Kudos to Eric Farr, Tara Purtell, and Marija Perisic for being the first three people to read the last edition of What's Happening!
|
|
Welcome to What's Happening! |
|
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!
|
|
If you only have a few minutes, scan this section for key takeaways. |
|
-
Bank Lane - At the direction of the City Council, the block of Bank Lane between Deerpath and Illinois Road is now one-way southbound with diagonal parking on the west side of the street. Thanks to Public Works Streets Section, Matt and his crew, for making this happen. This is a pilot project, the one-way configuration will be re-evaluated after six months. A study of the full length of Bank Lane, from Vine Avenue to Wisconsin Avenue, is set to get under way soon with a focus on making the Bank Lane Corridor more pedestrian friendly, welcoming to businesses, and to more easily and safely accommodate outdoor dining and gathering. We welcome your thoughts, concerns, observations, and ideas.
-
Community Development Staffing Updates - Both Mike Whalen and Jen Baehr are off on new adventures. As you may know, we are very fortunate to have Amias Turman who stepped into the residential plan reviewer position. We will be posting for two positions, an Assistant Planner/Planner (depending on qualifications) and a Senior Planner. The Senior Planner position, which was lost in 2009 during layoffs that occurred City-wide, was restored by the City Council this year. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to fill these positions. In the meantime, thanks for your patience as we work to fill the big shoes left by Mike and Jen……..we can do it, lots of big feet here in the Community Development Department!
|
|
Human Resources
Submitted By: Human Resources Generalist, Brina Diaz
|
|
- Reminder: The 2023 Holiday Recognition Dinner will take place on Friday, December 1 at Chevy Chase Country Club. Please RSVP by November 19.
-
Open Enrollment is here! Remember to elect your 2024 Flex Spending amounts and make any changes to your benefits by November 30, 2023.
|
|
Office of the City Manager
|
|
- As we updated last month, the workload analysis project is continuing to progress. In late October, each Department leadership team met with the Baker Tilly staff to conduct interviews to provide more insight on each department operation. In some cases, additional follow-up interviews were held to dig-in on focus areas that came to light as discussions unfolded around specific service delivery challenges and potential opportunities for improvement. Now that this process is complete, we are transitioning to conducting a workload analysis benchmark survey of comparable communities. This will serve as an additional data point to help inform the final recommendations made by Baker Tilly. Once the surveys are completed over the next three to four weeks, the analysis will begin to come together and we will expect to receive a draft report soon after.
-
City Manager Conversations are starting up again in early December! City Manager Jason Wicha meets with workgroups a few times a year for informal conversations as part of the City Manager Conversation series. Look for dates soon and feel free to submit questions in advance.
|
|
These submissions are still important, but they’re not as critical if you’re scanning for the key information. |
|
Office of the City Manager
- In the community survey, respondents indicated the Dialogue Newsletter is one of the top three ways they get information from the City. The Winter Dialogue Newsletter is in the final stages of review and will arrive in mailboxes the week of December 4. Save the date - the deadline to submit content for the Spring Newsletter is Thursday, January 4.
-
Don't forget to visit Lake Forest Love and let us know if you have ideas for new stories!
|
|
CROYA
-
CROYA’s Annual Poinsettia Sale ends this week. We can take last minute orders by phone at (847) 810-3980. Pick up dates are Friday, December 1 and Saturday, December 2, just in time for the holidays! Order Form.
-
75 youth and 20 Police Officers participated in the 25th annual Donut Bowl! From flag football, to dinner, donuts, and discussion, it was a huge success!
-
100 high school youth will attend CROYA’s Fall Retreat this weekend at Camp Henry Horner!
-
CROYA’s Friendsgiving Event is Wednesday, November 22 from 12-2pm. This is for CROYA alumni as well as current youth.
|
|
Finance
Submitted By: Assistant Finance Director, Diane Hall
-
Payroll Thanksgiving Holiday – With the holiday, checks will be issued on Wednesday, November 22. Timecards will need to be entered and approved by no later than noon on Monday, November 20. If you will be off for the holiday week, please make sure to have timecards entered on Friday, November 17.
