I am sure you all have a question or 2 on this appointment and so without being funny do you have a concern that the aldermen should address.
My first question is when and if a new civil engineer/spw is hired, who will orient him to the job? Who will work with him while he adjusts to the new position? Will he have a support system and who will his go to person be?
Since the previous engineer will no longer be here, who will it be? Hopefully not the Public Works Committee.
46 comments:
I believe Mr. Mikos was in the process of establishing some type of computer program that would have all the city information located on it. Has that program been purchased and will the new P.E. be made aware of it and continue the process? It was, in my opinion, a step in the right direction for the town of Peru.
GIS equipment was approved for purchase. Was it purchased? Will the council make sure the next person hired knows how to use this equipment?
Bleek ordered signs in the spring that were to be brown in color directing people to our city parks. They were to be up by central states. Are we going to put them up in the near future?
This is an absolute joke to me. If I was running a high end restaurant and I lost a cook would I replace that cook with a waiter? I would like to see the job description written out and have both of them lay their resume's on the table for us taxpayers to see. We are paying their salaries and we should demand the appropriate person if hired. How about the other candidates that submitted resumes for SPW/Engineer. Have any of them been contacted? Or is it that the others that submitted resumes didn't donate to the Harl fund and are therefore blacklisted? Peru's mayor and alderman make me sick to my stomach. You all should be ashamed of yourselves!!
Specifically, why did Mr. Mikos resign?
Specifically, WHY?
Whoever they hire to fill the vacancy will be somebody that can be controlled by the Mayor, Waldorf, and Lukosus. Period. They really don't care if the person can do the job, they just want somebody they can control, keep their mouth shut, and keep the money flowing out of our pockets and into the pockets of the connected construction, engineering, and various other retail businesses that Peru buys from.
Yes 1:42, I heard there were two top candidates when they hired Sean. Was the other contacted? Have they even advertised yet for this position? Who will do the interviews? Will they be looking for the same qualifications or will it be two positions now...SPW and engineer? Call your alderman, maybe it is time for the infrastructure committee to reorganize. If I remember correctly there were individuals on there who could handle interviews and hiring. Should it take three months for this to be accomplished? I hope public safety is not compromised having both the police chief and fire chief in charge of another department. I am not saying they cannot do it, I am just not sure they should. Was this their idea, or the mayor and aldermen? There are many more questions I am sure we all have, maybe they will be answered at tonight's meeting without anyone having to fill out a 3x5 card.
Mikos resigned because he was a whistle blower!
Plain and simple.
And those that he ended their free ride with extra overtime hours wouldn't do the job for him to make the department look bad. That's why it took so long with the ice rink. Because the foreman wanted it to fail. Harl wouldn't do anything to back up mikos so he left. Plus the insurance fraud on the dump truck looks bad because it came up after bleek left. They waited 2-3 weeks to report it when mikos was in charge. He's not gonna take the fall when the insurance company wants their money back and the crap hits the fan.
The only way to fix this problem is to adopt the statutory manager form of government. Read this memo from the Illinois City / County Management Association. This form of government was designed to prevent everything that is happening regarding the management of Peru since Harl took office.
https://www.ilcma.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/366
Hiring a "manger" will not correct the problem - the government structure needs to change IAW the municipal code. That is the only way to prevent politicians from meddling in the day to day operations of the City.
1:42 I agree with you. What about the other candidates that submitted resumes? I wonder the same thing with reference to the vacancy on the rec board. Will the 3 candidates who submitted applications be contacted and offered the position first? As far as the SPW has the position been advertised as of yet? Wasn't it mentioned at a council meeting that there was another applicant who was just as qualified as Mr. Mikos? Will he be contacted? Would he want the position now after what has happened with Mr. Mikos?
How does anyone know if the other candidate was just as qualified as Sean Mikos. The other candidate has never held the job of SPW/Engineer of Peru which is the proof of the pudding. Mr. Mikos held it and in a few months on his own proved to be overqualified and too honest for certain powers of the present administration and the public works department. It would be interesting to know what other skeletons are in the city closets that they were in fear of him finding if left on the job.
If another candidate interviewed was just as qualified what was the determining point in hiring Sean rather than him/her?
Whoever is interviewed it would be best for them not to come with whistle around neck or prayer book in hand. A recipe book on "home cookin" titled What Happens in City Hall Stays in City Hall would be a huge plus. Also they must remember that similar to Vegas we also don't believe in time clocks. Does anyone remember the three little monkeys one with his hand over his mouth the other with his hands over his eyes and the third with his hands covering his ears - interviews for SPW/Engineer being held at Brookfield Zoo this Friday several outstanding candidates have been discovered who will work for peanuts.
