October 2012 - Village of Maple Bluff

VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR’S corner
MANY TIMES, WE walk through our busy day with barely a glance at
our surroundings. Life is funny that way. We think we know what is
going on around us but do we really look at stuff? Some days, I leave
my house to head out for work and I think to myself, did I even stop
for a moment to really look at the kids before I left today? Yes, I see
them in the house, I may even talk to them as I am doing a multitude
of other things, but, do I really look at them? You may get that
same feeling some times when you drive. Suddenly, you find yourself
several miles down the road from the last point that you really remember.
Normally, the reaction is to get scared. Did I really just drive
that far without really remembering what I was doing? Unfortunately,
that is the result of our busy lives. In a perfect world, we would slow
down and pay a little bit more attention, especially to those important
people around us.
Let me share a couple pieces of gratitude for things that I have
noticed recently as I have tried to pay more attention to the smaller
things in life. First, I really appreciate working here in this Village. I
think this community and the people who live here, are quite special.
I love to ride on the donated Segway and drive around the Village to
meet and talk with people. I like the positive feelings I get by helping
people. Just today, a resident was so happy after our phone call that
it made me really happy just being able to make her day with the information
I gave to her. There are many more examples I could share,
but let me talk about one other thing I am really aware of: Maple Bluff
has some of the best people working for the Village!
I make that statement as I review our Village Staff. The people who
work here are some of the most conscientious, hardworking, caring,
thoughtful, and committed people I’ve ever been around. They care
about their jobs and making sure they are doing good work on behalf
of the Village. In many communities, the staff lives where they work,
so they have a vested interest in the work they do. That is not the case
here; very few of our staff members have direct ties to the Village. But
that said, I have found that it really does not matter. We all care for
the Village as if we did live here and I have found our elected officials
and most residents, treat us just as though we were their neighbors.
The positive feelings really seem to go in both directions.
One of my jobs is to make sure that as our staff changes, new people
that we hire come in with the same hard working, positive attitudes
we are all used to. We want new staff to adopt the values and morals
that the Village expects. As I work with the Village Board, we are
planning for staff changes. I am anticipating that over half of the full
time Village staff will be retiring within the next ten years or so. That
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is a lot of institutional knowledge of our Village that will no longer
be here. Recently, some of those changes have begun. Sandy Wilke,
Clerk/Treasurer for the past fourteen years recently resigned to move
into retirement. Also, Rick Rogers, who has worked with the Public
Works Department for the past fourteen years, has gone on a leave
for a medical issue that will likely not allow him to come back to
work. With the loss of these two employees, we have begun the process
of evaluating our needs. We are considering options for replacements
or, for job reassignments. Please trust that with the guidance
of the Village Board, we will make the best decision for the Village. I
would like to thank both Sandy and Rick for their long time service
to the Village!
One other thing I want YOU to start paying more attention to.
That is, your own personal safety and that of your property. We continue
to emphasize that you need to lock cars and garages to protect
yourself from thievery. We had many residents hit numerous times
the past couple months. Don’t worry about what street they hit, don’t
worry about what they took in those past incidents. Just worry about
taking care of your property and your family. Lock your doors, don’t
keep valuables in your cars, be aware of your surroundings and if you
do that, that will be the best attention that you can pay to protect
yourself.
Tim Krueger,
Village Administrator/Police Chief
tjkrueger@villageofmaplebluff.org
244-3048 ext. 111
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