A familiar name returns to the Lake Bluff Village board with the appointment of Brian Rener as trustee.
Village President Regis Charlot appointed Rener — who served on the board from 2005 to 2015 — to fill the vacancy left by Stephen Rappin’s resignation in August. The board unanimously approved the appointment at its Oct. 13 meeting.
Rener, an engineer, currently serves on the village’s ad hoc sustainability and community development committee. He previously chaired the finance committee at the height of the Great Recession in 2008. He is expected to return to that committee, made up of three directors.
Charlot said he looked at four candidates before selecting Rener. He highlighted Rener’s experience on the Finance Committee and the village’s construction of a large stormwater drainage pipe intended to alleviate flooding problems.
“Given our recent extensive discussions with IDOT and the loss of a finance board member, I wanted to bring in an experienced administrator with finance committee expertise,” Charlot said, describing Rener as his “long-term candidate.”
Rener detailed his interest in returning to the village board in an email.
“There are major infrastructure projects underway, which is what I am involved in professionally and am passionate about,” he explained. “Plus, the vacancy included a spot on the finance committee, so my past experience and natural problem-solving ability as an engineer exceeded my understanding of how much time it takes to be an administrator — there are a lot of demands on top of a person’s normal career and life — but it’s my civic duty, so I said ‘yes.’
The rainwater channeling project resonated with Rener.
“There is a major stormwater reduction project the first concepts of which were introduced when I was a board member about 20 years ago,” he wrote. “The chance to carry out this major project was extremely motivating.[,] since I am an engineer by training and this has long been a major concern of our community.
Rener’s term will extend until the 2027 municipal elections. He said he did not expect to be a candidate at this point.
Rener moved to Lake Bluff in 1998.
The Lake Bluff Village Board of Trustees consists of six trustees plus the village president.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance journalist for Pioneer Press.
