Update, 11:30 p.m., Monday, June 4, 2012

Five people who saved a drowning man in Lake Sedgewick last week received a “public pat on the back” during Monday night’s Orland Park Village Board meeting.

Albert Kulicz, Mackenzie Smith, Andrea Dunn, Meghan Carmody and Taylor Calzaretta, were each presented with a lifesaver award from the village that read:

“in recognition and appreciation of your selfless heroism in saving the life of a drowning individual, presented this Fourth day in June 2012.”

On May 29, Kulicz, from Bridgeview, and Smith, of Orland Park, jumped into Lake Sedgewick after hearing cries from help from a 33-year-old Tinley Park man. The two pulled him back to the south shore, and got him out with the help of Dunn, Carmody and Calzaretta, all from Orland Park. The three ran from the west side of the lake to the south shore to help.

“It’s a pretty treacherous piece territory for those who’ve been there,” Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy said about the south shore during the presentation. “Difficult to get there, with a narrow pass high above the water. It was one heck of an act of heroism by all five.”

The five brought the Tinley Park man, referred to as Mr. Sullivan during the meeting, up on land as emergency personnel arrived and he was recovering from mild injuries at Palos Community Hospital that night.

“I don’t think there’s anyone of us who doesn’t wonder what we’d do when faced with a situation where someone needs help, because there’s an awful lot of stories out there about a person laying on the streets suffering and a crowd of people walk and drive by,” Mayor Dan McLaughlin said. “You stepped up when it was important and it counted, and there are times when people don’t.”

Looking to Neighbors on Water Conservation Changes

Orland Park will see changes to codes focused on saving more water by year’s end. Before the final code changes are up for a vote, the next step will be to find out what other neighboring municipalities are doing to conserve.

With an upcoming rise in water rates from suburbs drawing out of Lake Michigan, talking to other governments will help move the whole area toward a consistent water policy, rather than doing so town by town, said Orland Park Village Planner Terry Pittos.

“We’ll be more educated if we open up the discussion with our neighbors,” Pittos said. “We can see how our needs relate to their consumption. The idea is to set a good precedent for the area.”

Tax Rebate Still in the Works

Residents will have to wait at least until July to find out if they will get a tax rebate from the village. The technology committee talked about ways to get word out about a rebate, and ways to make the application process electronic, but how much the rebate will be and when it will be given hasn’t been determined yet.

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Updated 5:20 p.m., Monday, June 4, 2012

Orland Park's finance committee will not be discussing several fund transfers during Monday night's meeting, mostly relating to acquiring and developing property within the Main Street Triangle.

According to the village's original meeting media packet, the trustees would have talked about "an overall decrease in revenues of $24,573 and an overall increase in expenditures of $25,819,109" tonight. That discussion will now likely happen during a committee meeting in July. 

The first full draft report for proposed water conservation code changes in the village will be presented to the full village board tonight.

Four people who rescued a man from drowning in Lake Sedgewick last week will also be honored during Monday night's board meeting.

The technology and parks and recreation committees will also meet tonight.

Attached are media packets for what will be discussed at the meeting. Join the live blog during the meeting, starting at 6 p.m., by posting comments and questions. Same rules apply as on the site.

Leading up to the meeting, let me know if there's anything you particularly want to know about in the comments.

Read on for examples of recent live blogs.