Pingree Grove hires village manager from down the road

They cast a nationwide search for the Pingree Grove village manager's job, reeling in 50 candidates from 13 states, including Nebraska, New Jersey and Texas.

In the end, Pingree Grove officials found what they were looking for just 20 minutes away in Marengo.

Monday night, village trustees agreed to hire Scott Hartman, 36, now city administrator for Marengo.

Hartman of Crystal Lake says it was a difficult decision to leave his position because he loves his job and cherishes the 5½ years time he spent there.

However, the Pingree Grove post presents a rare opportunity to help establish a town that's just begun to blossom.

"It's a growing and up and coming community and as village manager, I would be highly involved in not only building the town, but also building the organization to support the town," he said.

Hartman hails from Pennsylvania and began his career as an administrative intern in West Dundee while studying for a public administration master's degree at Northern Illinois University.

He worked his way up through the ranks to become an assistant to the village manager, before moving onto Marengo after nearly nine years in West Dundee.

Because of contractual constraints, Hartman won't begin his new job in Pingree Grove until mid-June, said village President Wyman "Clint" Carey.

Hartman will be paid $95,000 a year for the post that had been vacant since December, Carey said.

Carey, village staffers and other trustees will continue handling the town's projects and day-to-day responsibilities until Hartman arrives.

"It's a hard job," Carey said. "I mean being without a village manager, I have a newfound respect for what village managers do."

Hartman replaces James Bassett, the man who for eight years led Pingree Grove through its explosive growth and development. Bassett now works as village administrator in Hawthorn Woods in Lake County.

Of the 50 candidates that applied, it was Hartman's high energy and recent appointment to the McHenry County Ethics Commission that won Carey over.

That he was the last man standing out of all those people leaves Hartman feeling "extremely humbled and flattered," particularly since officials reviewed people with multiple qualifications and were tasked with selecting the contender that was the right fit.

"Perhaps it's just coincidence that they found that person just down the road," he said. "But they had to do their research and their due diligence."