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McDONALD -- After serving the village for the past 13 years, as mayor and as a village council member for a stretch of time, Mayor Glen "Marty" Puckett will be leaving at year's end.
Puckett, who served the past seven years as mayor, took over for Glenn Holmes, who took a state position. Before becoming mayor, he was a member of council for six years. He was appointed to council to replace Peter Sudol.
Puckett said he accomplished a lot during his tenure as mayor, but he was especially proud of certain projects, such as remodeling council chambers at the 1922 municipal building.
Puckett said the more than 100-year-old building is also having work done in the offices, restrooms and other areas.
Remodeling of the council chambers on the second floor of the building was done by UCI and cost $49,000.
"We had some water leaks and other issues that needed to be addressed," Puckett said.
"I was glad this was one project that was able to be completed for the benefit of the public. I want the residents to be able to come here and be proud of what they see."
Village Administrator Thomas Domitrovich said work was done in council chambers to create a clean and safe environment. He said there has been no major work done, outside of changing the carpet, since the late 1980s.
The remodel included painting, new carpeting, ceiling work, a new diaz desk and chairs. Domitrovich said the diaz desk was made concave so everyone is now better able to see each other.
Puckett added that large, old registers were also moved and became obsolete for heating and cooling of the room.
Domitrovich said high-efficient HVAC is available.
In addition to council meetings, the chambers are used for mayor's court and other meetings such as board of zoning appeals, income tax board of review and the planning commission.
"We want the employees and the public to be able to walk into this building and be proud to be here," Puckett said.
Domitrovich said because the building is so old, it is exempt from making it handicapped accessible, but council meetings can be moved to the one floor community room across the street, which has a handicapped accessible ramp.
"The community room is like a sister office to this building. We built that room completely compliant and it is used for senior programs," he said.
At the end-of-the-year meeting held Thursday, several council members praised Puckett for his years of service and what he did for the village.
Domitrovich said Puckett was "a great public servant who was able to get the village through difficult times," such as the coronavirus pandemic.
Lewis said, "It was a pleasure to work with you both as mayor and when you were on council."
"You were able to get the village through a lot. You never backed down," he said noting the many clean audits the village has had in recent years.
Lewis said Puckett was instrumental in hiring a new fire chief, police chief, office manager, fiscal officer and tax administrator to replace others who had retired.
"The village has been better off having you serve as mayor," Councilman John Metzinger said.
"You always made decisions that were best for the village," Councilman Chad Jones said.