• Finance is in the process of closing FY2023 and preparing for the annual audit. If you had services or received materials prior to April 30, the deadline for invoice processing to FY2023 is Tuesday May 23. If you have not received an invoice from your vendor, reach out to your vendor to ensure entry by the deadline.
• A reminder that the purchase order rollover request deadline is Friday, May 26. If you have purchase orders that need to be closed from FY2023, reach out to Diane Hall to have this completed.
• If you have not entered your FY24 Purchase Orders, now is the time to do so.  

• City Manager Conversations are starting up again in late May/early June! Look for details soon and feel free to submit questions in advance.
• Lake Forest 101: The series started with two successful sessions covering both Lake Forest Government 101 by City Manager Jason Wicha and Director of Community Development Catherine Czerniak, followed by Finance Director Elizabeth Holleb conducting a deep dive into the City's Finance operations. The series continues next Tuesday when Communications Manager Dana Olson covers the City's Communications strategy and platforms. The series concludes Tuesday May 30, with a Bus Tour giving participants insight on current and future development as well as insight on the development process in Lake Forest conducted by Catherine Czerniak.
• Community Survey: The Community-Wide Citizen Survey is offers the opportunity for citizens to rate and provide comments on City services and programs, and provide insight into where the community excels and where there is room for improvement. The survey is currently under development and being reviewed by departments for edits and approval. Be on the lookout for more information about the community survey soon, including when it is available to be taken and when it is formally going out to the public.
• Don't forget to visit Lake Forest Love - you never know what you'll learn!
• Save the Date - Lake Forest Day Celebrations are Tuesday, August 1 and Wednesday, August 2.

• Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital – Construction of the parking garage on the hospital campus is well underway. Westmoreland Road will be closed during much of the construction. Access to the hospital campus will remain open from Route 41, Waukegan Road, and Deerpath but circulation patterns through the campus will be modified as needed to accommodate construction activities. The hospital will be regularly updating directional signage throughout the campus. The garage is targeted for completion during the first quarter of 2024. Work will soon get underway on the expansion of the hospital with the addition of two new pavilions. The hospital expansion will require the removal of the surface parking lots located to the east of the Emergency Department so, until the new parking garage is completed, parking will be even tighter on the hospital campus than it is now. The hospital will direct employees to park at Christ Church, on the northwest corner of Waukegan Road and Route 60, and will provide shuttle service until the new parking garage on campus is completed if parking on campus gets too tight. Construction traffic is accessing the hospital campus from Route 41 and Waukegan Road to avoid impacting Deerpath. Bottom line, if you do not need to be on the hospital campus, stay away!    
• Library – The restoration of the Library dome is proceeding smoothly.  Contractors working on this project are parking in the City lot on the southeast corner of Deerpath and McKinley Road.
• Yard Maintenance – It is that time of year, please direct yard maintenance complaints to Matt Goodman and if you are out and about and see a neglected property, please send Matt the address so we can address it proactively.     

• CROYA hosted School District 67’s Food Drive where the youth and parents sorted 5 ½ tons of food. The food was donated to the North Chicago Community Partners.
• CROYA’s 8th Grade Welcome Party is Wednesday, May 17, 7-8 pm (All current 8th graders are invited to attend.)
• CROYA’s annual Recognition Dinner is Monday, May 22 from 6-8pm.
• CROYA’s Battle of the Bands is Friday, June 9 at Lake Forest High School; Time TBD.

• Lake Forest Dance Academy’s Spring Recital is on May 20! Did you know that we have three children of city employees that are in our dance program? Kudos to Annika Dalzot, Cecily Hamburg, and Callie Hamburg - have a great show! 

• Our newest police officers were sworn in by Mayor Tack on May 12. Congratulations Filip Czarnecki, Chris Cordova, Madison Polster, and Sal Enriquez. The friends and family event was attended by current and retired police personnel, City Manager Jason Wicha, HR Director Amber Campbell, former Mayor Pandaleon, alderpersons, Fire and Police Commission members, Lake Forest Police Foundation board members, and more.
• The Police Department wrapped up its Autism Acceptance Month patch events by raising over $4,500 for the Sedol Foundation. Thank you to everyone who made this such a great campaign.
• Speaking about campaigns, our Cop on A Rooftop fundraiser for Special Olympics is Friday, May 19, 6 am to noon, at Dunkin’ 650 N. Western Ave. Stop by to visit our officers and donate to this great cause. This is followed on June 4th by the Guardians of the Flame Torch Run.
• June 16 is our Annual Senior Picnic/Bingo Event at Dickenson Hall. The Senior Picnic was started in 1976. This is one of our premier community policing efforts. It is an opportunity to meet and get to know the seniors and the staff at Dickenson Hall. The Lake Forest Police Foundation provides boxed lunches and bingo prizes. The Chief calls the bingo rounds.

• Construction continues for the Deerpath Community Park Improvement Project! For the next few weeks, construction activities will be contained within the construction site and will result in minimal construction impacts to include light truck traffic. Starting in early June, after school lets out for summer break, materials will be brought onsite to support the construction of the field base. Check out the project’s construction cam to check in on live construction activities and go to www.cityoflakeforest.com/DeerpathPark to find regularly updated project information. 

• Finishing up the electrical work and lighting upgrade at Settlers Square pedestrian ramp to the Metra Station.
• Public Safety basement breakroom remodel.
• Replacing the outdoor lights around the sidewalk and steps at City Hall.

• The Skokie River Stabilization Project is gearing up with preparation activities already underway, with full Stage 2 construction starting mid to late May, weather permitting.
• The Sir William Watermain project which replaces a deteriorating watermain from Lawrence to Everett starts after the Memorial Day.

• Sanitation summer interns will be doing curbside recycle cart audits.

• Hydrant Flushing is in final zone and hope to have completed in next 7-10 days.
• Repairs are being made on hydrants found to have issues.
• Leak Detection will begin the week of June 5th.

• This year’s gas lamp to LED conversions are underway. Crews have started the conversion process for a few lights on Park Avenue. 

• Sludge dewatering begins May 22.
• 3 of 9 Variable Frequency Drives are installed and operating.

• Parkway Tree Planting.

• Dredging complete, piers to be installed this week.
• Beach clean-up for Memorial Day.