Kendall County Board honors departing administrator; names interim

YORKVILLE – A beaming Scott Koeppel held up a T-shirt reading “I wish I still worked in Kendall County.”

He probably won’t be wearing that shirt at his new job as administrator for the village of Sugar Grove in Kane County, but Koeppel clearly was enjoying the moment.

Kendall County Board members, other elected officials and numerous county employees honored Koeppel at the April 18 board meeting, praising his many accomplishments.

Board Chairman Matt Kellogg read a proclamation outlining some of those projects and declaring Koeppel to have been “an agent of positive change” for Kendall County.

Koeppel, 43, will serve his last day on the job in Kendall on April 26. He starts his new job in Sugar Grove on May 15.

The County Board approved the appointment of Deputy Administrator Latreese Caldwell to serve as interim administrator until Koeppel’s replacement is in place.

Koeppel started with Kendall County government in 2015 as the information technology director, before being named administrator in 2017.

For Koeppel, his biggest accomplishment was to assemble a team of employees to serve the county.

“I got to hire, promote and in one case steal the best people in the county,” Koeppel said.

That stolen employee was Leslie Johnson, formerly Civil Division chief for the Kendall County State’s Attorney’s Office and now the county government’s first Human Resources Department director.

“Scott has developed a great team,” Johnson said. “We all work really well together.”

Both Johnson and Kellogg said the first order of business for the county will be to review and revise the job description for the administrator.

“Scott took on roles that were not part of his job description,” Kellogg said.

One of those was economic development. Soon, the county will be hiring a dedicated economic development coordinator Johnson said.

The county will conduct its search and perform interviews in a process that is likely to last several months, Kellogg said. “We want to get the right person.”

Koeppel was credited with guiding the county through the COVID-19 pandemic and overseeing the disbursement of federal American Rescue Act funds to Kendall County nonprofits, businesses and units of local government. He also is credited with the creation of a new county logo, procurement ordinance and updates to County Board rules of order, along with renovation of the boardroom, installation of a solar field project and many other technology upgrades.

Koeppel is leaving just as the county is moving forward on several projects for which he has already set the stage. These include construction of a new Kendall County Clerk office building, a new Kendall Area Transit Service garage and dispatch facility and creation of the Connect Kendall County Commission to bring broadband service to rural areas.

The County Board approved Caldwell’s appointment as interim administrator on a unanimous vote.

“That’s the best decision they will make today,” Koeppel said ahead of the meeting.

Caldwell’s appointment was made retroactive to April 10 and includes a $3,000 per month stipend.

Starting with the county government 2008 as the budget coordinator, Caldwell was promoted to deputy administrator under Koeppel in 2018.

“He empowers everyone to grow in their area of expertise and has provided excellent leadership,” Caldwell said of Koeppel.