Teska Associates and the APA-IL Chicago Metro Section are teamed up to provide a webinar for planners that have become Department Heads and Managers, have recently taken on or expect to be thrust into a more managerial role, or are interested in taking on that role in the future.

These positions can be challenging for planners as little (if any) management training is part of planning school or training from the communities where we work. Second, the municipal department head position is not one for which planners are always naturally molded. Community advocacy, team input, and consensus are foundational to planning, but not the first thing you pull out of your quiver at an everyone for themselves budget meeting where the zoning update is competing against a new fire truck or pavement assessment project.

This panel discussion asked fundamental questions of experienced planning and community development directors. Questions like:

• How do I manage the budget process?

• What is a building permit and why am I in charge of them?

• How can I get along better with all the department heads?

• What’s the trick to working well with my Village Manager?

• Am I supposed to talk to ½ the Village Board every day?

• How can I get the staff to just do the right thing the first time I ask?

Thank you to our speakers! They included (bios below):

• Krysti Barksdale-Noble, AICP – Community Development Director, United City of Yorkville

• Michael Blue, FAICP – Principal, Teska Associates

• Ray Lai - Executive Director, McLean County Regional Plan Commission

• Ty Livingston - Director of Planning & Community Development, City of East Peoria

• Ron Mentzer – Community & Economic Development Director, City of Warrenville

• Kim Porter, AICP – Community Development Director, Village of Woodridge

• Phillip Green (moderator), Village Planner, Village of Woodridge

This event is brought to you by the 2019 APA-IL Tier I Sponsor Teska Associates

Speakers

Krysti Barksdale-Noble, AICP – Community Development Director, United City of Yorkville

Michael Blue, FAICP – Principal, Teska Associates

Since joining Teska in 2013, Michael’s work includes preparing zoning regulations, organizational strategic plans, neighborhood plans, comprehensive plans, development economics, and staff training. Prior to joining Teska Associates, Michael was the Director of Community Development in Highland Park, IL for 11 years. There he managed a department of 30 staff and focused on long range planning, review and approval of proposed development projects, permit approval, and support of City Council and Commission activities. Michael also worked as Deputy Community Development Director in the Village of Mount Prospect, IL for five years, managing staff in day to day operations related to planning, building permits and code enforcement. Michael started his career as a planning consultant working in the areas of long range land use and policy planning, development land use and economic impacts, and public participation. Michael has been actively involved in the local and national leadership of the American Planning Association and is currently the Planning Officials Development Officer for the IL - APA. Michael has undergraduate and graduate degrees in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign

Ray Lai - Executive Director, Bloomington-Normal Regional Plan Commission

Prior to joined McLean County Regional Planning Commission (MCRPC) as its Executive Director in January 2020, Mr. Lai was serving as the Director of Economic and Community Development for the City of Decatur (IL), leading a 21-member department team, and the Deputy Director of Economic & Community Development for the City of University City (MO). Previously, he worked as an associate/senior planner in Asia for AECOM, a leading U.S.-based global consultancy, and the Director of Planning & Zoning for the City of Edwardsville (IL), after holding professional planning positions with City and County of St. Louis (MO).

Over the years, Raymond has been invited as a guest lecturer/panelist at planning commissioner workshops and training seminars, in addition to give presentations at national, state, and local planning conferences, as well as local universities. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Advanced) in Regional & Urban Planning from University of

Saskatchewan, Canada, and a Master of City & Regional Planning from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Ty Livingston - Director of Planning & Community Development, City of East Peoria

Since 2006, Ty has held the position of Planning and Community Development Director with the City of East Peoria. While he’s been involved in a number of community-focused efforts in that time, he has most notably been an active contributor in the ongoing redevelopment of a 100+ acre brownfield site known as the Levee District. Prior to working at the City, Ty was the Planning and Marketing Director for CityLink (the Peoria area mass transit service) for 6 years. He has also been the Transportation Planner at the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission and Executive Director of the East Peoria Chamber of Commerce.

Ron Mentzer – Community & Economic Development Director, City of Warrenville

As the City of Warrenville’s first and only Community and Economic Development Director, Ron Mentzer has spent the last 26 years assembling and then leading a diverse team of professionals committed to providing high quality personal service and making a lasting positive impact on the social and economic wellbeing of the community. Ron has worn many professional hats in Warrenville including those of Zoning Administrator, Chief Building Official, and Stormwater Management and Floodplain Ordinance Administrator. During his tenure in Warrenville, Ron and his team have administered four TIF districts, managed the City’s role in the $400 million dollar mixed-use redevelopment of a 650 acre former stone quarry, coordinated the acquisition, cleanup and successful redevelopment of a prominent brownfield site, and helped foster an almost tripling of the City’s total assessed value.

Ron and his wife have raised their 4 sons in the home they built in Warrenville 18 years ago. Ron is an avid outdoor enthusiast, bikes to work most days, and enjoys daily trips into the more than 10,000 acres of public open space surrounding Warrenville.

Kim Porter, AICP – Community Development Director, Village of Woodridge

Kimberly Porter, AICP has been the Community Development Director for the Village of Woodridge, IL since January 2018. She previously served as a Program Management Manager at the Regional Transportation Authority as well as Director of Economic & Community Development for the Village of University Park, Illinois.  In University Park, she worked on various large-scale projects for the Village to include the I-57 Stuenkel Road / University Parkway interchange project and lead the relocation negotiations of the Clorox Company to University Park from Georgia.

Kim’s focus areas include policy and program implementation related to land use, regional and sustainable community development, and access to transit. She has been a member of the American Planning Association (APA) for approximately 19 years and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners for 12 years. She received a bachelor’s degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Urban Studies from North Central College in Naperville, IL, and a master’s degree in Urban Planning & Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Moderator

Phil Green, Village Planner, Village of Woodridge