Committee of the Whole Meeting

VILLAGE OF HOMEWOOD BOARD OF TRUSTEES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE THURSDAY—JANUARY 9, 2020 IRWIN CENTER CALL TO ORDER: Village President Hofeld called the Committee of the Whole meeting to order at 6 p.m. There was one press person present. ROLL CALL: Clerk Marilyn Thomas called the roll. Those present were Village President Richard Hofeld, Trustee Barbara Dawkins, Trustee Lisa Purcell, Trustee Karen Washington, Trustee Lauren Roman, Trustee Jay Heiferman and Trustee Larry Burnson. Staff Present: Village Manager Jim Marino, Village Attorney Chris Cummings, Fire Chief Bob Grabowski, Police Chief Bill Alcott, Finance Director Dennis Bubenik, Community and Economic Development Director Angela Mesaros, Marketing Director Jennifer Quirke, Director of Public Works John Schaefer, Assistant Village Manager Napoleon Haney. The board and department heads gathered to start a Strategic Plan process. The effort is being led by the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies. Greg Kuhn and Jeanna Ballard from the center led the discussion. Attendees gave ideas on short term and long term initiatives they would like for the village to undertake: Short term: continued safety initiatives, a teen center, additional restaurants, a move to more energy efficiency, maintain clean public areas, work with legislators, technology updates, an examination of finances/sales taxes, improve citizen communications, develop a Homewood slogan for marketing, continue work on a new water supply. Long term: Partnering with other local governments to reduce costs, make Homewood a focal point/destination, work on infrastructure updates, continue work on the TOD immediate area, work to replace the North viaduct, continue to serve the public to fulfill their high expectations. Ms. Ballard gave a synopsis of meetings she conducted with four focus groups: the business community, Homewood staff, representatives of other taxing districts, representatives from the village’s commissions and committees. Overall, the response was Homewood is a great place to be. Several items offered for improvement were traffic congestion at certain intersections, continued work on the downtown projects, more restaurants, lack of downtown parking, an examination of the tax base. Trustees and department heads broke into groups to focus on needs and wants. The meeting was adjourned by voice vote at 9 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marilyn Thomas