Don't kid yourself, they probably are gonna play a game with the hiring process, to make it look as if the best person gets hired. WHEN THEY ALREADY KNOW WHO'S GOING TO BE HIRED. Just like back in oct.2013 with Harl appointing king to positions at 84k a year. That probably was in the works many months before the appointment was made public. Kinda like a magic wand. POOF!
We need to start waking up and begin to elect the MOST qualified candidates for the position. It's as simple as that. How many of our representatives have a background that fits their position/role? How many of are elected officials have a college degree? How many have a career that is a managerial role or a role that demands leadership? You have a barber and an owner of a few laundry mats that overlook Public Works. How can we honestly say we are positioning ourselves to make any type of advancement in our community when we elect people as such? What type of daily leadership skills does a crane operator need on the job? Not very many, but yet we elect him. How much can you truly expect from electing those that are not suited to be in their current positions? We took 2 steps forward by hiring Mikos and 5 steps back by our alderman not having a backbone to step up to the plate and back a qualified individual that could have possibly turned this whole thing around and brought a ray of sunlight into Peru. He was educated and displayed leadership skills yet we allow uneducated and those that lack leadership force him out. Give yourself a round of applause alderman for really screwing this one up.
What a joke this quote from Waldorf is:“In today’s economic times I think it is incumbent on all of us as city officials to find ways to effectively manage city government," Waldorf said.
Mayor Harl recommended the appointment of Sean Mikos as Public Works City Engineer with an annual salary of
$87,000 to replace retiring Superintendent of Public Works Gary Bleck. Alderman Waldorf made a motion to
concur with the recommendation. Alderman Lukosus seconded the motion. Alderman Perez asked the Committee to
explain the process of selecting Mr. Mikos. Alderman Waldorf stated that nine resumes were received, three phone
interviews, two personal interviews and then two more personal interviews were conducted. Alderman Waldorf
explained that both of the final candidates were excellent and that one had a PE and one did not and that ultimately
Mr. Mikos proved to the best candidate and will be able to oversee small engineering projects. Alderman Lukosus
seconded the motion. City Clerk Dave Bartley called the roll with Aldermen Potthoff, Ferrari, Waldorf, Lukosus,Perez, Radtke, Mueller and Sapienza voting aye. (minutes of 7/19)
10:54 - if we change the form of government to a statutory manager then the Mayor and Council would not be allowed to be involved in day to day operations. The Council would be purely legislative. The Mayor and Council would set policy and the general strategic plan - they would not hire or fire any city employees directly. Having a professional City Manager under the statutory manager form would also do away with the elected clerk and elected treasurer. The council would provide checks and balances. The Mayor would become a mostly ceremonial position.
If interested watch the video of July 14, 2013 as it relates to the hiring of the new city engineer/spw. Ald. Waldorf speaks extensively.
So the city doesn't like people who tell the truth evidently. What a bunch of fakes. As far as salary for the SPW, shouldn't that depend on experience and education? Not only the salary, but the cost per year of the benefits given to the hired person that cost taxpayers.
I went down to Water Street for lunch on Friday and something jarred my memory.... I did not see a Gourmet Hamburger joint in the old ESDA building. Wasn't there some sort of big rush to get that building sold? Now it sits as empty as ever. When will Fire Chief and Building Inspector King condemn it? Or is the City going to have to buy it for a dollar and make sure the asbestos is removed ??
I have been a longtime supporter of Lois and the original goals of her blog but unfortunately over the past few months I can no longer be supportive. I have stood by to see this blog become so radical that it has lost all sense of credibility. Hopefully that will change in the future. As someone who attended the PAC picnic a few years ago and someone who voted for Mike I sadly can no longer support such a negative group of people. For what "good" we had hoped to accomplish I think that has been lost in all the negativity. I am hearing from so many regular non political people in Peru that they now believe that this blog has done more to hurt Peru than anything else in the last 48 plus years. I think you all should re think your negativity. Shame on all of you for being so blinded by hatred!
$87,000 for Mikos and $84,000 for King. I'm updating my resume. I want a job at the City of Peru.
12:42 PM
I understand how you feel but if you think what you are reading is "bad", I hate to think what you would think if you were reading the large amount that are not printed. Yes there are those.
