Rolling Meadows city manager leaving in 2009

A good city manager knows all the gossip floating around city hall, but has an opinion on none of it.

"We're like the principal advisers to the mayor and city council," Rolling Meadows City Manager Tom Melena said Wednesday. "We give them all the options, all the alternatives. Nothing is ever all black and white."

Melena's last day of opinion-giving at Rolling Meadows will be in January 2009.

"I want to give the council plenty of time to fill the position," said Melena. "It will take a while."

Melena came to Rolling Meadows in August 2001 from Minnesota, where he served as a city manager for a small suburb. Melena also served in the Army and saw active duty in Bosnia. In November 2006, the city council voted to raise Melena's salary from $123,538 to $131,539 annually.

Melena said he had told city officials of his plans last summer, but it didn't draw public notice until Mayor Ken Nelson spoke of it Wednesday during a speech to the Rolling Meadows Chamber of Commerce.

Melena, 60, lives in Rolling Meadows. After retirement, he plans to travel around Florida and the Caribbean with his wife, Lisa, before eventually returning to the area.

"Initially we're going to take four or five months and find some warmer weather," Melena said. "The idea is to really, really relax."

On his list of major accomplishments, Melena lists the Riverwalk condominium project and the Woodfield Gardens project, which is still in the planning stages.

Riverwalk Condominiums, 3457 Kirchoff Road, includes a senior subsidy program that offers seniors a shot at $30,000 from the city to help them buy in a new downtown development. The city retains an ownership interest to be cashed in if the unit is sold.

At what is now 12 Oaks at Woodfield and was formerly known as the Woodfield Gardens apartment complex, Pine Tree Commercial Realty of Northbrook wants to build department stores, two office towers, senior housing and a hotel. The complex is off Arbor Drive at Algonquin Road near the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway and Route 53.

Assuming the project is approved by the plan commission and city council, construction could start late next year, according to village officials.

Mayor Nelson said he hopes to have Melena's replacement hired by the summer or fall of 2008.

Nelson and this city council will be looking for someone who has economic development experience and who knows how to operate with a tight budget.

"Tom's done so much for the city," Nelson said. "He'll be missed but I wish him well."