Manteno improved a resolution at Monday’s Board meeting for its inclusion in the intergovernmental agreement among Kankakee County, the city of Kankakee, the village of Bourbonnais and Visit Kankakee County for the promotion of tourism in the county.

The measure passed by a 4-2 vote with trustees CJ Boudreau, Todd Crockett, Joel Gesky, and Annette Zimbelman voting in favor of the agreement. Trustees Mike Barry and Peggy Vaughn voted against.

The new IGA, a three-year deal, calls for each participating municipality to contribute a $70,000 base plus $5,000 for each hotel. Manteno also gets two seats on the organization’s board.

Manteno has two hotels, so its total commitment will be $80,000 in the first year. The $70,000 would increase by 3% year over year. In year two, the base escalates to $72,100, and in year three to $74,263.

Before the vote, Barry said he would rather the village hire its own person with the $80,000 to promote tourism within Manteno.

“Bradley has left [the IGA] and done pretty successfully with what they’ve done,” he said.

Crockett said he didn’t think the village would be able to hire somebody and support the local events.

“I understand your concern about the costs,” he said. “... We’re not qualified to do what they do, and Ashley’s [Peterson, marketing & community relations director for the village] speaking to that herself. I think she’s absolutely right. We don’t have the knowledge or the staff to do that.”

Barry was also uncomfortable with being locked into a three-year contract.

“Because in a year from now, if there’s a new administration, maybe the administration wants to go a different way with this,” he said.

Visit Kankakee County’s Executive Director Angelina Gear was at the meeting, and she explained why it’s a three-year agreement.

“Creating social media campaigns takes time,” she said. “Applying for grant funding and matching those grant funds takes time. A one-year agreement does not make sense, because we would not have any time to strategically plan for the future of Manteno. The thing with this agreement is that we all have equal voices. … This is a regional partnership where we all work together and pool our resources to make a better impact in our communities, because tourism is economic development. If we work together, we can draw more people into our region to support our businesses.”

The $80,000 for the agreement is derived from the hotel tax from the two hotels in Manteno that brought in more than $86,000 in tax revenue in 2025.

“That is what is funding this organization, and that is a direct result of the work that our organization has done,” Gear said. “Without what we do, that hotel tax money will dwindle year over year until it doesn’t exist anymore.”

The new agreement takes effect on July 1, and Manteno joins the city of Kankakee and Kankakee County in approving the IGA. Bourbonnais has not yet voted on the IGA.

Mayor vetoes remote attendance policy

Also at Monday’s meeting, Mayor Annette LaMore vetoed the remote attendance policy for public meetings, which was approved at the Board meeting on May 18.

LaMore said local government is most transparent and accountable when conducted in person.

“Our residents consistently attend meetings physically to voice concerns and observe governance,” she said in a prepared statement. “Adopting a lax remote attendance policy fails to meet the standard of civic commitment demonstrated by our community. To preserve public trust, elected officials must lead by example through their physical presence.”

LaMore also expressed concern about the technical aspect of the policy, which allows trustees to attend remotely via a Zoom link that would be displayed within the meeting room.

“Standardizing electronic attendance dilutes the collaborative dynamic of the board,” she said.

A contract with Scenic Landscaping for $9,350 to replace nine trees on Main Street that was approved on May 18 was also vetoed. LaMore said the village should explore alternative approaches to reduce costs.

“The village of Manteno must ensure that public expenditures remain fiscally sound and transparent,” she said.

Gesky said the Board will put the remote attendance and the tree planting for override of the veto at the next meeting. He said he expected the vetoes.

“It’s OK,” Gesky said. “The board has one opinion, she has another.”