You’ve told us a lot about your vision for the future and we’re listening
- You’d like new and improved places to play
- You want more community programming
- You want even better upkeep of parks and fields
Elevate Elmhurst Parks is a collaborative community-wide effort to define Elmhurst’s priorities and guide future Park District planning efforts. The Elevate Elmhurst Parks Plan builds on Vision 2020’s momentum, which included adding two new parks in neighborhoods that were identified as park deserts, developing Elmhurst’s first dog park (Canine Corner construction to be completed in 2024), renovating the new Adult Center (Mary E. Kies Recreation Center), and expanding programming options. We’re continuing to use Park District resources to put your long-range vision into action. Feedback we collected from the community to develop Elevate Elmhurst Parks confirmed that Elmhurst residents appreciate their parks, facilities, and programs and want to ensure the opportunities they enjoy with the District are preserved and improved for current and future generations.
Elevate Elmhurst Parks – Mapping Our Future
Mission and vision statements are necessary to provide organizational direction. However, once these statements are written, how does an organization accomplish them and achieve its goals?
In 2023, the Board of Park Commissioners and staff updated the District’s Comprehensive and Strategic Plan using a process which included:
- Gathering and reviewing community feedback;
- Conducting demographic, park, facility, program, organizational, and financial assessments;
- Creating the community’s future vision of park and recreation services; and
- Developing an action plan to implement the future vision.
By basing plans on community feedback and defining future priorities, the Park Board clarifies organizational direction for focused decision making and financial planning to meet current and future community needs. Since the inception of the District’s first Comprehensive Plan and Strategic Plan, the Park Board and staff have implemented projects, programs, and initiatives based upon the priorities articulated during the planning process.
Development of Elevate Elmhurst Parks Plan
While a comprehensive plan and a strategic plan are unique in their purpose and scope, they have interrelated goals. Therefore, the Park Board and staff combined them into a single guiding document named the Elevate Elmhurst Parks Plan. The Plan incorporates broad priorities, goals, objectives, and specific tactics for comprehensive planning (e.g., physical asset and program improvements) and strategic planning (e.g., internal operations, communication, and financial improvements). The six priorities of the Elevate Elmhurst Parks Plan are invigorated parks, vibrant facilities, dynamic offerings, engaged community, stronger finances, and thriving culture.
Final Elevate Elmhurst Parks Plan and Strategic Action Plan
On February 22, 2024, the Park Board approved the Elevate Elmhurst Parks Plan, which included the Plan document (pages 1-22) and Appendices. Together, these documents provide a summary of the Elevate Elmhurst Parks Plan key findings and recommendations, long-term strategy (mission, vision, values, priorities, goal statements, and objectives), engagement feedback collected, and other needs assessment data that will drive long-range planning for the next five-years.
Based on the key findings and recommendations, the Park Board and staff developed the Elevate Elmhurst Strategic Work Plan to guide and track execution of long-range plans. Performance measures, tied to the strategic priorities, are also tracked to assess progress on achieving overall Plan strategy.
Monitoring the Elevate Elmhurst Parks Plan
As part of the Park Board’s governance and to ensure the Plan remains relevant and effective, the Park Board and staff review the Strategic Work Plan annually so it evolves based on ongoing shifts, opportunities, and challenges in the District’s operating, economic, and political environments.
The Park Board and staff monitor and report progress on the Strategic Work Plan bi-annually (in the Park Board’s Mid-year and Year-end Progress Reports) to track the status of the overall achievement of Plan Themes.
