Welcome Huntley’s new village president and trustee
HUNTLEY – The May 13 Village Board meeting officially marked the end of Chuck Sass’s 20-year tenure as Huntley’s mayor. Former trustee Tim Hoeft, was officially sworn in as the new village president after having defeated Sass in April’s consolidated elections.
Mary Holzkopf was also sworn in as a trustee having been one of the newcomers to defeat former trustee John Piwko, who had served on the board since 2007.
Sass led the first half of the meeting where during public comments, Huntley Fire Protection District’s fire chief Scott Ravagnie, presented Sass with a plaque on behalf of the fire district, thanking Sass for his 20 years of service.
Huntley Community School District 158 superintendent Scott Rowe, also presented his gratitude to Sass, detailing how grateful the district was for the work he did in supporting D158’s financial stability.
Each trustee then took a turn to say a few words to both Sass and Piwko, though trustee Niko Kanakaris stated he did not wish to comment.
Following that, Piwko stepped down from his trustee chair and gave his farewell speech where he detailed his journey into how he came to serve the Village of Huntley.
“I’m very proud of what I accomplished. The downtown revitalization which I feel responsible in getting started. I’m also proud of the walkability in town all the way down Route 47 along the Algonquin Road. Something that I hope continues. I know Mayor Sass and I had our differences over the years, but we always had the residents’ best interest in mind. That is something I hope the new board continues to do and not use their office as a way to promote themselves or their businesses,” Piwko said. “It’s sad that all of this fun is ending because I lost out in a popularity contest on social media, but I will survive and who knows, I might even be back here soon.”
Before Sass’s turn to step down, village manager Dave Johnson, announced that Huntley would ensure to honor Sass’s legacy by renaming west Kreutzer Road to Charles H. Sass Parkway.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve the great Village of Huntley, and it really is the best place in McHenry County. During the times I’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of different trustees. A lot of different personalities, a lot of different quirks, but they always had the best interests of the people and Village of Huntley and they’ve done a great job. So, I’m proud to have worked with them. I also want to thank the outstanding staff over the years. We’ve hired great, great people and what you see today, is their dedication to what this town finally materialized to,” Sass said.
While Hoeft did not return My Huntley News’ request for comment, he did say a few words about being the new village president at the board meeting.
“I would just like to say I’m extremely humbled and honored to serve the village I grew up in in this capacity. I couldn’t have done it without my wife, my kids, all their support. Friends and family. Mayor Sass, I’ve looked up to you for quite a while and you’ve shown me a good example of how to do this job and do it to the best of the ability possible,” Hoeft said. “We’ll continue a lot of projects and things that you’ve started. We’ll be fiscally conservative with our budgeting and I’d like to thank you again for your 24 years of service, and I look forward to the future for the Village of Huntley.”
Trustee Holzkopf told My Huntley News that it was too early to give a timeline of what she hopes to be able to accomplish during her time in office, though she stated she was beginning work on one of her campaign ideas.
“I have already started discussions on beginning a mentorship program for other small businesses who are looking/trying to open in Huntley. We see too many businesses shut their doors quickly after opening them and I think giving future businesses some additional support may aid in their success,” Holzkopf said.
Holzkopf, who owns the Blessed Little Kitchen bakery in Huntley, also gave thanks to her supporters via the Blessed Little Kitchen’s Facebook page, expressing her joy and gratitude to be able to serve the Huntley community.
“Holding this office comes with a responsibility to always have the best interest of my community at heart, and I vow to do just that. I vow to make every decision with the residents of this community at the forefront of my mind. I vow to do the very best I possibly can to aid in this village being the wonderful place it is. I vow to take the ideas I had during my campaign and turn them into actions that will benefit this community,” she said.
