Editor’s note: This is one in a series of stories looking at contested races in the Aurora area in the April 6 election.
Oswego voters will fill three seats on the Village Board in the April 6 election.
Six candidates are vying for the three open seats on the Village Board – incumbents Pam Parr and Luis Perez and challengers Tom Guist, Kit Kuhrt, Jennifer Jones Sinott and Judy Siedlecki.
Trustee Judy Sollinger, who was elected to four-year terms in 2009, 2013 and 2017, has decided not to seek reelection.
Pam Parr was first elected to the board in 2013 and is seeking her third four-year term. The village trustee previously served as a member of the Kendall County Board from 2002 through 2010. She presently is a leadership consultant.
The village’s quest to decide on an alternative drinking water source is one of her priorities.
“Securing a permanent replacement water source for Oswego is crucial and we are running out of time,” Parr said.
Parr was asked whether she was supportive of connecting with Joliet or the DuPage Water Commission to bring in Lake Michigan water, or the third option to build a joint Fox River water treatment plant with neighboring communities.
“Pursuing an alternative water supply is necessary and critical for our survival. Our aquifer continues to dry up and our wells are being drilled deeper and deeper to find water. I am waiting for all the engineering studies to be discussed with the board before I make up my mind on a viable solution. I understand that we have at least two viable solutions,” Parr said.
Parr believes she brings experience to the board.
“After a combined 16 years of government service between the county and village of Oswego, I have been through recessions and rapid growth. I have been involved in financing and building a large jail addition, a new building for the Kendall County Health Department, a $28 million addition to the courthouse and a $30 million Oswego police station,” she said.
“I have seen the trust costs of the ‘don’t spend any money’ philosophy and the destructive and cost effects of moving on something without a plan. No one has ever said to me ‘don’t spend my money,’ what they have said is ‘don’t do anything stupid with my money,'” she said.
Parr said she would have preferred that plans for the village’s entertainment venue been given more thought and discussion before construction was approved.
Luis Perez was appointed to the board in October 2015 to fill a vacancy and is seeking his second four-year term. Perez is a national sales manager for Ace Hardware. He previously served on numerous Oswego-based School District 308 committees that addressed learning and growth.
“There are a number of major issues but replacing our long-term water source is at the top of my list. This capital planning project must happen now. In 2021 we will properly analyze and select our long-term water source partner,” he said.
Perez is waiting for the results of studies on the issue.
“I feel strongly that Oswego must pursue an alternative water source whether it is with Joliet or the DuPage Water Commission pending the studies. Because of our future growth, demand will outpace supply in the next 15 to 20 years so it is imperative to act now,” he said.
Perez said he too was not supportive of the administration’s effort to proceed with the entertainment venue.
“I wish we would have postponed spending $750,000 to $1 million of Oswego taxpayer money for the music venue during a worldwide pandemic. Although I offered the village president a solution for Oswego residents to have the music venue by 2023, my no vote was not enough to stop this from moving forward,” Perez said.
“The optics of building a public venue during the pandemic is offensive and the music venue was rushed. It was not part of any village board identified and/or critical capital project for Oswego,” Perez said.
Tom Guist is making his first bid for an elected office. He has lived in Oswego for more than 20 years and all of his three children have attended the local public schools. He has a child who is a junior at Oswego High School this year, he said. He and his wife have volunteered extensively in youth-related activities.
Guist, a licensed professional engineer, has served on the Oswego Planning and Zoning Commission for the past two years.
“I have worked for and managed engineering consulting companies who regularly work with private developers to aid them in getting developments built. The private experience along with the municipal experience from the Planning and Zoning Commission gives me a perspective that I am unaware of the village board having in the past. I believe it will be very beneficial as Oswego continues to grow our commercial tax base as well as look at several very large and important projects in the future,” he said.
Guist noted the village’s studies for a new drinking water source as a priority for the village.
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“With my experience in engineering and construction I understand the magnitude in scope, design and construction that a new water source entails. We have modeling estimates on how much longer the aquifer that we currently obtain our water supply can last so it is very important that we start the process of securing our future source. With the recent decision by Joliet to obtain their water from the city of Chicago, it is time for the village to vet the three current options. At this time it is too early to know which option is best for the village and residents, as each option will have pros and cons, but that process needs to start as soon as possible,” he said.
He would like to see the momentum of commercial development continue in Oswego.
“From what I hear, residents want to see continued revitalization of the downtown. Residents want the option to enjoy their Friday nights close to home and be proud of their village but this is also very important so we generate increased tax revenue without looking to our residents,” Guist said.
Kit Kuhrt said he works in the area of private enterprise and his first priority is to make sure the village is being fiscally responsible to residents.
“We need growth but it needs to be smart growth and good for our community,” he said.
Kuhrt also said that the village board has a big decision to make concerning an alternative water source for the village.
He said there is “a long-term water supply issue on the horizon as our aquifers are being stressed. I will be educating myself on this issue as direction on this will be needed sooner rather than later,” he said.
“This not only needs to be talked about but we need to develop an action plan. It is my understanding the village has a consultant working on a study that will be complete this spring,” Kuhrt said.
Kuhrt also ran for village trustee in 2019.
Jennifer Jones Sinnott is an independent insurance agent making her first run for an elected position.
“I am running for Oswego village trustee because I care deeply about the community and want to make a positive impact,” she said.
Her focus if elected would cover a range of issues, including fiscal responsibility and to continue to expand the village’s economic base responsibly, she said.
“My professional experience and expertise in the insurance industry for the past 25 years will allow me to bring a common-sense approach to the village, along with my current involvement in the local community,” Jones Sinnott said.
Jones Sinnott is president of the Rotary Club of Oswego and a member of the Oswego Area Chamber of Commerce for which she serves on several committees.
She said the decision to be made by the board on a future source of drinking water for Oswego is a big one for the village.
“It’s a high priority for the village of Oswego to continue to accelerate the research being done on this so a fiscally responsible decision can be made to sustain the long-term water supply needed for current/future generations of the community,” she said.
Judy Siedlecki is retired and has remained an active senior over the years. She and her late husband raised funds for the annual Fourth of July fireworks display and were involved in numerous other civic- related programs since their inception including the annual Wine on the Fox.
For the past seven years she has organized the collection of greeting cards for veterans and nursing home residents.
“My most rewarding contributions to Oswego have been through my volunteer participation at the Oswego Senior Center since its inauguration in 2007 with its first hot luncheon meal served in the Fellowship Hall of Church of the Good Shepherd through its move to Old Traughber Junior High School in 2009,” she said.
“Although the coronavirus pandemic has reduced participation in much of what I have previously enjoyed doing, I promote the use of masks, keeping distance, washing hands even after receiving the vaccine until the CDC recommends otherwise. I try to see the upside of unpleasant events and try to make the most of them,” she said.
“If we work together using facts and science as our guide, we’ll hopefully see an end to this virus sooner rather than later, getting back to work and school, and safely socializing, thus building up our economy and community,” she said.
Siedlecki said she decided to launch her first bid for office after Sollinger decided not to seek reelection. Siedlecki said her top three priorities are to decide on a cost-effective new water source for the village, support scientifically informed solutions to end the pandemic and support police presence in Oswego.
“I enjoy meeting and talking with people and helping however I can, keeping tabs on what’s going on in town and sharing that information with people who want to know. There’s much I need to learn, but I feel up to the challenge to help Oswego keep its hometown feel, but keep in step with what the future holds,” Siedlecki said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.