Meet the Candidates: Peter Ladesic

Glen Ellyn Patch: To start, please give us a little info about yourself for people who might not know you around town.

Peter Ladesic: I am proud to be a forty-five year resident of Glen Ellyn, where along with my very patient wife Lori, am raising our twin daughters Mary and Hannah and son Jonah.

As a committed volunteer since my youth, I am honored to continue to serve our residents for another term. I am truly looking forward to the opportunities as well as the challenges we will be facing in the next four or more years.

The most rewarding part of my past four years as a village trustee has been in meeting and serving the many residents I had never met before. Much to the chagrin of my children I have always enjoyed taking a “moment” at a local store or restaurant to talk to a resident whenever they had a question about or suggestion for our community. You really get a sense of what improvements our residents would like to see, or what issues are important to them in our community when you have the opportunity to discuss things in such an informal setting.

Whether making key personnel decisions, implementing cost saving initiatives, or enacting ordinances that safeguard our residents, the past four years have been additionally rewarding in the number of accomplishments I have been fortunate enough to be instrumental in.

Patch: Economic development is an important issue to small business owners in Glen Ellyn, and residents alike who want options for shopping and eating. Do you have a plan to encourage more businesses to open in Glen Ellyn? Would you like to see more corporate or chain-style businesses open in downtown Glen Ellyn, or is it best to encourage more development of the 'mom and pop' variety?

Ladesic: I have a few ideas of my own, but more importantly I look forward to bringing in new economic development professionals who have the expertise to help us plan and reinvigorate our retail districts. Being proactive in our search for retailers to fill the voids we have in our retail offerings and continuing to foster a “how can we help you” attitude will create the foundation for pursuing the economic development we desperately need.

Although it is easy to point the blame to our local economic woes on things such as the national economy, or the internet, other comparable communities around the country have continued to thrive during this economic downturn and we can as well with the right people and practices in place.

We must completely change the ways in which we have approached economic development or we will continue to see the same results.

I feel that we need a mix of both [large and small businesses]. Boutique stores have always been a mainstay in our town, but we will need some anchor stores to help draw shoppers into our community. Large retailers have found new niches opening, pared back, versions of their stores in communities such as ours.

Patch: What do you think are the top three most important issues facing residents in the next few years? 

Ladesic: The economic crunch is by far the biggest issue facing all of us. We must maintain the level of services our residents have come to expect and try and improve on them as we can. Every dollar is harder to get and we must make absolutely sure that each one is being spent to its maximum potential.

As a local business owner running my own custom homebuilding and property development firm, I have realized all too well how difficult the economy has been for our residents and how it has affected all of our property values.

At city hall, like at home, we all have to learn to do more with less.

We have operated well during the past few months without a few key staff positions not to mention a village manager. This is all due to the men and women in the trenches who have made sure that our water and other things flow as usual and our streets are cleared, swept and patrolled. It is hard to find the words to express how appreciative I am to our employees and department heads that have risen to every challenge to make this happen.

Patch: In what area(s) is the village excelling? What has the last board done right, and what should it continue to do to continue said positive trends?

Ladesic: One of the most notable accomplishments of our village has been the ability of our former boards and staff to maintain a balanced budget and keep our reserves funded to acceptable levels.

Although this has been a herculean task in the past few years, there is work still to be done in ensuring that each dollar we spend is maximizing its return on investment for our residents. Approaching our finances in this fashion will enable us to maintain the level of services owed to our residents without raising taxes and fees at every turn.

Patch: Reports from the Finance Department on the village's five year financial forecast look very good for the village overall, but show a need to increase revenue and find news areas of revenue. Is it possible to raise revenue, but not taxes? Where do you see this new revenue coming from?

Ladesic: A dollar saved is a dollar earned. Again, we need to find ways to reduce expenses which in turn mean less need for revenues. While the real application to this practice will certainly help, we can and will find other sources of revenue to avoid raising taxes as some expenses which we have little control over continue to rise.

We just reviewed a study which showed that our Central Business District meets the guidelines for TIF district financing. Taking advantage of this great economic development tool will help raise the necessary funding to get the ball rolling for much needed re development.  I would like to take the next steps to implement this funding tool and look to expand the study to our Roosevelt Road and Stacy’s Corners retail districts.  

Patch: Economic sustainability is a hot topic in Glen Ellyn, both among residents and members of the Village Board. Where are some areas that Glen Ellyn can become more sustainable?   

Ladesic: As laid out by the Finance Commission formed by our mayor last year, our five year forecast has shown that our current level of spending will not be sustainable at current funding levels. This further reinforces how critical it will be to step up cost saving and economic development initiatives.

Patch: Please describe some long-term goals for Glen Ellyn. These do not necessarily need to be things you hope to accomplish in a single term, but more what direction do you think the village needs to go into the future? 

Ladesic: Glen Ellyn is and always has been a destination community. We continue to attract residents who may have grown up here and left, as well as many transferees who have felt the same charm that has drawn others back. We must respect our historic roots while embracing future development.  Relaxing some regulations in order to encourage development in both the residential and commercial districts will repay itself tenfold as we look to rebuild property values and spark retail development.  The next Board will have the opportunity to really help lay the ground work for some long overdue development initiatives. These will continue to attract residents and retailers which will aid in propelling us through these tough economic times.

Patch: Feel free to include a closing statement, or anything else you would like to add.

Ladesic: I must say again that it has been an honor and a pleasure representing our residents for the past four years. I look forward to working with our new Village Board members as well as our current and future staff members as we take the next steps to re invigorate our awesome community.