The village of Tinley Park used a portion of Tuesday afternoon to engage in an “I told you so” moment about the Tinley Park-Park District’s oversight abilities.

The Park District fought back.

As part of the ongoing saga regarding the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center, Village Manager Pat Carr held a news conference regarding an Occupational Safety and Health Administration fine of nearly $40,000 against the Omega company for safety violations during demolition of a building at the site in October.

The village and the Tinley Park-Park District have been at odds over the land, now owned by the Park District. The village is using the OSHA fines to argue the Park District is not up to the task for this project.

“This involves the safety and well-being of our residents, employees and visitors of our great village,” Carr said. “There were three serious violations that were noted that put employees at risk for lead exposure.

“What is really disturbing is the fact that this is all preventable. What we know now is that there is zero oversight on this property.”

Carr said the Park District hired a prominent environmental legal firm and a project manager whose job is to monitor the site and failed.

“What’s done is done in relationship to the ownership of this property,” Carr said. “And I don’t blame the staff or the Park District because unfortunately, they never undertook a project like this. And they are not supposed to.

“I understand that their hands are tied and I feel for them.”

Carr blamed the “environmental debacle” on state Sen. Michael Hastings and state Rep. Bob Rita and said they pitted professional staffs against each other.

At issue for the $36,177 in OSHA fines against Omega was the contractor not collecting personal samples to determine employees’ exposure to lead and that employees were not provided with proper changing areas, which exposed them to lead hazards.

Through a statement from its public relations company, the Park District said the contractor responded on the spot during the OSHA site visit to put in place safety precautions to remedy the issue.

“There haven’t been any problems since. We will continue to ensure diligence by the contractor at the site,” the statement read.

The Park District purchased the 280-acre site from the state for $1 in February, 2024, and the state kicked in $15 million for cleanup of the project at Harlem Avenue and 183rd Street. The village and Park District have been feuding and Carr said the village has several experienced staff members who know the center’s buildings and tunnels, but said they have been shut out.

A looming issue is the April 1 election. Mayor Michael Glotz is running for reelection and is challenged by Michael Maloney, who was hired by the Park District to oversee the mental health center project.

Glotz was absent from the news conference and Carr pointed out the staff members who stood behind him were not elected officials.

Representatives for Maloney and Omega did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment.

The Park District said Tuesday’s news conference was a “political stunt packed with false information.”

“This press conference was nothing more than sour grapes from an administration that was unable to clean up this site on its own and a sad reflection of the leadership at Village Hall,” the Park District statement said.

It said multiple layers of government are overseeing the project at the county, state and federal levels.

“The village has always opposed our clean-up efforts, and without the help of our legislators to acquire a $15 million grant, we would not have been able to clean the site,” the Park District said. “As village residents can plainly see, we have made great progress in cleaning the site and making it open land for our community.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.