Vernon Hills bids farewell to exiting trustee, seats new Village Board and welcomes incoming village manager

The new Vernon Hills Village Board was seated earlier this month, after recently elected officials were sworn in, and also the new village administrator was welcomed.

Village officials at the May 4 meeting also said farewell to longtime Trustee James Schultz, who opted not to run for reelection in April.

Michael Schenk, a business owner who has also worked as the vice president of the Hawthorn School District 73 education foundation, was sworn in at the meeting as the new trustee. He won the seat in last month’s election.

Reelected Mayor Roger Byrne, along with incumbent trustees Thom Koch and Nancy Forster, were sworn in at the beginning of the meeting as well. Trustee Craig Takaoka, who was attending the meeting remotely, was sworn in April 30 officials said.

Vernon Hills Public Works Director David Brown, right, presented outgoing village Trustee James Schultz with a custom street sign May 4, 2021, at what was Schultz’s last Village Board meeting as trustee. (Mark Kodiak Ukena / Pioneer Press)

Vernon Hills Public Works Director David Brown, right, presented outgoing village Trustee James Schultz with a custom street sign May 4, 2021, at what was Schultz’s last Village Board meeting as trustee. (Mark Kodiak Ukena / Pioneer Press)

Vernon Hills police Chief Patrick Kreis, right, presented outgoing village Trustee James Schultz with a framed badge and signatures from all his friends on the force May 4, 2021, at what was Schultz’s last Village Board meeting as trustee. (Mark Kodiak Ukena / Pioneer Press)

Vernon Hills swore in Village Board officials May 4, 2021: Reelected Trustee Nancy Foster, from left, reelected Mayor Roger Byrne, reelected Trustee Thomas Koch Jr. and newly elected Trustee Michael Schenk. (Mark Kodiak Ukena / Pioneer Press)

Kevin Timony, who worked as Wauconda village manager since 2017, was selected out of a pool of 76 applicants to be the Vernon Hills village manager as of July 6. He has been a longtime resident of central Lake County.

Before serving in Wauconda, Timony worked for the village of Grayslake, according to a Vernon Hills news release. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Loyola University and has an MBA from North Park University.

“Vernon Hills has always stood out as one of the area’s premier communities,” Timony said in the release. “I look forward to the opportunity to serve the residents and businesses of Vernon Hills.”

Current interim Village Manager Mark Fleischhauer had retired in 2017 in the role of police chief, but agreed to step back in as the interim village manager in 2018. He said Timony stood out based on his “experience, his knowledge of the community, and his enthusiasm.”

“I look forward to handing him my office keys and spending time with my wife, grandkids and fishing,” Fleischhauer said.

Leaving his trustee position, Schultz said he is looking forward to having a lighter schedule. On his way out, he thanked everyone at the village and on staff. Schultz has been on the board for 16 years.

“It’s been an interesting run,” Schultz said. “I’ve enjoyed the work and I’ll miss the work.”