Gurnee administrator to retire Dec. 31

Mr. Gurnee plans to call it quits at year’s end.

Gurnee trustees late Monday approved what will be the final contract for Village Administrator James Hayner, who’s been in the job since 1988. He joined the village as an administrative assistant in 1977.

An emotional Mayor Kristina Kovarik announced Hayner’s retirement plans after the village board emerged from a closed-door session to approve his $182,000 contract that officially starts May 1.

“Jim is going to leave,” said Kovarik, who sits next to Hayner on the village board rostrum. “I am going to miss you, but I’m very happy for you.”

It’s not a stretch to label Hayner, 58, as Mr. Gurnee for his lifelong roots and encyclopedic knowledge of the village. He’s presided over growth of a village that went from an equalized assessed valuation of $164 million in 1988 to $1.34 billion in 2010 and is one of the state’s top tourist draws.

Hayner deflected credit for Gurnee’s emergence as a major municipal player in the Chicago area. He said previous village boards and staffers deserve credit for boosting Gurnee.

“First of all, not everything is due to Jim Hayner by any means,” he said after receiving kudos from Kovarik.

Hayner, the dean of Lake County administrators, said he plans to remain in Gurnee after his retirement is effective Dec. 31. In addition to his work for Gurnee, he was involved in the creation of an agency that brought Lake Michigan water to his village and many others in Lake County.

Village board members voted 4-1 with one abstention for Hayner’s final deal. Trustee Kirk Morris abstained.