New police chief… ROBERT PAVELCHIK is Villa Park’s new police chief. Pavelchik spent nine years as Darien’s chief of police before retiring in May of last year. He served the Darien Police Department for more than 33 years. “My understanding is that this is an acting or interim position, and that the village is going to do a search for a full-time chief of police,” Pavelchik said of his service in Villa Park. “My goal is to help the fine men and women you already have working here,” said Pavelchik of his role at the Villa Park Police Department. “I want to move forward and provide some of my expertise to the organization. I’m just here to help out as best I can.” The chief of police position became vacant after John Heidelmeier and the village reached an agreement on Jan. 10 that ended his service to Villa Park. Heidelmeier spent about 20 months as the village’s chief of police. Pavelchik, who teaches criminal justice classes at College of DuPage and at Westwood College, said one of his first duties as interim chief was attending a budget meeting.
Brothers pave the way for a major business expansion by Chris Fox Years ago, the Mellinger brothers grew up riding mini cycles in and around Villa Park. Today, Greg and Geoff Mellinger are busy selling motorcycles in the Garden Village. The brothers, who co-own Motor Cycle Center at 518 W. St. Charles Road, are about to make a big move, but not a long one. The Mellingers are preparing to move their business to a much larger facility—the former Oakfield Ford dealership at 443 E. St. Charles Road. That property has been vacant for more than four years, but in a few months, it will be transformed to Motor Cycle Center’s new home. The new site is about six times larger than the current one. “We’ve been trying to make a move for the last 10 years,” said Geoff Mellinger, who joined his brother in looking at the former Oakfield Ford location a few years ago. “It was so far out of our price range at the time that we just went off in another direction.” The brothers, who grew up in Villa Park and both graduated from Willowbrook High School in the mid 1970s, have been in the business of selling European-made motorcycles for more than 30 years. Motor Cycle Center’s original site—located just across the street from the current site—was at 1015 E. St. Charles in Lombard. That’s now the home of the Los Burritos Mexicanos restaurant. The brothers, who opened their business at that site in 1980, spent about 10 years there before moving to their current location on the north side of St. Charles. “Twenty years ago, we sold about 100 bikes a year,” said Greg. “Now we’re selling 350 to 400 a year.” Cramped for space in their current location, the Mellingers have been renting space from neighboring businesses to store some of the motorcycles in their inventory. They should have plenty of space at their new 28,000-square-foot facility, which is about six times larger than the current site. They hope to complete the move to the new site sometime in April. “In our current showroom, we can only show 10 bikes,” said Geoff. “We’re estimating that we can have 75 to 80 bikes in our new showroom.” Motor Cycle Center sells motorcycles made by manufacturers including Ducati—an Italian company—and Triumph, which is an English brand. The Villa Park business is one of two Ducati dealers in Illinois. The other one is in Springfield. The only other Triumph dealer in the state is in Chicago. The Mellingers say their business draws customers from around the Midwest. “It’s very exciting to be involved in these brands, and see them build up,” said Geoff. “The people who ride these bikes are very passionate.” While exploring a site for relocation, the Mellingers looked at several buildings within 10 miles of their current store. They seriously considered sites in Addison and Lombard, but a visit from Villa Park Village President Tom Cullerton last summer led them to reconsider the former Oakfield Ford location. “He [Cullerton] came to us and said we should go back down [to the owner of the Oakfield Ford site] and shoot them an offer,” Geoff said. “Here we are. It worked out great for us. We’re right down the street, staying in the same village, keeping the same phone number. It couldn’t have worked out any better. This is really the perfect facility for us.” The Villa Park Village Board approved a redevelopment agreement between the village and Motor Cycle Center at the Jan. 23 board meeting. According to information in the village agenda from that meeting, Motor Cycle Center will invest a minimum of $2.9 million in its relocation. The village has created a tax increment financing (TIF) redevelopment agreement to provide financial assistance to Motor Cycle Center. The total financial assistance package is about $600,000. “The reality was we couldn’t afford to lose them,” said Cullerton of Motor Cycle Center. “They are important to Villa Park. Thankfully it all worked out. There’s always a risk involved in every agreement, but that space [the former Oakfield Ford site] being empty was a blight on the village. This is something to be happy about. This takes that huge space, totally rehabs it, and produces tax revenue for the village. This is a very positive agreement for Villa Park.” “Even if people don’t ride motorcycles, they can appreciate that we’re going to take a big, empty building, fix it up and make it a little nicer,” said Greg. “It’s a win-win situation for us and the village.” The Mellingers moved from Springfield to Villa Park on Nov. 22, 1963—the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. They grew up in a home on Villa Avenue and attended Washington Elementary School and Jackson Junior High School before going to Willowbrook. Their love of motorcycles began when their father bought them a Benelli mini cycle at the old JCPenney on North Avenue. Greg and Geoff were about 12 and 9 years old at the time. There was a lot more open land in those days. “We used to ride all over the place,” said Geoff. “There used to be a little track behind Eastgate Shopping Center. We also rode dirt bikes near Drury Lane for years.” The Mellinger remember riding in other area locations in their childhood, including the land around what is now Sugar Creek Gold Course, and the area on Grace Street—north of North Avenue—which is now the home of an industrial park. “In those days you could ride almost anywhere in DuPage County,” Geoff said. “Then the urban sprawl came through.” The Mellingers will be busy in the next few months overseeing the work to prepare their new site to open for business. “All the things we wanted to put into place are going to materialize,” said Geoff, who said Motor Cycle Center has plans to add one or two new employees [there are currently 11 employees] in the coming months. In addition to an expanded showroom, service area and office space, the brothers plan to have an independent company offer motorcycle instruction to riders in the parking lot. The brothers hope to find a sub-tenant for the east side of their new facility, and will look to rent or sell their current location. “It’s like a whole new chapter in our business.”
