Kane County Reporter

City of Geneva Committee of the Whole met Nov. 3.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING MINUTES 

Elected Officials Present:

Mayor Burns, Ald. Bruno, Bowring, Hruby, Kilburg, Kosirog (arrived at 8:54am), Maladra, Marks, Mayer, Paschke, Swanson

Staff Present: Admin. Dawkins, Asst. Admin. McCready, Dep. Clerk Fornari, Dir. DeGroot, Dir. Tymoszenko, Dir. Babica, Dir. Kruse, Chief Antenore, Chief Passarelli, Mgr. Adams (afternoon)

Others Attending: Strategic Plan Advisory Committee Chair Winnie Frankel, Dave Yandel and Jason Estes with FGM Architects, Leigh McMillan and Jeff Montanari with Leopardo Companies, Ashley Nuzzo Ericksen – Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force, Greg Albert, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force Member, Alita Miranda-Wolf, CEO of Ethos, Cory Poris Plasch of CP2 Consulting

On a motion by Ald. Mayer, second by Ald. Bruno, Mayor Burns called the meeting to order at Northern Illinois Food Bank at 8:50am via unanimous voice vote. Dawkins welcomed the attendees and outlined what was hoped to be accomplished.

Ashley Nuzzo-Ericksen introduced the facilitator for the DEI Report. Alita Miranda-Wolf then presented their report and findings including key themes, strategic recommendations, and next steps. She reviewed the phased approach and the short and long-term goals involved including the creation of the Task Force, the community survey, and the past presentations to the city council. After reviewing the data and information gathered from the listening sessions and surveys, areas in need of improvement were diversity, socioeconomic inequality, and educating an evolving community. Short term recommendations included further defining DEI and what that means in Geneva. Establishing a part time employee to manage DEI activities was also suggested. Mid-term goals included transitioning the task force into an inclusion and belonging commission, establishing bi-annual forums, co-hosting events with other community groups, and defining metrics to guide the work of the commission. Among the several long-term goals outlined in the report, conducting a retrospective of the Emma’s Landing affordable housing development discussions was a top priority. DEI member and Geneva resident Greg Albert thanked the city for creating the task force and offered any assistance going forward. Alderpersons discussed the pros and cons of partnering with other community groups and the challenges of keeping the study city-focused. Dawkins stated that the report would be on an upcoming City Council agenda for formal acceptance.

After a short break, Cory Poris Plasch from CP2 Consulting provided additional survey details from the recent employee survey in conjunction with the Strategic Plan Update process. She was happy with the response rate and positive statements. Frankel also reviewed the draft vision statement: “Geneva is a vibrant and welcoming community where you can live your best life.” Some alderpersons discussed how better to educate and inform residents of goals, plans, and projects.

After a brief lunch break, representatives with FGM Architects presented their initial findings from the Facilities Study. They summarized the goals, methodology and were seeking recommendations on their preliminary findings. There was consensus to strive to build a new police station as well as seek improvements to other existing buildings.

Dawkins then summarized and provided updates on items for upcoming policy discussions with input from alderpersons.

The meeting concluded with the prioritization exercise for 2024/25 goals. On a motion by Ald. Swanson, the meeting adjourned by unanimous voice vote at 2:57 pm.

https://www.geneva.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_11032023-2248