Elmhurst Officials Ponder City's Goals

ELMHURST, IL – An outside group, which held meetings with Elmhurst officials and residents, has come up with what it sees as the city's short- and long-term goals.

But an alderwoman said she sees a "disconnect" between the identified goals and local priorities.

Earlier this year, Northern Illinois University's Center for Governmental Studies held a series of focus group sessions. It also met with the city's elected officials.

At Monday's City Council meeting, the center's representatives presented what they interpreted as the city's top goals.

Among the short-term goals were developing a downtown master plan and analyzing the city's real estate assets to maximize value.

The goals also include identifying options to maintain financial viability. This comes as the city has expressed concern about its debt payments for stormwater projects in the coming years.

The center also identified what it saw as more complex short-term goals. They include analyzing the costs and benefits of pending stormwater projects, enhancing traffic flow and analyzing the fire department's mission and services, including staffing.

The city's long-term goals include exploring the development of a municipal building complex. Officials have discussed what they see as a need for renovations or possible replacements of City Hall and the police and fire stations.

Another long-term goal is to develop a "Destination Elmhurst" marketing strategy. That could involve a boutique hotel, tech and office innovations, a mixed-use sports complex and the Prairie Path.

Alderwoman Marti Deuter said a long-term plan helps keep the city "moving in the right direction based on an overarching set of goals."

"When I look through this, I see a disconnect between the areas that emerged as priority areas and the goals that we have identified," Deuter said.

She said the city should distill what the council and residents see as priorities and then have the goals follow that.

Mayor Scott Levin said the council would more fully discuss the proposed plan at a later meeting.