AMBOY – The central theme of the Amboy City Council meeting held on January 15 was new appointments and promotions.       
         Deputy Mayor Frank Stenzel was officially sworn in as the new mayor to replace John Schamberger, who resigned in December about 13 months before his term expired due to moving out of the city limits.
  Stenzel was in his second term as third ward alderman and didn’t really have any aspirations for the top job.
   “John had let me know some time ago that this might happen, and it gave me time to think about it,” Stenzel explained. “I was active at meetings and part of the Streets and Alleys Committee, so I talked it over with my wife and agreed to finish his term. After that, decisions will have to made.”
  Luke Christoffersen was also sworn in as the new third ward alderman, taking Stenzel’s place. Christoffersen is a longtime resident, Amboy alumnus, and is very active in youth sports programs where his kids participate through school.
   One of the first orders of business Mayor Stenzel presided over was the proposal presented to the council to increase the hourly rate by three dollars for part-time police officers bringing the rate to $25.00 a hour, which was approved.

   Officer Paul Smith has been promoted to full-time status, with another officer in line for full-time, which will be further discussed at the next meeting. Stenzel shared that the hope is with the pay increase that the officers will stay in town.
   “We seem to have become the training ground for officers,” Mayor Stenzel said. “Larger cities will offer a $7,000-10,000 signing bonus which we can’t match being a city of 2500.  We always ask our residents that if you see something, please call 911.”
  Amboy’s police force is one of the last of the small cities in Lee County. Franklin Grove, Ashton, Paw Paw, Sublette, and Harmon no longer have police presence.
  “It’s tough to have a 24-7 police force with the size of our city but we are fortunate to afford to provide this,” added Stenzel. “Most of the funding comes from taxation and tipping fees from the landfill which allows the city budget to stay sound.”
  Under new business on the agenda, approval was requested and granted for the 2024 street project to be overseen by Willett, Hofman & Associates to advertise for bids. A couple of months ago, the city came into an agreement with the school board to purchase the land where the old junior high once stood for $1.
   The re-development has been the vision of Schamberger and the council for some time. Stenzel presented a request to transfer funds from Capital Improvement to the Recreation Fund to make plans for a new splashpad on the property.
  Additional plans call for a resident friendly green space for walking, and or enjoying the outdoors.
One initiative Stenzel would like to spearhead is to continue to look for economic development to stimulate the town and provide new tax revenue.
  “We have a lot of older buildings here that could be utilized in a more beneficial way to the city along with giving a new look that has curb appeal to residents and visitors,” the mayor said.
     Stenzel went on to say that along with the help of City Clerk Melissa Eisenberg, the city website will be getting a facelift, along with an easier way to contact the mayor.
      “We will be setting up a dedicated email address for the mayor’s office so residents can send in suggestions, and information that might be useful,” Stenzel said. “I’m excited about this and feel confident that it will be a useful tool.”