Board approves appointment of Public Works superintendent

ELBURN – The Village Board approved the appointment of Elburn resident Phillip Van Bogaert to the position of Elburn Public Works superintendent at its July 17 meeting.

The position has been open since October 2016, when former Public Works Superintendent John Nevenhoven became the Elburn village administrator. Nevenhoven has been doing double duty since then, while the search for a new head of Public Works took place.

The position was almost filled in February, when then-Village President Dave Anderson introduced his and Nevenhoven’s top candidate from their monthslong search. However, four of the trustees voted not to approve the chosen candidate, based on their desire to see more information about his background, as well as some information about the other candidates.

With the election of Jeff Walter as village president of Elburn, the search was restarted, and the decision to appoint Van Bogaert was approved unanimously by the board. Trustee Dave Gualdoni was absent.

Van Bogaert’s background includes co-ownership of a local excavating company from 1990 to 2001, and the creation of his own company in 2001, Van Bogaert Excavating & Enterprises Inc.

Van Bogaert said that much of his earlier experience will be “very comparable” to the responsibilities of the Public Works department for the village, having performed sewer and water installations, and repair and grading work with his company.

He said there will be a lot to learn on the administrative side, in terms of what gets done each month, as well as the proper steps to follow for municipal procedures, but he doesn’t foresee that to be a problem.

In addition, Nevenhoven, who held the position for eight years before becoming village administrator, will be just down the street.

Van Bogaert has been married for 32 years, with four children – three girls and a boy. Three of his children are through college, with a daughter, 17, attending Rosary High School in Aurora.

He is the coach of the varsity high school girls basketball team for Rosary High School, the Rosary Royals.

He said he looks forward to serving with Walter and the trustees.