Manteno appoints new chairman of planning commission

MANTENO – With Manteno still under its first month of the new administration of Mayor Annette LaMore, another change was in store at Monday’s village board meeting.

Prompted by the resignation of longtime Chairman Francis Smith from the planning commission, Manteno approved the appointment of Paul Motel by a 5-1 vote. Trustee Annette Zimbelman was the lone dissenter on the appointment.

“Those are some tremendous shoes to fill,” Motel said. “Obviously, I don’t know if I’m capable of doing so, but I can assure you and the residents of Manteno, I will do my absolute best to help Manteno flourish.”

Smith had been the chairman for 20 years, having been appointed by former Mayor Tim Nugent on May 19, 2005.

LaMore said she reached out to Motel once the chairman post opened, and he was very happy to accept the challenge.

“Paul is very intelligent,” she said. “He’s a smart man, and he cares so much about the community. He has a lot of good thought process. He’ll work well with other people, and he’ll be a good leader.”

Motel, 39, ran for a seat on the village board in April but fell just a few votes shy.

“If a day comes when we can appoint him to the village board, or he runs and gets elected to the village board, somebody else will take his place,” LaMore said. “I just want him to be involved.”

Motel, a diesel mechanic by trade, said he wants to get more involved in the community.

“We all know the entity that starts with the G [Gotion] that opens everyone’s eyes, and as well as the [police] firing range,” he said. “It really opened my eyes to have empathy for not just immediate neighbors, but more throughout the village.”

Motel said there can be a domino effect of the impact on decisions made by village leaders.

“I think it’s important to look at the bigger picture when you consider a facility or entity or an operation where it’s going to go and how it would impact everyone in the community,” he said.