Kudos to Sarahi Rivera-Martinez, Jim Shaw, and Elizabeth Karlovics for being the first three people to read the last edition of What's Happening!
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Welcome to What's Happening! |
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Our goal is to provide you with useful information so that you know what is going on the many departments throughout the City. To make it easy to scan this email for key info, there are two sections - Need to Know and Nice to Know.
As always, if you have suggestions for ways to improve this email or content you'd like to see included, please let us know!
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If you only have a few minutes, scan this section for key takeaways. |
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Celebrate the Season - Saturday Market: The City is hosting the third annual Saturday Market at the West Train Station, 911 Telegraph Road, this Saturday, December 16 from 10 am to 2 pm. Unique gifts and food, stop by!
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Planning Positions Open in Community Development: Currently, two planning positions are posted, one for an Assistant Planner/Planner (depending on qualifications) and a Senior Planner position. Both positions play a key role in guiding development and redevelopment in the community, looking forward while at the same time respecting traditions of the past and preserving the character that makes Lake Forest special. Please pass this information on to those who may be interested. The postings are available on the City’s website.
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Job Sites: As we wait for the ground to freeze, some of the sites currently under construction have become wet and muddy. If you see streets that need to be cleaned or conditions that need to be addressed, please forward the addresses to Matt Goodman, Code Enforcement Officer, goodmanm@cityoflakeforest.com
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Human Resources
Submitted By: Human Resources Generalist, Brina Diaz
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The City is recruiting for several positions such as Maintenance Worker II - Parks (internal apply by December 19), Assistant Planner/Planner, Senior Planner, and Engineering Assistant. Know someone who might be a great addition to the City’s team? Refer them and receive a referral bonus!
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Office of the City Manager
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City Manager Conversations are underway! City Manager Jason Wicha meets with workgroups a few times a year for informal conversations as part of the City Manager Conversation series. Feel free to submit questions in advance.
- Following up from the update in November, the Workload Analysis Benchmarking Surveys have now been sent to the comparable communities. They survey is expected to close this week, which will be followed by an analysis of the results by the Baker Tilly team. The information from that survey will be a supplemental component to the data gathering process conducted during the Department interviews. We expect to receive the draft report by mid January, just in time for the first Department budget meetings with the City Manager. After the last update, George was pleased to see a couple people following up to ask additional questions. If you have any questions about the process, please don't hesitate to reach out to George via, teams, email, or over the phone (847) 810-3680.
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Strategic Plan Update: On Monday, December 4, the City Council authorized the approval of an agreement with the Mejorando Group to conduct Strategic Planning Services. The City's last Strategic Plan ran from 2018-2022, although, due to the pandemic and Council changeover last May, the process to update the plan was adjusted to begin in 2024. The new Strategic Plan will go from 2025-2030 with the process kicking off in February 2024. Please see the project process and timeline above. The new strategic plan will provide us as staff important guidance on the projects we plan and budget for on a year-to-year basis, much like we do now, these projects will much like we do now, the goals identified by each department annually will be tied to the Strategic Plan priority areas and objectives. This has helped us ensure that the work we accomplish across the organization is aligned with the community's over arching goals and vision. We are excited to begin the process and will be sure to provide updates throughout. View Strategic Plan information.
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These submissions are still important, but they’re not as critical if you’re scanning for the key information. |
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Office of the City Manager
- Save the date - the deadline to submit content for the Spring Dialogue Newsletter is Thursday, January 4.
- Please submit your favorite photos to Ashley for the end of the end of the year Highlights!
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Don't forget to visit Lake Forest Love and let us know if you have ideas for new stories!
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CROYA
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CROYA youth set a record by selling over $16,000 worth of Poinsettias and holiday plants in this year’s fundraiser. City Staff can purchase the remaining plants for a nice discount! Contact Susan at CROYA (ext. 3980).
- CROYA has 3 events during final exams week to help high school students de-stress. “Yoguitar” on December 18, LFHS study break table on December 19, and the Finals De-stress meeting on December 20.
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CROYA will be closed the week of December 25-29, and will reopen for winter break activities on Tuesday, January 2.
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CROYA’s December “Top 10” newsletter.
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Finance
Submitted By: Assistant Finance Director, Diane Hall
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FY25 Budget Process: BS&A Budget entry training will be held Thursday December 14 at 9 am in the MS Training Room. If unable to attend, contact Diane Hall to setup additional training. Targets will be distributed on Thursday, December 14.
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Accounts Payable: Due to the holidays, there will be no accounts payable check run the week of December 25. The due date for checks issued December 22 will be noon on Tuesday, December 19. Happy Holidays!
