Carpentersville goals include economic development, marketing strategy

Adding parks, handling social media complaints and creating strategies for marketing and economic development were among the several goals and objectives for 2016 adopted this week by the Carpentersville village board.

Village President Ed Ritter said these goals are a compilation of the action trustees want to see in the village over the next few years. Some goals are short-term, while others are ongoing or several years out.

"Our departments set their budgets based on what we have asked them to accomplish this year," Ritter said, noting that they give village staff members some direction on what they should be working toward.

Over the next three to five years, for example, the village wants to work with outside consultants to create a marketing strategy that will bring in more businesses, especially in the Old Town riverfront area.

"(We want to) change the image of Carpentersville (to) be a more business-friendly town," Ritter said.

The village has been in talks about redeveloping Old Town in recent years and is working toward proposing a tax increment financing district in that area.

Trustees also want the village to create the position for a full-time economic development director.

When creating an economic strategy for Carpentersville, several pieces must work together, including traffic patterns, Trustee Kevin Rehberg said. A study completed by HR Green, an engineering and technical services company, is under way to explore ways to improve the traffic flow at the intersection of Main and Washington streets.

The village adopted a two-year goal to consider the options presented as a result of the study.

"We can see this through to the end and find a solution that affects people's quality of life," Rehberg said, noting that traffic in that area often is backed up. "If people can get home even five minutes earlier, that's five more minutes they get to spend at home with their families."

The village's goals extend to the west side of Carpentersville as well, where trustees hope to develop a larger park with the help of the Dundee Township Park District.

Additional objectives include improving the village's website and online presence; developing a plan to monitor and react to social media complaints and suggestions; and putting a greater emphasis on quality of life issues, such as noise complaints.