A seasoned administrator with experience managing Oak Park’s complex parking system has been tapped to lead the Parking & Mobility Services Department. Jill Velan, 43, was selected from a field of 30 candidates who applied for the post.
As part of the selection process, Velan met with community and business leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities of parking in the Village. Her knowledge and understanding of the potential impact that three major developments planned for downtown likely will have on parking in the Village was key to her selection, officials said.
Velan had served as interim director of the department since 2012, assuming the role held by Cara Pavlicek, who became Village Manager. During her tenure, Velan supervised the rollout of new online parking programs for requesting overnight parking passes and paying for parking in surface lots via a smartphone. More technology improvements and upgrades are planned, she said.
Since Oak Park was completely built out by the early part of the 20th Century — before most households owned automobiles — the Parking Department is tasked with managing a scarce resource that is in high demand. The department oversees four Village-owned garages, 130 surface lots and 1,700 parking meters. The department also supervises the distribution of 28,000 vehicle stickers and 30,000 quarterly parking permits each year.
Velan leads a staff of 18 full-time employees and manages several service contracts, including site security. Prior to coming to Oak Park, Velan was a municipal administrator in Antioch and Lincolnwood. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in public administration from Northern Illinois University. She lives in Evanston with her husband and two children.
More information on parking in Oak Park is posted on this website.