the Board to have some time to think it over; come walk around the neighborhood and then look at the plans.

There was no one else who requested to speak. The public forum was closed at 7:39 p.m.

STAFF REPORTS

F.1 Oswegoland Senior and Community Center Presentation

Michele Bergeron, Executive Director of the Oswegoland Senior and Community Center presented the following to the Board:

https://www.oswegoil.org/home/showpublisheddocument/8470