The Villa Park Village Board held a regular meeting on Monday, July 13. Trustee Cari Alfano was absent from the meeting.
During discussion of a proposed ordinance related to changes in the village code regarding parking restrictions on Villa Avenue, in the South Villa Business District, Trustee Deepa Kumar noted the need to enforce the code. Villa Park Chief of Police Todd Kubish then addressed the board and stated the village’s police department is in need of more officers.
“We definitely have a staffing problem,” said Kubish during the board meeting. He told the board that about a decade ago, the police department included 43 officers. The department now has 38 officers.
“It takes eight to 10 to 11 months to train somebody, if in fact they work out; if they don’t work out then we start all over again,” said Kubish. “I know the budget is an issue.”
Kubish said that the next police academy starts in August. He said he would be asking the board for permission to hire two officers who are about to begin their police academy training. Kubish said that having two new police officers in place next year would help to staff the department, which is expecting two retirements in 2027. He said he had engaged in conversations about department staffing with Village Manager Michael Rivas and Finance Director Suzy Mika.
“We have two retirements planned for next year,” said Kubish. “One turned in his paperwork today.”
Referring to enforcement of matters including parking violations, Kubish said that officers aren’t always available to focus on those issues.
“We have enough officers to handle the street,” Kubish stated. “We have enough officers to handle investigations,” added Kubish. “I think it’s very important that people realize, it’s not necessarily that we aren’t doing anything. It’s that the police are understaffed. We can only deal with what we have.”
Kubish also said that the police department recently had an unexpected retirement. He said other factors, including injuries and parental leave, could also stress the department’s staffing. He said that continually ordering in officers to fill shifts causes burnout and runs up overtime expenses.
“We need resources that we can actually dedicate to these problems,” said Kubish while referring to enforcement of parking violations. “Right now we just don’t have the staffing to do that. We do the best we can with what we have.”
Kubish told the board that he and the department’s two deputy chiefs have recently been out enforcing traffic laws in the village.
Later in the meeting, Village President Kevin Patrick asked the five present trustees if they supported an amendment to the village’s 2027 budget that would approve the near-immediate hiring of two new officers who would enter the police academy in August and be available to start working in the village in the middle of next year. All five trustees indicated that they supported such an amendment. Patrick said the board would consider that amendment at its next meeting on July 27. Patrick asked Kubish when the following police academy began. Kubish, who said there are viable candidates who are about to enter the police academy in August, said that the next police academy would not begin until January 2027.
Board members voted to waive the first reading of the ordinance related to changing the village code regarding parking restrictions on Villa Avenue. The changes, which were made to accommodate businesses in the area, call for 2-hour parking in most of the area on Villa from Central Boulevard to just north of Wildwood Avenue. Some spaces on the east side of Villa, near Central Boulevard, will have a time restriction of 30 minutes.
Kubish noted that the police department has an extra watch set up in the South Villa Business District, and that Villa Park’s community service officers routinely patrol the area to enforce parking restrictions.
Villa Park Village Board members direct village clerk to provide Patrick with recording of executive session of June 29 special meeting
Village board members voted 4-1 to approve a resolution directing Village Clerk Rolf Laukant to provide Patrick “access to review” a copy of the audio recording of the executive session of the board’s June 29 special meeting. Trustee Khalid Sabri cast the lone vote against the resolution. Patrick did not cast a vote.
At the board’s special meeting on July 6, Patrick noted that his father had passed away in June, and that he was unable to attend the June 29 special meeting in person. One other board member, Trustee Jack Kozar, was absent from that meeting.
Patrick stated during the board’s July 6 special meeting that he sent multiple emails to Laukant asking him to provide the audio recording of the June 29 meeting’s executive session. Patrick said during the July 13 meeting that he still had not been able to obtain that recording.
Laukant attended the board’s June 29 special meeting. He was absent from the July 6 special meeting and the July 13 regular meeting.
Shortly before the vote to direct Laukant to provide Patrick with an audio copy of the June 29 executive session, Kumar asked if Laukant was attending his son’s wedding. She then asked if his absence was planned.
“I don’t know what the clerk does on his daily routines,” responded Patrick. “He doesn’t even respond to my emails about wanting to see these executive session recordings.”
Patrick also stated that Laukant recently attended a hearing at Village Hall for adjudication and spoke as a witness in his official capacity as the village clerk.
“I don’t know what the village clerk is up to or what his schedule looks like,” added Patrick. “I just know he is not here, and he’s not allowing me access to something that I’m entitled to.”
Neither Patrick nor anyone on the board or village staff explained how Laukant might be directed to provide Patrick with a recording of the June 29 executive session.
During the July 6 special meeting, Patrick proposed a resolution calling for a referendum in the November 2026 election to ask if the village clerk should be appointed, rather than elected, with the appointment being effective in 2029. Board members voted during that meeting to table the proposal for future discussion. Laukant was elected in April 2025, and was sworn in to a four-year term in May 2025.
