Harry Leopold, one of the 1st Sun City residents, is officially back on the Huntley Village Board

Newly appointed Huntley Trustee Harry Leopold started Thursday’s Village Board meeting in the audience, then got sworn in and took his place on the dais.

Leopold began his second stint on the Village Board on Thursday evening, a little over a year after he retired from the board. His appointment lasts until the spring.

Leopold, 88, grew up in Pennsylvania before moving to Illinois in 1969 for work. He’s lived in Huntley for more than two decades. Leopold said he was the third person to close on a house in Sun City in April 1999.

Sun City now has more than 5,000 homes, according to its homeowners association website. In 2003, Leopold joined the Village Board and stepped aside last year after serving five terms. He said he chose not to seek reelection for a variety of reasons and felt major accomplishments had been made. Those accomplishments include a new hospital and Village Hall, among other things.

Huntley’s Village Board is elected at-large, and fellow Trustees Ronda Goldman and Vito Benigno also live in Sun City. At the recent board meeting, Goldman commented about the trustees residing in Sun City, saying she wanted to reassure people that “we don’t think just about where we live, which is one subdivision. We think in terms of Huntley – all of Huntley.”

Leopold said he told Village President Tim Hoeft when he stepped aside that if Hoeft ever needed someone to fill a short-term vacancy, he would be available.

Hoeft said Thursday that he and Leopold previously had talked about Leopold’s willingness to serve if a seat opened up, and “it was an easy decision” to tap Leopold when there was a vacancy on the board.

“It’s good to have you back up here,” Hoeft said.

After Thursday’s meeting, Leopold said it felt like old times to be back with the board.