Villa Park Names New Fire Chief 

The Village is proud to announce that Villa Park Fire Department Deputy Chief Steven Stapleton has been named the new Fire Chief. Stapleton will be sworn in as Fire Chief at the board meeting on March 27, 2023, he had been serving as Interim Fire Chief since October, following the retirement of Fire Chief Ron Rakosnik.

A veteran of the department since 1997, Stapleton has held every rank in the Villa Park Fire Department, including the past 12 years as Deputy Fire Chief. He is also the youngest in Villa Park fire history to be named Lieutenant, Deputy Chief, and now Fire Chief. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Fire Service Management from Southern Illinois University where he graduated Summa cum Laude.

His professional certifications include Fire Officer II, Fire Inspector II, NFPA Plans Examiner, Fire Investigator, Hazardous Materials Technician, Fire Department Incident Safety Officer, Advanced Technician Firefighter, Grant Writer, Training Program Manager, Rescue Specialist, Paramedic, and numerous others.

His notable affiliations include the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, DuPage County Fire Chiefs Association, Illinois Fire Inspectors Association, and International Association of Arson Investigators.

“It is a great honor to be selected as Villa Park’s next Fire Chief. I look forward to working with the dedicated members of this organization and to continue to foster the relationships with surrounding departments, which is critical to improve our collaborative response capabilities to the communities we serve” Stapleton said.

Historic Willowbrook Warriors Flag Football Team 

At the February 13th board meeting, President Cuzzone and the Board of Trustees honored Willowbrook High School historic Flag Football team. The inaugural team consisted of 37 girls, who finished the regular season unbeaten and outscored their opponents 166-0. The team won the Conference Championship and then went on to win the State Championship, which qualified them to compete at the National Flag Football Championship in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the Warriors came up short of their goal to win a national championship. 

We would also like to honor Coach Flag Football Coach Rachel Karos. She was the only female coach at the most competitive & prolific 17U flag football tournament in the country. Congratulations on an historic season!

Village Managers Message

This week was a week of big wins for the Village.  I hope I can properly convey my enthusiasm.  We made a choice on a Fire Chief, we approved a progressive direction in solid waste management, and we developed some solid progress in planning the Villa Park VFW Independence Day Parade.  But my favorite part is that my staff has been working on developing a leadership academy within the Villa Park organization and we have some good leads on ways to do that effectively.  

After interviewing three excellent candidates on Wednesday, I am happy to announce that Steve Stapleton has accepted the position of Fire Chief for Villa Park.  Steve has served on the Villa Park Fire Department (VPFD) for over 25 years and held every position on VPFD most recently serving as Deputy and Interim Fire Chief.  In a critical time for leadership for the VPFD, I am confident that we have the right man for the job.    Due to retirements, injury, and the challenges in hiring, we are at a critically low staffing level.  We are in the process of trying to hire seven new paramedic/firefighters at the same time almost every other city and village in the region is looking to hire as well.  I will add that the quality of the 19 candidates made it clear that the Villa Park Fire Department is an employer of choice for leaders in the field.  I want to thank the members of the VPFD, our department heads, and a community panel that included Fire and Police Board Chair Rae Rupp Srch, Willowbrook Principal Dan Krause, and Lombard Village Manager Scott Niehaus for participating in interviews.

Although there will continue to be some growing pains as we look to roll out a mostly automated, comprehensive solid waste management contract with Lakeshore Recycling Services, Inc. (LRS), I really am excited about what we will get in June when we fully rollout the program.  The basic services will not change, but the method of collection will.  First, the program is still for single-family, duplex and triplex residential customers.   You will still be able to set out unlimited trash from your household, but the first 95 gallons will be in a rugged container that will survive the automated collection and will be owned and maintained by LRS.  You never have to purchase a container again – unless you destroy the LRS-provided cart with hot coals, or other mishap.  If you regularly need additional trash collection, a second container may be added for $3.00/month.  If you only occasionally need more room, just add your own container when needed, but you will need a sticker from Village Hall (free) so the LRS driver can easily identify what is in the container.  

Weekly curbside recycling will continue, but LRS will provide a rugged 65-gallon container which you can add to if you have additional recyclable materials occasionally, or with an additional container for $3.00/month. LRS also helped us Yard waste will have a similar continuation of the program with enhancements.  Adhesive tags will be needed from April until the free fall collection period, but reusable cans provided by residents will require a free sticker that will identify the contents as yard waste.  One bulky item per week will be allowed as well.  

Since LRS purchased Roy Strom Refuse in January of 2021, they have moved toward a more efficient, safer program.  Having worked in a city with a carted system before, I feel confident that this transition, although there may be bumps in the road, will result in a much cleaner, safer, more consistent program in the long run.  Look for more detailed information in the May utility bill, on the website, in the bi-weekly, e-newsletter, on tvvillapark.com, Facebook, and every venue available.  

After scrambling to develop an Independence Day Parade last year, VFW Post 2801, the Village the VP Chamber of Commerce and other key partners are starting early to make it an even better parade.  After being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we launched a great parade, but the organizers were stressed by a late start and having to reconstruct the organization.  This year we look forward to sending out invitations to the July 4th event that will follow the same route as last year and start at 10:00 a.m.  We hope to secure sponsors, bands and eventually participants.  For-profit businesses entries will be $100.  Non-profit organizations can enter floats or other entries for $50 and any proceeds will be donated to the VFW Post 2801.  We are finalizing plans for prizes for the best floats/entries.

Finally, I have been talking a lot about Servant Leadership since I applied for this job.  We are in the process of working plans to develop an internal academy and have an opportunity to work with some excellent partners in other cities, and possibly with one of my mentors in the world servant leadership – Ron Holifield of Strategic Government Resources.  The concept of doing everything we do from a point of view of being servants is very important to me.  When we focus on what we can contribute more than what we can get, we have much more impact on our own level of contentment.  For me that means serving the Village employees as well as the residents, business owners and visitors.

Sincerely,

Matthew Harline 

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