WASHINGTON, Ill. – Washington aldermen and city leaders spent a good portion of their Saturday determining the direction of the city.
A special session of city council was held for a goal setting session, which was a priority of Mayor Lilija Stevens upon taking office.
Interim City Manager Dennis Carr says one prominent goal was improving communications. The city recently hired a communications specialist to help with those goals, and Carr says a bi-annual newsletter is being proposed, along with increased social media posting.
The communication aspect would include what messaging would reach elected officials and timeframe of when messages would be sent out. Carr cites items such as boil orders as one thing that would be assessed.
Before the goal session, Washington sent a survey out to residents, with more than 750 respondents. Carr says one thing that stood out was how the city and residents are on the same page with some issues, such as an increased focus on Sunnyland.
“That was something that we’ve been kind of talking about at the council level was looking west and making sure that we can bring the whole city together,” Carr said. “So it’s good to see the stuff you’re talking about internally is communicated on the outside as well.”
Carr says aldermen also spoke of wanting to develop a comprehensive plan for development along Freedom Parkway, as well as what to do with around 233 acres of land along Route 24. The land was previously proposed to be the site of an amphitheater, before the project shifted to the Peoria Riverfront.
Carr says the next steps will be to present a summary of the session to council for passage to begin an action plan to see through the goals. He expects approval to occur in October.
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