Campton Hills fledgling police department shaping up
As of today, Campton Hills' fledgling police department has exactly 31 days to whip itself into shape.
That's when the Kane County Sheriff's Office hands over coverage to the new village's first department, led by Chief Greg Anderson.
At a village board meeting this month, Anderson told trustees that his office -- currently a one-man show -- is moving along at a "frantic pace" to get ready for the transition Nov. 1.
Not that it really has another option.
"One way or another, we need to make it happen," Anderson said of getting the department on its feet.
Chief on Anderson's to-do list is recruiting as many as three full-time officers to provide around-the-clock coverage.
The officers must live within a 25-mile radius of the village, Anderson said, and applications are rolling in.
The board of police and fire commissioners will have the ultimate say in who gets the jobs.
On the equipment end of the spectrum, the village already has one squad car, and two more are on the way. Anderson said it will cost about $12,000 total to equip the cars with computers and other necessary gear. He hopes to have those up and running in October.
The village also has struck a deal with Conserv FS to buy 500 gallons of fuel at a discounted price of $2.70 a gallon -- about 37 cents cheaper than going to a gas station (today, anyway).
Duty calls: Aside from getting the police department ready, Anderson already has been out and about, conducting official village business.
In fact, on his first official day on the job, the new chief had to issue a stop-work order to AT&T, which was working in the village right of way without permission, officials said.
The minor violation might have been because of the recent right-of-way transition from Kane County and Campton Township to the new municipality. Village President Patsy Smith said she had to issue the order after she explained the new procedures to the company, and it kept working anyway.
Turns out, it was Anderson's first official act as chief -- and it worked.
"After a great deal of grumbling over the millions of dollars in projects we were stopping, AT&T did comply," village attorney Bill Braithwaite said.
Fest success: The village's first annual Heritage Farm Fest went off without a hitch this month and actually ended up putting money in the coffers.
Deputy Village Clerk Bill Beith said the Sept. 15 event -- filled with food, music and games -- drew support from hundreds of spectators and businesses.
And when all was said and done, the village even had about $655 left over for the next one.
"The (event) committee really worked hard and did a great job," Beith said. "We already have a head start for next year."