But I do believe that for the first 2 years of the Harl administration most comments were positive and people looking forward to better times. So before you throw your stones at me, take a look at the administration that has caused all those animosity to develop. You can see with Mayor Harl's broken promises, lack of supervision (the mayors job) and most definitely turning his back not only on those who voted him into office and others who were not involved. As in all things, there are reasons. People in Peru see what is happening with good leadership in all cities surrounding us and we are languishing in the pits. Go back and read comments written four years ago and you will find mostly people looking forward to that promised improvement and then look not only at the physical aspects of this city but upon the programs, activities and incentives for their citizens. It's not here.
12:42, don't support it. I believe this blog has been a fabulous way of communications of what's been happening in the city. 12:42, do you realize how many closed sessions there have been since Harls administration? What does that tell you right there? Of course people aren't going to like what they read on here if it pertains to their friend, etc.. People who blog something are going to be able to back up their blog with facts if ever needed. All persons who are snakes and involved with the city in many different capacity's will not like this BLOGSITE, because people are able to get an insight. Social media is great. If a person has intregrity, honesty, then they should not have a problem with this BLOGSITE. One time a friend told me that when a person has to go to court for an issue, and they're nervous, it's because they're in the wrong on some capacity, If a person who goes to court isn't nervous and only tells the truth, won't be nervous going to court. There is a lot of truth to this if you think about it. I wouldn't like this BLOGSITE if it pertained to me knowing that there is truth to it, because my covers been blown. Who would? Honesty is the best policy.
GREAT POST LOIS.
12:42 I too understand how you feel but how can we be positive when the things our mayor promised have never come to fruition? How can we be positive when things are disappearing, money is being dispersed apparently illegally, and the open and honest government we were promised has become closed and questionable? This blog is not the cause of what is happening at city hall. It is just the door that has been opened allowing us to learn what is happening with our governing representatives. It allows us to form an opinion and learn how others feel about the various situations that have developed. No one is forced to agree or disagree. Everyone is allowed their right to form whatever opinion they choose.
I would like someone to present some facts as to what promises were broken and so on and so forth. As far as open and honest government we now have a splendid web site with the budget available, videos of council meetings. This is a vast improvement from what we had.I really would like some facts and not this because I said it, it must be true!!! You do have to admit this blog really has nothing positive to say, is highly censored, and does not offer any solutions to any of our communities issues. If all you do is complain you just become part of the problem.
Amen 12:42 I feel the same way and really believe this blog went south when all problems started with pickle ball. I believe Lois felt mayor Harl " owed" her something for the work she put into his campaign and when she didn't get what she wanted she made it her agenda to unilaterally oppose mayor Harl. I will be truely surprised if this gets posted as probably 1 of 4 of my blogs gets posted.
3:55 PM
You are really funny. I never expected anything but honesty and integrity from the person many of us worked to elect as mayor. I don't consider that anything that was for my benefit, but it was what the city needed and we didn't get with the election of Mayor Harl. BTW I don't play pickleball and don't live in that part of town. The only think I expected from the mayor on the pickleball issue was leadership and no one certainly got that from the mayor and many of the aldermen and if you have been awake for the last few years, you certainly know who they are. There are 4 of them that should be embarrassed at what they said to people involved with it. I bet that more than 50% of the people reading this blog can name them accurately.
Ask ANY of the original supporters if he did any of his original promises. You will find out that didn't happen.
3:55 And there wouldn't have been any problems with "pickleball" had it been handled in a legal and honest manner.
3:31 One of the promises made by the mayor that was not kept was the proposed monthly town hall meetings.
He also led people to believe he was very upset with the signing of the 5 year Test contract right before he entered office. He felt it should have gone out for bid.
No one felt he owed them anything with the exception of maybe a friendly word once in a while. He seems to have forgotten those who worked to get him elected.
As far as videoing the meetings I'm pretty sure that was pushed for by alderman Perez and not the mayor.
I have one of mayor Harls original campaign cards and no where on it does it state anything about town hall meetings. There are eight bullet points so I am still waiting for some factual evidence he has done contrary to any of these points. If you can't remember what he said then I guess you really aren't referencing facts.
6:40 you are correct on the pickleball matter. All anyone has to do is go back and read the minutes from the rec committee from January of 2012. It is there in black and white that the OMA was not followed that evening. That is not speculation that is fact. To allow a guest to request a sport and be handed $3000.00 that same night is a clear violation.
