State of the Community event offers glimpse at how things are going in Batavia
Batavia leaders gave a report Thursday on how things are going in the city during the annual State of the Community presentation at the Covenant Living at the Holmstad facility in Batavia.
Sponsored by the Batavia Chamber of Commerce, the event gave guests a chance to hear from representatives from Batavia Unit District 101, the village library and park districts, Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke, and others.
President and CEO of the Batavia Chamber of Commerce Margaret Perreault said the event “is a great opportunity to bring Batavia’s business and community leaders together” to highlight what they have accomplished and hear what is ahead.
“There is positive momentum in Batavia right now, and we want to keep it going,” Perreault said. “It is about more than bringing new businesses to town. It’s about making sure the businesses already here are successful, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and keeping Batavia a place where people want to invest and raise their families.”
District 101 Deputy Superintendent Tony Inglese spoke about student achievement in the district as outlined in the recently released Illinois School Report Card.
“Our schools are making great growths … we’re very proud of that, and five of our schools were designated as ‘excellent’ in the school report card, and another is approaching that,” he said. “We attribute it to a lot of hard work and a cohesive plan. Our focus is to get students to read, and things are strong. Our schools are really built around community.”
Batavia Public Library Executive Director Josephine Tucci spoke about the yearlong renovation project at the library that will soon be underway.
“We’re giving the whole interior of the library a refresh,” she said. “Our timeline is 12 months, and we’ll be seeing a whole new children’s area with spaces for families, and on the main floor a new maker’s zone for adults. We’ll also have a new teen space and eight study rooms and new HVAC and electrical, all at a cost of $12.5 million.”
Schielke spoke about various topics at the event, including the city’s downtown and housing. He said the city continues “to be in a housing spurt at the moment,” adding that “since 2022 we have built over 750 new residential units in Batavia.”
The mayor’s biggest focus centered on available land, specifically in the downtown area, “following buildings that have been torn down.”
“We’ve got several big lots at the corner of Washington and Wilson and one across the street that used to be a gas station. That will also be a development,” Schielke said. “Then just this week we tore down the old building at the corner of Prairie and Webster, and that will be offered up for sale.
“We’ve just had the opportunity to have a lot of new stuff brought in here, specifically in the downtown,” he said. “We’re optimistic we’re going to see positive features in the downtown area.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.