WALBRIDGE – Village council is in need of a new president.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Mayor Ed Kolanko read a letter from Ken Gilsdorf, who said he would be out of
town for much of the summer and was resigning as council president.
In an email to council, Gilsdorf said he is on vacation and will miss the next two meetings.
"I will be traveling much of this summer and will not be able to make some committee and council
meetings. Because of this I am notifying you that I resign my position as council president," he
wrote.
Gilsdorf’s wife, Teresa, heatedly addressed council at the May 7 meeting, complaining about her next-door
neighbor’s property.
Kolanko said the couple is upset about stone the neighbors placed on a parking pad outside their home.
The mayor said it is village policy to allow "stone on stone" when that has been done before.

"At this point in time, it’s completed," Kolanko said of Teresa Gilsdorf’s complaint.
"We’re following the rules and the ordinances we have to work with," he added. "There’s no
preferential treatment."
After the meeting, Kolanko and Councilman Ron Liwo said they have tried to contact Gilsdorf, but he has
not returned calls or emails since the May 7 meeting. He did not respond to the Sentinel’s email and
phone call.
"I am currently under the assumption that he has resigned only as council president," Kolanko
said.
Liwo agreed.
"That’s the way I read it right now, but it’s vague as to his attendance in the future," he
said.
Gilsdorf was elected council president in January on a tie-breaking vote from Kolanko. Liwo was also
nominated, with the rest of council splitting two-two on the vote.
At the time, Gilsdorf said that the president position has been a goal since he moved back to the village
six years ago, continued volunteering and joined council.
"Being the council president was just another step for me," he said. "I just feel that I
was meant to have this job."
Gilsdorf was village administrator for Walbridge for seven weeks in early 2012. He resigned after
conflict with then-mayor Dan Wilczynski.
He was appointed to council in January 2013, and won a seat in the November election.
Also at the meeting, council:
• Approved giving Police Capt. Matt Simon a $2,500 one-time payment for the work he is doing on the ball
diamonds. "These duties do not interfere with the captain duties," Kolanko said.
• Voted to spend not more than $900 on a new computer for Police Chief Kenneth Frost. The old computer’s
hard drive broke.
• Heard a Waste Management Inc. representative will meet with council committees and the mayor next
month. The trash pickup contract expired in March and the administration is trying to negotiate a better
rate, Kolanko said.
• Heard the first part of the Union Street project starts Tuesday and is expected to last four weeks.
• Heard the YMCA fun bus, which offers free activities to children, will be returning to the village this
summer. Its first visit is June 12 from 9 a.m. to noon.
• Accepted the job description for general office clerk. Long-time employee Dolores Bleau is retiring
this summer from the position, which pays $10.63 an hour.
• Appointed three auxiliary police officers: Michael Padisak, Shannon Heider and Jack Jacobs.