Longtime Buffalo Grove public works director leaving for new job

Longtime Buffalo Grove Public Works Director Gregory Boysen will be leaving the position to take the same post with the city of Beloit, Wis.

Village Manager Dane Bragg said Boysen’s last day will be April 1. The village will be weighing its options in hiring his replacement, he said.

Boysen has been a fixture in Buffalo Grove, having celebrated his 35th anniversary with the village in February.

His departure is one of many exits by longtime veterans of the

village in recent years. The exodus has included former Village Manager William Brimm, Village Engineer Dick Kuenkler and Director of Golf Operations Carmen Molinaro. Police Chief Steve Balinski recently announced his retirement as well.

Boysen said he has mixed emotions about leaving Buffalo Grove, but added that Beloit provided the perfect opportunity.

“I feel very excited about taking on new challenges in the City of Beloit,” he said. “Instead of having 52 employees, I’ll have 152 employees.

“It’s a wonderful city that’s very vibrant and going through great renovation,” Boysen added. “They have a great public works department, so I’ll be fortunate to be able to serve as the director of a wonderful public works department in Beloit, much like I’m so pleased to have worked for Buffalo Grove all these years.”

Boysen said he is proud of his work in Buffalo Grove, noting that during his tenure the village’s population more than doubled. Probably the greatest satisfaction, he said, was in the public works department achieving status as the 16th accredited public works agency in the United States and Canada.

Other accomplishments include bringing Lake Michigan water to Buffalo Grove and reconstructing all of its arterial streets.

According to the Beloit Daily News, the city’s public works position had been open since June 2011, when the former director resigned in the wake of a scandal that involved a

former city water utility maintenance supervisor pleading guilty to using city credit cards for personal expenses.

Buffalo Grove will hold a reception in Boysen’s honor before his departure, Bragg said.