Lakemoor mayor resigns, gets hired on as village administrator to preserve development momentum
Longtime Lakemoor Mayor Ryan "Todd" Weihofen recently resigned his elected post and changed roles after the exit of two top administrators.
Weihofen, elected in 2009, was serving his fourth term as mayor. He's now the full-time village administrator after actions taken Friday evening during a special village board meeting.
After Weihofen resigned, veteran village Trustee Colin McIntyre was installed as acting mayor until the next general election in April 2023. McIntyre, with the consent and approval of the village board, appointed Weihofen as village administrator effective immediately.
The move is calculated to prevent impacts to services or loss of development momentum due to recent resignations, Weihofen said.
"It made the most sense," said Weihofen. "Right now, this is what's best for the citizens of Lakemoor. I loved being mayor."
Weihofen now has a 3-year contract at about the same $134,000 annual salary former administrator David Alarcon was getting.
McIntyre was elected in 2005. He said Weihofen's offer to serve as administrator was unexpected but welcome.
"He was much more involved than any of the trustees are," McIntyre said. During his tenure, Weihofen has been hands-on with village officials working to attract development and change a sleepy small town image.
Alarcon and Matt Dabrowski, former director of community and economic development, were key staffers leading those efforts.
Alarcon resigned after 12 years on Dec. 31 and left for the same position in Winthrop Harbor. Dabrowski was named interim village administrator.
"We'll be looking for a replacement" for Alarcon, Weihofen said at the time. "With the staff we have, we don't have to jump."
However, Dabrowski abruptly resigned last week. Weihofen declined to provide details of Dabrowski's departure.
Dabrowski was a village trustee in 2013 when the new position was created. He had been a development planner for 14 years in Arlington Heights and accepted the position in Lakemoor, which wasn't advertised. He started in August 2013.
McIntyre said Dabrowski's resignation caught everyone off guard and that Weihofen's switch to administrator will be a smooth transition and is the best move for the village.
During Alarcon and Dabrowski's time in Lakemoor, the village rebranded itself as a pro-business community and a destination for development because of high traffic volume, multiple available sites for large and small-scale development, new housing and demand for retail stores and restaurants.
"It's the same mission," Weihofen said.
McIntryre said he doesn't anticipate any new initiatives to immediately be introduced but plans to proceed with an audit for general purposes. The goal will be to stay on course as development proceeds.
"We'll have an audit and move forward with the development we've got going," he said.
The centerpiece of the effort was the landing of Woodman's Food Market as anchor of Lakemoor Commons shopping center at routes 12 and 120. Woodman's opened in September 2019 but was the only open business until Buona debuted last week.
Starbucks is scheduled to open today, to be followed by Chipotle on March 29. Several other businesses are in the works at Lakemoor Commons.
A committee of the whole meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. today at village hall, 28581 Route 120, includes a closed session to discuss personnel issues.