Social Distancing At Tinley Board Meeting Amid Coronavirus Crisis

TINLEY PARK, IL — Social distancing measures were in place during the most recent Village of Tinley Park board meeting, held March 17 at Village Hall. Still, all meetings at village hall have been called off until at least April 7. A number of items on the agenda were tabled until that date, including an item on video gaming.

Trustees had one seat between each other and only half the number of seats usually filled by village staff at board meetings were filled. A majority of seats in the gallery were not available for public use as well.

Mayor Jacob Vandenburg called it "an extremely peculiar" meeting setup before calling for a moment of silence in memory of the first fatal coronavirus victim that was reported in Illinois earlier that day.

Village Manager Dave Niemeyer said a number of changes have been made to ease the burden for Tinley Park residents amidst the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

Among them are temporarily not charging late fees or shutting off water service and pushing back the vehicle sticker purchase date one full month.

To help slow the spread of the new coronavirus, Niemeyer said village hall has been closed to the public although staff will be there answering phone calls and emails. Also, the senior center has been temporarily closed and senior bus service is now on minimal operation. The village-planned coffee with a cop and 5K events have been canceled.

Find other measures the village has taken here.

Watch the full March 17 meeting below, which did include the confirmation of village appointments:

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