Public works retirees will be missed by residents, fellow employees

LOMBARD, Illinois—With the Village of Lombard's recent early retirement incentive, several long-time employees have opted to take advantage of the opportunity and will be departing their departments during the next year.

For the Public Works Department, March resulted in a combined total of nearly 100 years of public service for three employees, who either have retired or will retire by the end of the month. Congratulations to Dave Cilella, Al Jones and Larry Trojanowski who will retire with 27, 34 and 38 years, respectively. Here are there stories:

Dave Cilella

Working in the same line of work for 27 years, Lombard Public Works employee, Dave Cilella, tends to be an expert in just about every part of the job. Cilella has become jack-of-all-trades in the Street Department and he is calling it quits to pursue some of his other passions.

Cilella is retiring from Lombard's Public Works Department, a place he has called home since 2007. “I started my career working for Addison's Public Works Department and finished it with Lombard. Making a move from Addison to Lombard, felt like I moved into a Mayberry-like community,” said Cilella.

“I work in the Street Maintenance Department which means I can do everything from paving, street sweeping, snow removal and all things in-between,” said Cilella. He is going to miss the routine and the friends that he has met within the department. “I will miss the people. It feels like family in the department and they made me feel at home from the moment I started working in Lombard,” expressed Cilella.

Cilella is eligible for the Early Retirement Initiative that the Village is offering their employees. He feels that the early retirement leaves him bittersweet but plans to pursue something in the automotive field or at a motorcycle dealership. Cilella explained that he is not one to sit around and you can be sure to seem him and his wife, Lynn supporting Lombard Cruise Nights on Saturday nights in the summer with his 1965 Super Sport Impala.

“I am a creature of habit and when the weather is bad, I will feel like I should be out there pitching in to help,” said Cilella. “I enjoyed my job and am truly going to miss the friends I have made in Public Works.”

Al Jones

Al Jones, retired as of March 15, began working for the Village of Lombard in 1975 as a mechanic in the garage of the Public Works Department until he was transferred over to the street department, where he spent 18 years.

“I met a lot of good people,” Jones said of his time with Lombard. “It has been like my second home,” he added. “It's hard to retire.”

“I've enjoyed snow plowing and salting (the streets),” Jones said. “And definitely setting up for Cruise Nights has been a favorite task over the past several years,” he added. “I will miss the employees most and the fact the Lombard has actually been a nice place to work,” Jones said.

Jones and his wife Sue, who live in Lombard, plan to spend his free time with family and for Al, riding his Harley.

Jones plans to organize a retirees' group with the hopes of meeting monthly for coffee or for lunch. “It will help us all to keep in touch,” he said.

Larry Trojanowski

Not too many people make house calls today, including most doctors. But Larry Trojanowski, a soon-to-be retired Public Works employee, does. And he enjoys doing them.

Trojanowski, who will retire March 15, has been doing practically the same job for the Village for the last 34 years. He started working for the Village of Lombard Public Works Department when he was 18-years-old and now he is getting ready to call it quits.

Taking advantage an early retirement incentive offered by the Village, Trojanowski will leave his job of Maintenance Worker 2/Meter Technician with the Lombard Public Works Department to pursue other venues, which include traveling and fishing.

“Mr. Larry” or “Larry the Meter Guy” as some residents call him, has been representing Lombard to residents in the Public Works Water Department for many years. His job as a maintenance worker 2 or “meter tech” is one-of-a-kind for Lombard and he primarily acts in a customer service manner in dealing with water and water billing issues. He recalled scenarios where he has gone on calls to residents homes for complaints, bill discrepancies, water service shut offs and more, all the while grinning while describing “his residents” and how each day there is something good to remember from his visits.

“I will definitely miss the residents,” Trojanowski admitted. “I was able to get to

know people on a personal level and found that by using by communication skills and really listening to them, every time I was able to resolve their situation in some manner to make them happy. It was very rewarding for me and an enjoyable part of my day,” he recalled.

Whether it was checking out a plumbing system or making sure a water meter was functioning properly, Mr. Larry took his job to heart and treated everyone with respect and care. “I would always treat someone the way I would want to be treated and in doing that, we always started out and ended on a positive note,” he said.

While his primary concern was visiting residents for the Public Works Department, Trojanowski said he could not help but listen to people and try and help them any way that he could.

“I try to keep a positive outlook and remain optimistic. I try to bring out the best in people, no matter what their situation might be when I call on them,” he added. “If you listen and find out what you have in common with them, you always walk away with a smile,” he said.

Mr. Larry will be missed by his residents who enjoyed his happy demeanor and kind words. He will also be missed by his co-workers who also enjoyed his smile and warm greeting without fail whenever their paths crossed.