-
Budget – The Capital Budget workshop was held on Monday, November 13. Thank you to all that provided materials for the presentations. Revenue forecasts and Salary/Benefit sheets have been distributed and are due back on Friday, December 1. If you have questions, reach out to Diane Hall for assistance.
|
|
Innovation and Technology
-
New Security Training Platform! We are in the process of migrating to a new training platform to host our annual security training. KnowB4 will be implemented in the coming months as well as an accompanying educational campaign about the new platform. As always, we are trying to keep our training content concise and engaging. Look out for more information before the end of the year!
|
|
Parks & Recreation
-
The Women’s Board of Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital’s Holiday Boutique returns to the Lake Forest Recreation Center November 16-18. This festive event features in-demand designers and artists, both local and from across the country. City employees are admitted for free! Find more info here: Holiday Boutique.
-
Recreation staff/elves have been working hard to get everything ready for the holiday season. We are excited about the Annual Tree Lighting Holiday Celebration Nov. 24, the Stirling Hall Art Sale at its new location, Dickinson Hall on Dec. 8 & 9, and all our timeless holiday events and programs coming up.
|
|
Police
-
At the November 7 City Council meeting, Mayor Tack administered the Oath of Office to newly promoted Commanders Conrad Christensen and Ben Grum. Also sworn in that evening was our new Detective Commander Tim Gretz. We’re so proud of them and know they will be doing great things for our department and the City of Lake Forest.
|
|
- On November 11 at the Lake Forest Police Foundation Awards dinner, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, City Manager Ghida Neukirch, and Police Chief Lou Jogman presented the Lake Forest Police Department with a Certificate of Appreciation from The City of Highland Park for their assistance and support during the mass casualty shooting on July 4, 2022. In addition to the certificate, a flag flown in Highland Park to honor their service on that day and in the subsequent weeks was presented. Furthermore, a special challenge coin was struck and given to the members who responded to the incident. This recognition and appreciation highlight the collaborative efforts and support provided by the Lake Forest Police Department during a challenging and critical situation. Gestures, like the certificate, flag, and challenge coin, are meaningful symbols of gratitude for the dedication and service of law enforcement personnel during difficult times.
- The Police Department has launched a public education campaign in the East Business District regarding our new e-scooter/e-bike ordinance. Officers and Supervisors were assigned to the EBD and issued flyers to hand out to residents. These notices serve as both advisories and warnings, informing residents about the upcoming issuance of citations in the spring of 2024 for violations of this ordinance.
|
|
Building Maintenance
Submitted By: Building Maintenance Supervisor, Erik Huston
- Beach Building Shutdown/winterizing
- Winter HVAC Maintenance
|
|
Deerpath Community Park Improvement Project
- Field turf system installation has been completed. Concrete work is almost complete, and the focus is now on remaining asphalt work (path, pickleball, and parking lot). The roofs for both buildings are almost complete, which allows work to get underway on electric, plumbing, HVAC and the fire suppression system. Installation of the playground, fitness station, and “poured-in-place” surface is complete. Excavation and grading for pickleball courts and new parking lot is complete as well as the stone base for the pickleball courts, additional parking spaces, and walking path that surrounds the park.
|
|
Engineering
Submitted By: Superintendent of Engineering, Byron Kutz
- The Deerpath Road Sidewalk Extension Project (Westmoreland-41) has been substantially completed, with landscaping and restoration taking place the week of 11/13.
- The Forest Park Bluff Slope Stabilization Project continues with work extending to the end of December. The contractor will continue installing the steel beams for the walls along the south and north ends of the site. The contractor will also soon be installing the wall panels along the south end of the site. There are ongoing fundraising efforts to replace the boardwalk which would begin in late January if the fundraising goals are met.
|
|
Forestry
- Holiday Lighting
- Parkway Tree Planting and Pruning
|
|
Sanitation
- Excited to put the new packer truck into service
- Yard waste collection routes are busy with Fall leaf collection
|
|
Streets
- Snow equipment prep and drivers training
- Asphalt repairs
|
|
Water Plant
- Upgraded the Booster Station interior lighting.
- Installed and started up 2 new water monitoring instruments. One instrument measures the Chlorine residual in the raw water going to the membranes and the other measures the raw water turbidity. Turbidity is measured by reflecting light through a column of water. The result is calculated in nephelometric units, or NTU. The finished water is regularly measured at .04 ntu.
|
|
Water & Sewer
Submitted By: Water and Sewer Supervisor: Rich Volpe
- Hydrant painting finished up this week, so there are 200 freshly painted hydrants in town.
- We are televising the sanitary lines at the hospital.
- We will be flying the drone for ravine inspections over next couple of weeks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
