Mayor Ed Zabrocki insisted Tuesday that a 10-person committee created to make Tinley Park healthier isn't going to force residents to eat broccoli.

"Our goal is not to make everyone eat spinach … or whatever else," he said at Tuesday's village board meeting. " … We're not going to eliminate fast food. Our goal is to establish a healthy way of living."

Representatives from local school districts, the library, businesses and the park district were appointed to the Mayor's Advisory Panel on Wellness — a short-term committee tasked with devising a local health plan. They will meet between now and Feb. 28, 2012, according to board documents.

The panel is headed by Tom Mahoney from the Chicago-based firm, MSC Consulting. His participation was the outcome of a $40,000 contract approved by the board in June.

That contract, as well as other associated costs, will be paid for with help from a $116,000 grant from the Model Communities Program. The village received that money in January, board documents said.

The village itself has several new health initiatives underway, Zabrocki said, like encouraging employees to track their daily footsteps using pedometers.

"These are the kinds of things we should be doing on a larger scale," he said.

The committee will come back to the board early next year to ask for its thoughts on a final plan, said Trustee Greg Hannon, chairman of the Village Board’s Planning and Zoning Committee.

Appointed members include:

• Michael Byrne, Kirby schools superintendent
• Jeff Stawick, superintendent for School District 146
• Theresa Nolan, principal of Tinley Park High School
• Todd Creviston, wellness specialist at Panduit
• Julie Carlson, coordinator for Ingalls Health Systems
• Rich Wolff, administrator for Tinley Park Library
• John Curran, director of parks and recreation for the Tinley Park Park District
• Janet Porter, executive director for the South Suburban Special Recreation Association
• Tom Mahoney, chairman of MSC Consulting
• Greg Hannon, trustee liaison for the Village of Tinley Park