The Rochelle City Council voted unanimously Dec. 23 to appoint City Engineer Sam Tesreau as interim city manager. Former City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh departed Jan. 15 to take a city administrator position in Washington, Illinois.
As interim city manager, Tesreau will oversee the day-to-day operations of the city, support staff and work with the city council to ensure the continued delivery of municipal services. The council has contracted with a search firm to find Rochelle a permanent city manager, which Tesreau expects to take place within the next four months.
“I wanted to help move things forward that are already in the works for our community,” Tesreau said. “Many staff members have projects that they need to move forward in addition to the regular business and operations of the organization. I want to help facilitate that with the dedicated and professional staff and city council, we have in place, and accomplish those tasks for our community.”
Tesreau has worked for the city for 23 years and grew up in Rochelle over his lifetime. He plans to make sure city staff have the resources and support they need to continue their work for the community while communicating with the city council to ensure their top priorities are addressed in the coming months all within the approved budget.
Tesreau will also be doing his full-time city engineer work over the next few months, and he’s been getting his arms around handling both responsibilities simultaneously.
“I’ve realized that I have to compartmentalize certain aspects of each job,” Tesreau said. “Meetings have been the primary increase in work across so many different aspects of the city manager’s office. I’m trying to set aside two or three days for those so I can focus on addressing the engineering department issues that are ongoing.”
The city of Rochelle’s work over the coming months includes an underground storm sewer project that will wrap up in the spring, ongoing construction of a downtown stage, storage and public restrooms structure with nearby utility undergrounding; a Flagg Road and 20th Street intersection improvement project, a new electrical substation on Centerpoint Drive, sanitary sewer and water system improvements, working with the Illinois Department of Transportation on its diverging diamond interchange project at Illinois Route 38 and Interstate 39 and ongoing public works projects.
While these are visible infrastructure improvements, each department has priorities they are working on as well, Tesreau said.
Tesreau said being in the interim city manager position as a longtime city employee and resident means “giving back to the community in a number of ways.”
“That’s why city staff does what they do, to give back to the community and be effective in their role to enhance the city of Rochelle,” Tesreau said. “We do that through a number of ways. We have a number of infrastructure projects that help expand and continue development within our community for all citizens and users of our infrastructure. We promote a quality of life here that I’m pleased to say we have expanded on over the years through the commitment of all city departmental staff and the city council.”
Twenty-three years of experience as the city engineer brings with it institutional knowledge and a rapport with other departments, Tesreau said. He appreciated the support he’s gotten from other departments over the years and plans to continue fostering those relationships in his new interim role.
“The engineering department works across all city departments and closely with city council, who sets policy and direction for our community. We have interacted on a regular basis to advance projects and other goals forward,” Tesreau said. “That’s why we’re here. We are public servants for the betterment of the community as a whole, and to see successful business development and growth within the community to enhance our way of life in the city of Rochelle that we raise families, live, socialize, work and play in.”