Kristin Karl, the village’s community and economic development analyst, was sworn in as Villa Park’s deputy village clerk in March. Karl served as the village clerk during the board’s July 6 and July 13 meetings.
After discussion, board votes to table resolution that would allow remote attendance at special meetings
Board members considered during their July 13 meeting a resolution to allow members to remotely attend special meetings. The proposal of that resolution was apparently another result of Laukant’s failure to provide Patrick with an audio recording of the June 29 executive session. Board members eventually voted during the July 13 meeting to table the resolution until the next meeting.
“We are all human beings,” said Trustee Tina Konstatos during discussion of the proposal. She noted that trustees could have circumstances that could prevent them from attending a special meeting in person. She said that a remote attendance policy would give trustees an opportunity to hear what’s discussed at a special meeting.
Kozar stressed that the proposal called for allowing remote attendance only at special meetings, not regular meetings, which are scheduled well in advance.
Patrick said that if the board had a remote attendance policy in place, he could have participated in the June 29 special meeting, including the executive session.
Sabri stated that board members should be present for executive sessions at special meetings. The village’s attorney, Ryan Morton, noted that the proposal would still require board members to vote on whether a board member could attend a special meeting remotely.
“I go back and forth on this one,” said Trustee Jorge Cordova, who also mentioned that board members could vote to prevent a fellow member from attending a special meeting remotely. Cordova said he was in favor of the proposal to allow remote attendance of special meetings.
“We’re all adults,” stated Konstatos, who related that no board member would try to take part in a meeting from a distracting or insecure location. “I trust you guys to have good judgment.”
Kumar stated that she believed board members should be physically present for meetings, and that she would vote against the resolution. Konstatos said that previously scheduled meetings are one matter, but special meetings that “sprung up” on short notice were another. “It takes two people up here to request a special meeting,” she added.
Kumar said the current board, which has been in place for about 14 months, has had five special meetings. She said that only the recent June 29 special meeting caused any complaints. Patrick replied that the June 29 special meeting had nothing to do with any emergency. He suggested that the board should consider revising its policy regarding reasons to call a special meeting.
Cordova asked Morton to look into the statutes related to calling a special meeting. Kozar referred to the June 29 meeting as a “meeting of ambush.” He added that, like Patrick, he still hasn’t been able to hear a recording of the June 29 executive session. Kozar also stated that an increased number of special meetings should provide all the more reason for allowing remote attendance.
“It just seems like nonsense to be arguing against special accommodations for a special meeting,” said Kozar.
After Kozar “called the question” to force a vote on the resolution, Cordova, Kumar and Sabri voted against calling the question, and discussion of the matter briefly continued. Board members eventually voted 4-1 to table the resolution to the board’s next regular meeting on July 27. Konstatos cast the one vote against tabling the resolution.
Board passes resolution to address nuisances, including rodents
Board members voted unanimously during the July 13 meeting to approve an ordinance amending the village code regarding nuisances, including nuisances related to rodents and garbage. The amended ordinance authorizes the village to address nuisances on private property after “giving property owners due notice and opportunity.”
Recent board meetings have included discussion of rat infestation in the village. The first speaker during the July 13 meeting’s segment for public comments on agenda items was a resident of the 300 block of South Michigan Avenue.
“We’ve observed rats on our block,” said the resident, who stated that rats have been observed in his yard. The resident stated that compliance with village regulations has to do with what can be observed from the street. He asked if the ordinance would include some type of aerial surveillance of properties.
When the board discussed the issue, Kumar thanked village staff members for their effort in combating rodent infestation and stated that they have been working to address the issue. Kumar also asked about the potential of using drones to observe properties.
The village’s attorney cautioned the board that there might be a legal problem with using drones to look into back yards. Kozar stated he didn’t want to live in a community that used drones, without a warrant, to observe properties.
Brandon Nolin, Villa Park’s director of community and economic development, stated that most property owners respond to the village and work with the village to control rat infestation. Nolin said the approved ordinance will be instrumental in helping the village deal with property owners who choose not to reply to the village. Nolin stated that the board’s approval of the ordinance would allow the village to send notices to dozens of properties.
Meeting does not include open discussion of village manager’s status
The open session of the July 13 meeting did not include any discussion of the employment status of Village Manager Michael Rivas or any other village employees. After the July 6 special meeting, Patrick issued a statement claiming that four trustees—Alfano, Cordova, Kumar and Sabri—wanted to relieve Rivas of his duties at the July 13 meeting. Board members voted later in the July 6 meeting to appoint Laner Muchin of Chicago to conduct an employment investigation. Board members also voted during the July 6 meeting to table a resolution extending Rivas’ term as village manager until April 30, 2029.