North School holds annual Frosty’s Festival on Friday School District 45’s North School will hold its annual Frosty’s Festival on Friday, Feb. 3, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The PTA-sponsored event will take place at the school, which is located at 150 W. Sunset Drive in Villa Park. Frosty’s Festival is open to the public, and while admission is free, tickets to play games are 25 cents. All children attending the event must be accompanied by an adult. Games at the festival include a cake walk, a hat walk and other carnival-style games, as well as games geared toward preschoolers. Participants in the games have a chance to win Frosty bucks, which can be cashed in at the redemption center for prizes. One of the games gives players a chance to win a goldfish. The goldfish are being donated by Jim’s Pet World in Villa Park. Refreshments will be sold for between one to six tickets. Patrons can enjoy hot dogs, nachos, chips, popcorn and drinks. North School second-graders will provide entertainment with a choral performance beginning at 6:30 p.m. Frosty the Snowman will also make a special appearance. The festival will also feature a bake sale and a silent auction. The silent auction will include themed gift baskets created by each of North School’s grade levels. Some of the gift basket themes in past years have been related to movie night, game night and Super Bowl party. For more information about this week’s Frosty’s Festival, contact North School at 630-516-7790.
Dist. 45 offers free screenings for children on Feb. 17 School District 45 will be conducting free developmental screenings on Friday, Feb. 17. Children must be 3 years of age by the date of the screening. Children should live in the district, but not be currently enrolled in kindergarten. Appointments are necessary for the free screenings. Parents who suspect their child has a disability can make an appointment for screening by calling Sharon Mallin at the School District 45 office at 630-516-7318. The screening process identifies how a child is currently developing. Assessed areas include speech and language, vision and hearing, motor skills and cognitive development. The screening is conducted by professional school staff in a variety of playroom situations. The screening takes approximately 60 to 120 minutes. Results are shared with parents. The screenings are offered in both English and Spanish.
Villa Park man charged with robbery, aggravated battery by Bonnie MacKay Villa Park police arrested a 23-year-old man last week shortly after the robbery of a natural vitamin store. Villa Park officers were dispatched to the store at 742 N. Westmore Ave. at about 4:16 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26, for a robbery that had just occurred. According to a police department press release, officers arriving on the scene found an employee who had been injured in the incident. The employee advised police that a male subject allegedly had entered the store and demanded cash. He then reportedly ordered the female employee to go into the store washroom, where he demanded she take her clothes off. The press release states that the victim refused to undress and the male subject allegedly tried to remove her clothing. When the victim continued to resist, he allegedly struck her in the face numerous times, the release states. The incident was interrupted by two customers who entered the store. The subject fled when the customers came into the business. Witnesses were able to give officers a detailed description of the suspect, who also left evidence at the scene. The store employee was transported to an area hospital by paramedics for severe facial injuries. She was admitted to the hospital for treatment of her injuries, according to the release. The suspect, Jermany Gates, was located at his residence in the 900 block of West North Avenue in Villa Park. Witnesses were able to identify Gates, who was taken into custody. According to the release, officers located money stolen from the store inside his residence. Gates was charged with robbery, aggravated battery and unlawful restraint. He was transported to DuPage County Jail in Wheaton, where as of press time he was being held in lieu of $200,000 bond.
Incident prompts reminder for kids not to talk to strangers, stay away from unknown vehicles by Bonnie MacKay Lombard investigators were fielding calls Monday after Lombard parents learned of a possible “abduction attempt” of a child at Schafer School in Lombard through an Internet “Student Safety Alert” from Lombard Elementary School District 44. According to Lombard Police Detective Lt. Cyndy Abenante, police were first alerted to the incident, which they classified as “suspicious circumstances,” on Monday, Jan. 23. She related that a young student had been dropped off at Schafer School, 700 E. Pleasant, at about 7:40 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 20. The youngster was approached by a male subject, who reportedly asked him to get into his vehicle, a newer, gray Mustang. Police reports show the young boy ran into the school building. The subject was described as an older, white male with brown hair and wearing a black hoodie. Abenante said this was not classified as an abduction attempt by officers as the man “did not take a substantial step toward actual abduction. He didn’t grab him or walk up to him.” The student safety alert asked parents to remind students never to talk to strangers and to stay away from unknown vehicles.
Special patrols in Villa Park through Super Bowl Sunday Villa Park Police Chief Robert Pavelchik announced that Villa Park Police will be conducting special patrols this Super Bowl season to crack down on impaired drivers and seat-belt violations. “All too often, the days leading up to Super Bowl are a deadly and dangerous time on our roadways because of impaired driving,” state Pavelchik in a news release issued last week. “There will be extra patrols running Jan. 27 through Feb. 5, to catch and arrest anyone who is driving while impaired.” In addition to looking for impaired drivers, Villa Park police officers will be stepping up safety-belt enforcement, particularly at night, when safety belt usage rates are lowest. The law enforcement crackdown is funded by federal traffic safety funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and administered through IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety.
