Bradley promotes 2 department leaders

BRADLEY – There are changes at the top of two key departments within the administration in the village of Bradley.

At Monday’s Bradley Village Board meeting, Matt Castilla, 52, a 16-year village building department employee, and Jeff Meeker, 51, a two-year department of public works staffer, were promoted to the top positions within the departments.

Meeker replaces Scott Williams, who retired earlier this month. Williams had been public works director for two years, but had served various rolls within the village during his 42-year Bradley career.

Meeker will earn a salary of $107,000.

Castilla, who will earn $95,000 as community development director, had served in various positions within the community development department including building inspector.

Castilla takes over for Bruce Page. Page’s last day as a full-time employee was Monday. He is expected to become a consultant within the village administration.

Page, who just turned 65, said after the meeting that family responsibilities played a key role in his decision. He had been a full-time department leader during his more than five-year tenure with Bradley.

Page thanked the village for taking a chance on someone who came to them from the private sector.

However, he said, family responsibilities – which he declined to publicly state – prevent him from committing full time to the residents.

“I came to this decision a while ago. But I believe in Matt. He has the skillset to do this job and do it well,” Page said.

Williams started his village career in 1983 as an auxiliary police officer. He served for 24 years in addition to other roles within the village, including stops as director of building standards and within the village’s wastewater department.

“This just seemed like the right time. I was tired. Now I can do what I want to do,” the 1979 graduate of Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School said after the meeting.

Meeker worked within the Village of Orland Park street department prior to coming to Bradley. He grew up in the Limestone area and is a 1992 graduate of Herscher High School.

“I’ve been working toward this,” Meeker said. “The Village of Bradley is a great place to work.”

Castilla is a 1991 graduate of Taft High School in Chicago. He has been a longtime resident of Bradley.

He said he is just part of what has been a successful village department. He said the department plays a key part in Bradley’s development from a small village to now a leader within the local retail world.

“We’ve seen the growth, and it will only get bigger,” he said. “It’s been a fun time, a challenging time.”