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Name: John Piwko
What office are you seeking? Huntley Village President
What is your political party? Independent
What is your current age? 64
Occupation and employer: Retired
What offices, if any, have you previously held? • Huntley Village Trustee (2007 – 2021, 2023 – Current)
• Huntley Plan Commissioner (2005 – 2007)
• Citizen Corp Council President (2009 - 2021)
City: Huntley
Campaign Website: Not at this time
Education: BSEET - DeVry University
Community Involvement: • Huntley HCPAAA Member
• Huntley CERT Member
• Huntley Meadows HOA President
• Special Events Volunteer
• Huntley Little League Board Member Volunteer
Marital status/Immediate family: Wife Cathy
Two adult sons
Questions:
Huntley is due to get a stop on the new Chicago-to-Rockford train line. Where should the station go? Should Huntley make any changes to downtown to try to accommodate a station?
The planned location is downtown Huntley south of Main Street. We have spent substantial funds on the parking lot which would be shared by riders, residents and visitors of the downtown area. If this is ultimately the final choice, then IDOT needs to review the timing of the Rt 47 and Main Street intersection traffic signals.
What businesses should Huntley try to recruit?
Higher end Restaurants, Full-service Bakeries, Destination Venues, Entertainment venues for both adults, kids and young adults.
Many of the new housing developments planned or recently built throughout the McHenry County area have been multi-family rather than single-family, and many are rentals rather than owner-occupied. What are your views on this trend? Do you support this type of development? Why or why not?
We have allowed townhouse, single family homes as well as an apartment complex that is currently under construction. What we need to attract is more affordable/attainable development in town to attract the younger generations to return to Huntley after their college time away. With that being said I would support rentals as long as there is an agreement on the maintenance of the property and as to how longer the developer would be the owner/management of the property.
A recent study commissioned by the McHenry County Board found a need for more workforce housing in the county. Do you support any form of subsidized housing to address that need? Is there enough affordable housing in the community and, if not, how would you attempt to address that?
I find it very important that the housing that we approve of being built in Huntley be affordable as well as attainable. W have several companies that have a great number of employees. Somewhere down the line they may want to move into town. At that point I hope that we would have enough housing available to accommodate the need.
Going forward I would also work to attract developers that have a mix of development that can be considered affordable and attainable provided of course that the projects align with our Comprehensive Plan.
Should local law enforcement cooperate with ICE to identify and deport immigrants who do not have legal status to be in the United States?
Local law enforcement is needed to keep the residents safe. I believe that our local law enforcement should not stop, arrest, search, detain, or continue to detain a person solely based on their citizenship or immigration status. I also believe that they should not interfere with ICE investigations.
What are your top three priorities for our city, and how do you plan to address them?
• Complete Kreutzer Road Reconstruction - I feel that construction should been in progress already but would be my priority.• Continued growth of businesses especially on the North side - The north end of town needs more business as we a substantial number of residents. As we reach out to developers I would impress them to look at the north end of town. • Recruit destination venues - As stated before, I would push for places like dinner theatres or comedy clubs that would attract patrons not just from Huntley but from the surrounding communities as well.
How do you intend to balance economic development with environmental sustainability in the community?
In our Comprehensive plan we outline what type of land use should be located within the Village.In that plan we specify that the development should include parks and open spaces. This planning ahead method allows developers to know what we expect ahead of time and let’s them decide if they can follow our Comp plan up front.
What are your plans for enhancing public transportation and infrastructure in the city?
We have an agreement that we have been part of since 2016 that our residents can call PACE and setup a ride share to anywhere that PACE services. This allows seniors to get a ride to doctors’ offices as well as the Huntley Hospital. We financially supported this program since the beginning and now we still support and encourage the residents to utilize this service.
I would expect that Huntley and McDOT could work together to work on PACE routes that could come through Huntley and go to surrounding communities.
What role should the city council play in supporting local businesses and economic growth?
As I have been doing over the past several years, I would expect the Board of Trustees to be engaged with their communities and residents and get feed back as to how we are doing, what they want to see built in town and what they would support. As time passes we do update our Comprehensive plan to reflect any new trends that need to be identified.
What are your top public safety concerns for our community and how would you propose addressing them?
The safety of the residents of Huntley has always been my priority. Our Police Department reaches out to all groups from elementary school to senior groups and does many activities with them.
In particular, the Police Department has a Citizen’s Police Academy class that is a 10-week experience that allows residents to learn about what the police do. After the class is over, participants can become part of the Alumni Association that volunteers for various events throughout the year.
I personally have been part of that group for over seven years.
How will you ensure that city policies promote inclusion for all residents?
Our policies have been to engage the residents’ input on any of our work. Obviously, during any Board meeting, we have public comments. We solicited input for our Comprehensive Plan. Annually we request all the residents to respond to our online survey.
All that input is helpful for us on the Board to gauge what needs to be to better the Village.
Do you support requiring government officials to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest, and how would you enforce this?
I absolutely support this requirement. I feel that anyone that has a business that even remotely can be considered a conflict, this conflict should be disclosed before any discussion by that person on the topic before the Board. They should also recuse themselves from any further discussion.
I feel that if developers look at the Board’s background and there could be potential conflicts, that could sway them away from doing business with the Village.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
My phone number or email would be available on our website. I attend just about every event that the Village is part of which would make me available during that time. I would also attend any neighborhood meetings if asked.