Mount Prospect OKs new community center

The Mount Prospect village board on Tuesday unanimously approved the lease for the neighborhood resource center on the south side of the village.

The information and resource hub, called the Community Connections Center, is expected to open in July, village officials said.

"We will be able to connect with more residents," Trustee Steve Polit said of the center. "And that is the most important thing."

The board agreed upon a lease on the 1700 block of Algonquin Road, located in the Crystal Court Shopping Center.

The village also entered into an agreement with the village's library to jointly run and pay for the center.

The two groups will enter into a three-year lease for the center, costing about $3,300 per month, village officials said.

The center will be staffed by two part-time receptionists, a social worker and a community service officer, said Clare O'Shea, Mount Prospect senior planner.

Heath and human services would be provided to residents at the location with additional referrals if the center could not provide help.

It will be referred to as "the center," O'Shea said. In some fashion - perhaps through signage - it would be obvious that it would be a village- and library-run organization, village officials said.

Trustee Paul Hoefert urged that the village evaluate how well the center accomplishes its mission of helping people.

"That's absolutely critical portraying that to the community if it's a success,"Hoefert said. "At some point, people will ask how was it successful."

O'Shea said there would be some form of analysis regarding how well the center does through a committee evaluation.