Kelly takes power as new Bartlett village president

Michael E. Kelly reached Bartlett village hall Tuesday ready to be sworn as the new village president but then realized he had forgotten something.

He quickly dispatched his son Jack to run to Kelly's nearby law office to pick up a Bible. That copy was used for the First Communion of his older son, Phil, and Kelly wanted to be sworn in with that book, as Phil was away at school and couldn't be in attendance on his father's special day. Jack returned with the book, and with that out of the way, Kelly thanked those who supported him.

"It was very humbling to see all these residents come out with support on this nice summer days," Kelly said.

Kelly, 53, was the Hanover Township supervisor since 1997. He replaces Catherine Melchert, who was not in attendance on Tuesday. Melchert served as village president for 16 years.

Also sworn in were new Village Clerk Lorna Giless and new Trustee Frank Napolitano, as well as incumbent Trustees Michael Airdo and Dennis Nolan.

Giless said she practiced the pronunciation of board member names so she could do roll call correctly. She replaced longtime Clerk Linda Gallien.

After Village Attorney Bryan Mraz swore Kelly in, the entire room, including Trustee Sherry Bormann, gave Kelly a standing ovation. Kelly defeated Bormann in April for Melchert's post.

Airdo welcomed the newcomers to the board.

"Prosperous communities are not the result of hocus-pocus or magic wands," he said. "Instead they result from thoughtful planning, diverse viewpoints, careful decision-making and healthy debate. We look forward to the fresh voices and new perspectives that Mike, Frank and Lorna will surely bring to our process."

Though the meeting agenda was light on material, Kelly did appoint trustees as committee heads, which caused a mild controversy.

Trustee John Kavouris asked Kelly to reconsider and allow Nolan to continue to serve as head of the planning and zoning committee. Kelly shuffled the committees, making Noland head of police and health and making Kavouris head of planning and zoning.

Kavouris proposed swapping with Nolan and said that the village would benefit from Nolan's experience heading the committee. Kelly shot down the request.

"Change is something good," Kelly said.

Other appointments included Trustee T.L. Arends as head of the building committee, Airdo to finance and golf, Bormann to licensing and ordinance and Napolitano to public works.