SPRING VALLEY — Spring Valley Board Trustee Nate Pelz was voted to fill the vacant village president position left by Theresa Linder. Pelz is filling in pro tempore, meaning he will fulfill the duties of trustee and president until the president term expires in April, as decided during the Oct. 26 special board meeting.

The former president shared the following statement with the Journal:

“I wish the next President all the best. Sad it has to be a closed session issue. Since the board has made it clear they want full transparency. In truth - its selective transparency. Just as it's been for years. My Pro tem is in place. The people should vote for the open seat. But the people should have been able to vote and been informed of many things over the years- like purchasing a nursing home that the Village cannot afford. The Village needs a President that can be 100% involved. Meaning retired or someone that doesn’t have a full-time job. You really need to be available to stay on top of the daily issues. As for the ordinance- whatever they originally come up with, some will think it doesn’t apply to them and others will have it adjusted to benefit them. Just like other ordinances that are in place. That’s sad but truth. I’ve watched it. The President doesn’t have or shouldn’t have the power the residents seem to believe. You’re electing a team that should work together. Hopefully you will vote wisely. As just a resident now of Spring Valley I am excited to meet the new President and attend Village meetings, knowing what I know, and ask questions I could never get answers to as President.”

Trustee Matt Huepfel was the lone no vote to the motion for Pelz to fill the role, mentioning he was in favor of waiting to decide until the November board meeting to use time to advertise and see if any residents are interested in being up for consideration by the board. Huepfel also said it may make the transition easier if someone like Brad Jorgenson, who filled in the same role as Pelz when the former village president opted to resign in January 2025 before being re-elected months later, could aid Pelz in gaining experience.

“We’ve had inexperienced leadership recently, and it would be nice if we had experienced leadership for the six months,” Huepfel said.

Other board members mentioned that temporarily placing a current board trustee in the role is a better solution for the board. Due to Pelz serving both roles, the board would not need to fill his trustee position with another resident.

The board reorganized the committees to fill in any gaps left by the change.

Social Media Policy

The board took further steps toward establishing a board social media policy, but discussion was eventually tabled to allow more time to create a policy that works for everyone.

The primary discussion piece at Monday’s meeting was the clarification of speaking online as a member of the community and speaking online as the Village Board. Trustee Liz Erickson shared a social media policy that states posts made on personal accounts on social media should clarify that they are the opinions of that board member rather than the stance of the entire board.

Huepfel spoke about a concern that a social media policy could infringe upon free speech.

“This is nothing but state media and restricting free speech,” Huepfel said. “It just can be manipulated. It happens all the time.”

Pelz said having a policy is not about denying board members a chance to speak their minds.

“This whole thing, it’s not meant to stifle anything. It’s just meant to guide and be respectful,” Pelz said. “Facebook makes it too easy to just say whatever and be mean to other people. I don’t have Facebook because there is just so much garbage out there.”

Another concern mentioned at the meeting is the establishment of a walking quorum, meaning board members going back-and-forth on an agenda item over social media, having discussions that are meant to be had at the public meetings.

There was also discussion surrounding the village’s social media account being used strictly for informational items. The board discussed the same topic earlier in October during Huepfel’s reinstatement to multiple committees, mentioning a post made on the account by the former president that other members of the board said they did not approve of. Prior to being taken down, the post read as follows:

“The Village of Spring Valley is committed to maintaining a respectful and professional environment for all staff and elected officials. Following a review of recent incidents involving Trustee Matt Huepfel—including unruly behavior, profanity, and threatening remarks toward a Village employee—the Village President has removed him from the Public Works and Emergency Services Committees under Ordinances 2‑54 and 2‑68.”

Huepfel again requested that committee meetings are streamed through Zoom in addition to the Village Board meetings. He said streaming these meetings would alleviate some of the communications issues of the village.

Village Administrator Luann Emerson said village staff would look into that option as well as finding a way to upload the meetings online so residents do not need to go to the village office to watch them back.