6:40 wasn't it the alderman that approved the test contract and not the mayor??l thought the mayor at one time suggested using channel 13 as a public broadcast for meetings. I don't think he was ever opposed to making meetings available in other formats. If pickle ball was done illegally why then didn't litigation take place, and really it is a public park!!! As far as I know it did not exceed noise decibel levels for a neighborhood.
7:56 What are you smoking? You are so way off base with that comment. Please try to find at least 1% of the truth if that word is even in your vocabulary.
7:08 PM
It may not have been on his campaign cards, but I heard it many times and so did all the other people who worked the same campaign. How many bibles to you wish me to swear on that I heard Harl say he wished to have town forums and said repeatedly.
6:30 I am one of his " original " supporters and he did accomplished some of his first platform promises, even without the help of the council at that time. Once again I see no factual evidence to the contrary. I can provide evidence that he did accomplish some of his promises, but so far no one can even state what he promised in his original campaign. This just tells me everyone is just full of #&$@ !!!!!
7:57 What did he accomplish without the help of the council?
7:15 as far as pickleball, get your head out of your butt. Whether it is a park or not has nothing to do with violation of state and OSHA sound regs. Home rule does not overide environmental regs.
it violated nose pollution statutes regularly and was instituted illegally. Those are facts. Why no litigation? Because it is a real bear to sue a city, especially when they set up a quasi govt agency to buffer them. And it costs a lot of time and money. It takes a lot of guts to file that suit, especially with a whole cabal of big fish in small pond Peru elites playing there and going to meetings.
In the end you can decide for yourself whether the threat of litigation and the real merits of the case may have made the move a year early seem wise. It was a stupid decision to put it there and Harl should have brokered a move in year one. It only became a big deal out of stupidity, arrogance and the general peeing contest that breaks out among the small town bureaucrats that use their meager power because it hurts their brains to think.
7:57 What are you smoking?
7:15 Visit some of the residents at the Stough Group homes in back of Aldi. The sound of the pickle ball could be heard as they sat on their porches when the game was being played. If they could hear it what about the neighbors that live 20 feet from the court. 9:27 is correct with everyone of his or her comments. Do not make silly comments as it is a public park!!!! until you know the facts.
Ok, pickle ball has raised its ugly head once again, but could someone please explain to me, why would they put a game like this that close to homes, if what 9:27 is saying is true about state and OSHA sound regulations.
Why would they locate it at Washington park, if it were such an issue, those that reside near that park don't matter??? Sounds like to me there is a double standard??? Any neighborhood but mine?? Did anyone speak to the residents near that park!??? Maybe when Washington school is no longer being utilized they can demolish it and put some courts up there!!! Lois may even be able to hear it this summer. You'll have to let us know!! LOL
3:24 I hate it when people get rude and ignorant when they obviously have no insight into what is actually going on. For your information the 28th street neighbors had to put up with the noise for 2 years and no one ever asked them if it was an issue. Oh,and yes, the neighbors around
Washington Park were interviewed and asked if they would have any problem with the game being located there. As for your comment "any neighborhood but mine" there is no other neighborhood in town that has homes within 20' of the courts besides 28th street park. " Why locate it at Washington Park" - because that's where the pickleball association representative wanted it. Hope I've answered your questions.
Any park but mine, is a strong indicator that pickle ball should be located at Veterans Park where no homes are located. No matter how powerful the chosen Ambassadors are they should not be allowed to lower the living standards of others. In this case the "Jerk in Charge" is a Ambassador who can't decide what he wants therefore costing the city thousands of dollars. Some of the meetings I have seen him at he should have been handed a crying towel and told to go home. This is a example of I don't care how much displeasure pickle ball causes you as long as it causes me none. I know a good place for the slap sticks that they could be named slap sticks. Very uncomfortable to it down.
Was any of those anti-pickleball residents of 28th street oppossed to placing the game at any other park? No, as long as it wasn't 28th street. Why bash the so called Ambassador, don't blame him for the move or the cost. The few home owners should pay the bill.
Those so called anti-pickleball people were and are not opposed to the game. Just it's location. They did not make the decision to relocate the game to Washington Park. The pickleball ambassador representative did. Believe me when I say that those so-called anti-pickleball people that you refer to have no power what-so-ever. Please explain why the home owners should pay the bill! You seem to be against the game being at any other park except 28th street park. Why is that? Why should those neighbors put up with the noise but those who live by other parks should be spared? I agree that no one should have to put up with the noise from this game but why are you adamantly pushing it on the 28th street residents? Let's let others in town enjoy witnessing this game and the irritating noise that comes with it.
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