First reported 8/6/2009 11:06 a.m.

The director of Forest Park’s building department, Mike Boyle, resigned on Aug. 5 to pursue other opportunities, according to a commissioner who oversees the department.

Boyle, who was hired in June 2005 to run the Department of Public Health and Safety, was responsible for managing property inspections, issuing construction permits and guiding the decisions of the zoning board, planning commission and village council on matters of property development.

Boyle’s resignation took immediate effect. Meanwhile, public officials said they had little to offer as to what may have prompted Boyle’s departure.

Mayor Anthony Calderone said Boyle came into his office to announce his resignation, but provided no answers when the mayor inquired as to why.

“Sometimes when an employee makes a decision to leave they may or may not offer up information like that,” Calderone said.

According to Commissioner Mike Curry, who oversees the department under the commissioner form of government, longtime property inspector Bob Teets has been named interim director.

Curry declined to comment on how he learned of Boyle’s resignation, or whether he had discussed the decision with the former director. Calls to Boyle’s home phone were not returned.

“Ultimately, Mike served our community well for four years and he’s moving on to new opportunities,” Curry said. “That’s it.”

Earlier this year, Curry was embroiled in controversy when he failed to obtain the necessary permits and zoning approvals for a home remodeling project. That dust-up came on the heels of another commissioner, Mark Hosty, having failed to get permits for work done at his home. At the time, Curry explained the incident as an oversight that he immediately worked to correct.

The commissioner said that in no way did those events have an influence in the sudden departure of the department head.

“I’m 100 percent certain that Mike Boyle is not the director of this department because of anything to do with me or with Mark Hosty or any elected official, or this lawsuit,” Curry said.

The suit referenced by Curry was filed July 31 by developer Robert Marani. In it, Marani names both Curry and Boyle as defendants and is requesting the court lift a 2007 stop work order imposed by the village.

Calderone said he could not speak to what may have prompted Boyle’s resignation, but acknowledged there were disagreements between Curry and Boyle regarding the commissioner’s renovation work.

“It seems like three, four months ago there were some differences of opinion,” Calderone said. “At least I thought it was a resolved matter.”

Differing opinions on how municipal codes should be interpreted were not uncommon, said Curry, nor did they turn into heated affairs.

According to Curry, there is not yet a timetable for hiring a new director, nor is it a certainty that a replacement will be sought. Resources are extremely tight at village hall, said Curry, and there first needs to be an assessment of whether the priorities of the department could be met with a revised employee roster.

“I’m more concerned about moving forward right now,” Curry said. “I’m concentrating on making the department even better than it was.”