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Innovation and Technology
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What Printer Should I Use?! We are in the process of migrating to a new print server! While this is exciting news for those of us in IT, most of you are probably wondering “cool man, but why should I care?”. Well, most of you are familiar with the LF-Chandler and/or LF-Lind jargon that comes up when you go to find a printer to print something. It’s confusing and we’re looking to clean that up and change it into something new that will be more straightforward for everyone. Those two names are going away and we are going to be moving forward with LF-Kerr. In the coming weeks while we consolidate, we’ll be working on this changeover department-by-department to make sure everyone is good with what printers they see and use. We’ve already done this with the Recreation department and will be doing this with all other departments gradually. You shouldn’t see too much disruption in your day-to-day operations, but if you have any questions about which printer to use, what the name of it is, or what you should look out for, don’t hesitate to reach out to ITDepartment@cityoflakeforest.com and we’ll be happy to provide you with the answers you seek!
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Parks & Recreation
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Big news! Our Director, Sally Swarthout, will retire from The City on January 26, 2024. “I have been planning this since 2022, and I’m so excited for my next chapter, which will be filled with fun, family, friends, travel, and relaxation. It’s my time to PLAY!!”
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The Recreation staff were busy elves over the weekend, starting with LFDA's Winter Dance Spectacular, which dazzled with twirls, spins, and holiday cheer. Stirling Hall buzzed with artistic energy during the Art Sale, and Santa himself visited families, lighting up little faces throughout the community.
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Next up is "Cocoa with the Claus's" on Wednesday, December 13. We are so excited and grateful that we get to spread joy and make memories for our community. Happy Holidays to all!
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Police
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We're thrilled to announce that Sarahi (Sarah) Rivera-Martinez, our Community Service Officer, has successfully completed our new officer process and is now our newest Probationary Police Officer. In January, Sarah will undergo a 16-week basic law enforcement training at the Police Training Institute in Champaign/Urbana, marking a significant step in her career. We take pride in seeing our community service officers transition into police roles, and it's especially gratifying when they choose to stay with us. Sarah’s decision to continue her career here reflects the positive environment we foster in Lake Forest. Join us in congratulating Officer Rivera-Martinez and wishing her success in her upcoming training. We look forward to her continued contributions to the safety of our community.
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Building Maintenance
Submitted By: Building Maintenance Supervisor, Erik Huston
- Public Safety Interior Painting
- Repairs to Rec Center plumbing fixtures
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Prepping for new camera installation
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Deerpath Community Park Improvement Project
- On November 30, Lake Forest families joined Mayor Tack, City Council Members, the Lake Forest Parks & Recreation Board and City staff to officially open the new and improved Deerpath Community Park! Deerpath Community Park is open, so stop by to enjoy the park and playgrounds, take a walk along the path, try the fitness equipment, and stay tuned for programs and events at the park in the spring. There are still a few finishing touches on the buildings that will be wrapped up before the end of the year, so you may still see some construction activity in the coming weeks.
- Between now and February 2024, the park will operate as any other public park in Lake Forest, open for general recreational usage from dawn until dusk each day. The Lake Forest Recreation Department will begin taking rental requests in February 2024. Lights at the new park will be turned on in February, as well. There will be a larger Grand Opening Celebration in the spring.
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Engineering
Submitted By: Superintendent of Engineering, Byron Kutz
- The Bluff Slope stabilization project along Forest Park beach continues with work extending to the end of January. Most of the steel beams and the wall panels have been installed. On December 4, the City Council approved a construction agreement for construction of a new boardwalk just north of the original location, with work anticipated to start late January or early February.
- Staff is already starting to work on designs and bids for next year’s construction!
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Fleet
Submitted By: Fleet Maintenance Supervisor, Ron Gramer
- Finalizing maintenance and repairs on Snow Equipment.
- Winterizing Summer and Fall Equipment.
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Forestry
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City Forestry crews and contractors have begun pruning trees on the parkways and will continue through the winter months. The City has close to twenty thousand parkway trees and has recently developed an eight-year program to help catch up on some needed maintenance to those trees.
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Parks
- Hockey Rink Set Up at West Park
- Leaf pick up and bench maintenance continues.
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Sanitation
- Compost Center goes to winter hours; 8-3 Saturdays.
- Continuing to have leaves/yard waste hauled out compost center. 20 semi loads in November.
- Increase in holiday garbage & recycling disposal.
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Streets
- Sweeper Program and prepping snow equipment.
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Water Plant
- Operators are Rebuilding Intake Chlorine pump panel.
- We have prepared the plant and Lift Stations for Winter.
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Water & Sewer
Submitted By: Water and Sewer Supervisor, Rich Volpe
- We will be finishing up the cleaning and televising of the sanitary line going from King Muir, through the hospital and golf course to the North Shore Sanitary line at the creek.
- We will begin scheduling appointments to verify lead services early in January.
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