Dorothy Brown Resigns as Village Manager of Dolton
Dorothy Brown Resigns as Village Manager of Dolton (Dolton, IL) – The Board meeting for The Village of Dolton was held on Monday, January 3rd at 7:00 pm via Youtube live. The meeting was initiated with an emotional commemoration to Supervisor Frank M. Zuccarelli, who was pronounced dead today, Monday January 3rd at 1:18 pm. Mayor Henyard expressed her sentiment. “I am extremely sad to learn about the sudden passing of Thornton Township’s Supervisor Frank M. Zuccarelli.
“This is a great loss to Our community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones and family. As one of my mentors and dear friend, I had a personal connection with his inspiration and good will. The best we can do to honor his memory is continue to follow what he stood for. ‘People working with people.’ He will truly be missed.”
General Announcements
In the general announcements, Trustee Edwards announced that there would not be a monthly in summation this January and the following will resume in February, specification will be announced through email.
With contentment, Mayor Henyard introduced Tyrone Muhammed, who will lead the new “Second Chance Program” which she initiated through executive order December 14th , 2021. The program is designed to assist formerly incarcerated residents in reacclimating to society, specifically with a focus on job placement, health care, transportation, and housing.
Mr. Muhammed
Mr. Muhammed, who was formerly incarcerated for 21 years, is now the founder of ECCSC; an acronym for “Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change.” Through his program, he acclaimed to preventing two to three hundred shootings in Chicago through violence de escalation programs. In addition, has provided job placement to over 250 formerly incarcerated men in a variety of fields.
These fields include “construction sites, violence prevention programs, substance abuse counselors, a host of mentorship programs, schools, civic and social engagement.” The program also focuses on job creation through entrepreneurship where many of his program participants have successfully started their own businesses.
Village Reports
- The meeting transitioned into village reports led by Clerk Key. An update was provided on the “Electronic Freedom Act” that has been in the works over the past months. This act focuses on doing away with paper FOIAs and transitioning to an electronic system to improve tracking and minimize loss of FOIAs. As of January 1st, 2022 all requests will be completed online through a link that can be found on the clerks page.
- Village Engineer Ron Smith provided several updates in ongoing developments. This includes the water meter replacement project that received a $220,000 grant to upgrade the current meter system giving residents access to remote readings and provide an alert if the meter is not working or has been tampered with.
- In addition, updates were provided on several infrastructure programs. The alley reconstruction project is set to begin February 1st. The sidewalk replacement and 144th St resurfacing is also set to begin. Create WE-11, and Create GS23-A project to address rail realignment that will also be underway this year.
Grant
- A grant was also submitted for $400,000 to implement sewage drainage improvements. Another $3 million grant to Rebuild Downtown and Main St is being processed. $132,000 was received to perform a quiet zone analysis. Lastly, IDOT is working on long term bridge replacement and resurfacing estimated to take place in 2023.
- Village Administrator Dorothy Brown Cook’s last day was December 31st , 2021. She provided her final report which emphasized where the Village of Dolton stands in relation to other municipalities in terms of revenue. She went on to recommend that the next Administrator develop a strategic plan to increasing revenue for the village.
Other Items on the Agenda
- Approval of a motion to pay warrant list collectively
- Approval of a motion for “Block by block” program to sell vacant housing in the village.
- Approval of motion to utilize Paycom as Payroll provider
- Approval of motion for appointment of Village Administrator Keith Freeman tabled contingent on background check
- Motion passed to Appoint New Fire Captain
- Motion to closed session in regard to Appointment of Deputy Chief Commander Staples
- Village Hall will remain closed due to rise is COVID cases and meetings will continue via zoom
Dorothy Brown Resigns as Village Manager of Dolton
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