St. Charles' first administrator remembered for his dedication to the city
People who enjoy shopping and dining on First Street in downtown St. Charles have former city administrator Larry Maholland to thank for that.
The First Street Redevelopment Project - which included construction of a parking garage, and the move of the Blue Goose Supermarket - was largely his idea, former Mayor Sue Klinkhamer said Monday.
Maholland, 75, of St. Charles, died Sept. 7.
"Larry's love of St. Charles and his commitment to bettering his community was evident in all he did," Mayor Lora Vitek said at a council meeting that night.
Klinkhamer - who made Maholland the city's first administrator, when she was elected mayor in 1997 - called Maholland "my buddy" on Monday.
Maholland had worked for the city as finance director since 1982. Klinkhamer, who was an alderman from 1989 to 1987, believed the city had grown enough it needed a professional to run it full-time and promised that in her campaign.
The city did review other applicants, she said, but Maholland - who had already taken on other duties, including managing information technology - was a natural fit, she said.
"I could not have asked for a better person to work with," Klinkhamer said. "The eight years we spent together were just magic."
Klinkhamer recalled Maholland noodling out the First Street concept on paper. Maholland envisioned "a public space where people can live and work and shop. That was truly the vision of First Street," she said.
Before coming to St. Charles, Maholland had worked for Streamwood and the Arlington Heights Park District.
He wasn't afraid to discourage some of her ideas, she said, and figured out how to make others work. "You just never wanted to disappoint Larry," Klinkhamer said.
That included having a fireworks display at midnight when 1999 became 2000, even though Maholland was worried that the city's computers might stop working due to the Y2K programming issue. He told her "I guess you'll be on the roof of the Municipal Center and I'll be in the basement (in the emergency operations room)," Klinkhamer recalled him saying.
When he announced his retirement in 2005, Maholland was uncomfortable with the praise Klinkhamer gave.
"I've been here 22 years and a lot's happened," he said. "Some of it, hopefully, is my doing. To a large degree, it's been the effort of a lot of people and I don't really like to take credit."
In retirement, he worked part-time for five years for consulting, technology and accounting firm Sikich LLP, in its local government services division.
He also stayed active with a St. Charles Rotary Club and was an emeritus director of the St. Charles Public Library Foundation. He volunteered with the River Corridor Foundation, which he helped found.
Maholland is survived by his wife, Sharon; his son, Michael; three grandchildren; and a sister. A wake was held Monday. A private funeral will be conducted later.
Memorial gifts may be made to the library foundation, 1 S. Sixth Ave., St. Charles, IL 60174. They will be directed toward special-needs programming and facilities.