Fox River Grove hires village administrator
After six months of doing without a village administrator, Fox River Grove leaders have finally brought someone aboard to fill the position.
The village board unanimously approved the hire of Karl Warwick Thursday night, now assistant village administrator in Lindenhurst, where he has worked for three years.
Before that, Warwick, 33, held various positions in Grayslake, where he worked for five years. His last job there was senior assistant to the village manager.
Warwick’s last day in Lindenhurst is today, and he’ll move onto Fox River Grove Monday to start his first village administrator position. He says he’s ready to get to work.
“I’m most excited about the chances of downtown development, looking to match property owners with people who want to develop,” Warwick said after the meeting.
Twenty-three people applied for the Fox River Grove job and the village board interviewed six candidates, before Village President Robert Nunamaker nominated Warwick for the job.
“I think the experience he had is — he’s risen pretty rapidly through the various village assignments,” Nunamaker said. “He’s a pretty good, solid guy.”
In March, the board parted ways with longtime Village Administrator Art Osten Jr. Nunamaker cited a desire to find someone less costly, but who also had more economic development experience.
Osten was making about $93,286 a year when he was let go after 14 years of service to Fox River Grove.
But Warwick will be making more than Osten, with an annual salary starting at around $102,000.
“We wanted to see if we could improve the cost that we were paying for village administrators and like all other things, once you start getting into these situations, you find out you get what you pay for,” Nunamaker said in explaining the change of heart. “This gentleman, because he’s specializing in economic development, I think will bring a lot of value to the village. I think he can more than make up for a few thousand dollars difference in what he can bring in downtown development.”
In Lindenhurst, Warwick is most proud of the work he did to help secure businesses for various vacant storefronts.
Warwick is married with three children, lives in Gurnee and holds a master’s degree in public administration from Southern Illinois University. He has expressed interest in relocating to the Fox River Grove area.