Wheatland Highway Department Forming Citizen Advisory Councils

In an effort to increase transparency and encourage resident involvement in decision making, new Wheatland Township Highway Commissioner Mark Troyanowski is in the process of forming five citizen advisory councils that will help him improve Township Road District services. 

First, however, he needs volunteers. 

One council, Communications, will help keep Wheatland residents informed about Highway Department plans, achievements and programs, via the news media and township website – www.wheatlandtownship.com. This council will be chaired by former Indian Prairie District 204 School Board Member Owen Wavrinek. Top priorities include, but are not limited to, the creation of a handbook that will provide information about Highway Department services (also to be available on the township website); develop and conduct opinion surveys of incorporated and unincorporated residents; and create news releases, etc. 

The second council, Roads & Bridges, will focus on assessing the condition of subdivision streets (and other roads that are maintained by the Highway Department); investigating the need for pavement striping; and establishing a culvert-replacement policy. This council will be chaired by Jeff DeRango, a former IDOT roads inspector who is now a land surveyor for Christopher B. Burke Engineering. 

The third council, Drainage, will help create a drainage-ditch-maintenance policy that will identify both Highway Department and resident responsibilities, as well as immediate maintenance needs and then recommend short- and long-term solutions. Further, this council will assess all tributaries/creeks that are the Highway Department’s responsibility and propose a plan for maintaining them. This council will be chaired by Bob Schiller, Director of Public Works in Berwyn and a former president of the North Wheatland Township Homeowners Association. 2 

The fourth council, Budget & Finance, will focus on reviewing and making recommendations with regard to the Road District’s annual levy and operating and capital budgets (Road & Bridge and Special Hard Road Funds). Chairing this council will be Joe Hudetz, a former Wheatland Township Trustee, who was the CFO and Legal Counsel for Solar Press during the 1980s. 

The fifth council, Traffic & Safety, will focus on sidewalks, street signs and street lights needing repair; house numbers with visibility problems; and speed bumps/humps that may be needed to provide safe traffic flow on interior subdivision roads (after conducting a survey of residents to determine their popularity or lack thereof). This council will be chaired by Scott Bishop, a resident of the Wheatland View subdivision who has chaired the Roads, Traffic and Safety Committee of the North Wheatland Township Homeowners Association. 

“There is a lot to accomplish over the next four years,” said Troyanowski, who added that the Wheatland Township Highway Department is committed to serving the community with professional leadership, accountability through transparency and fiscal responsibility. 

“The purpose of these councils is to provide essential information that will enable the Highway Department to do a better job of fulfilling its responsibilities and meeting its goals,” he said. “Hopefully, the participation of township residents (incorporated and unincorporated) via the councils will also enable us to base those goals on the needs of the Wheatland community in a fiscally responsible manner with transparency. It would be great if we’re all on the same page.” 

Troyanowski is seeking three or four volunteers (Wheatland Township residents) to serve on each of these five committees. If interested, please contact the Highway Department at 630-717-0092.