Mokena Officials Say Goodbye To Longtime Village Employee

By Jon DePaolis, the Richard Free Press:

MOKENA, Ill. – The Village of Mokena Board of Trustees bid adieu to a longtime staff member Monday, April 12, with Interim Public Works Director Mark Detloff retiring.

Detloff – a 22-year employee of the Village – had worked in many roles in Mokena, including as a public improvement inspector, the street superintendent, assistant public works director and his current role as interim director. Detloff took on that role in 2020 after the retirement of Lou Tiberi, who was on-hand at the April 12 meeting to celebrate his former colleague.

“The residents of the Village as well as the Village staff you worked with and the Village Boards you worked under were very fortunate to have a dependable, knowledgeable, hardworking employee such as you for an extended period of time,” Tiberi said of Detloff. “Your leadership and efforts in the Public Works Department have helped make the Village of Mokena live up to the motto of ‘Planned progress and pleasant living.’”

Tiberi said Detloff was instrumental in the development, construction, maintenance and improvements related to the infrastructure that brings Lake Michigan water to Mokena. He also credited Detloff for his work in inspecting the four water towers in the Village.
“[And] there is not a street or road in Mokena that does not have your fingerprints on it, as you have been responsible for the proper construction or resurfacing of every street in Mokena during your tenure,” Tiberi added.

The Village Board members also heaped praise onto Detloff for his service to Mokena over the years.

“You are a fixture in this town,” Trustee George Metanias told Detloff. “You’ve been here, and you’ve helped it grow. No matter what we needed or when we needed it, you were always there. You’ve given a lot to this town. I’d like to say thank you and wish you the best in anything that you do. And you’ve always got to remember, no matter where you go or what you do, this is your home.”

Trustee Jillian Hersted thanked Detloff for his help in showing her around the Village and getting her up to speed on several projects.

“From the beginning of my time here, you were an obvious fixture, and I could tell you were a core part of this Mokena team,” she said. “I learned a lot from you.”

Mayor Frank Fleischer also thanked Detloff for his dedicated service to the Village’s citizens.
“The people that are really going to miss you are the residents [for] what you’ve done for them over the years and how you’ve taken care of them,” Fleischer said. “You took your job extremely seriously.”

Detloff said it was difficult deciding to retire.

"It’s been my privilege to serve the Village for these years," he said. "It was just an honor [working in Mokena], and it’s a very emotional night for me. Thank you so much."

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