Since 2018, the District has been implementing the community’s future vision of parks and recreation services in Elmhurst as articulated in the Vision 2020 Plan. In the fifth year of the Plan, the Board and staff remain dedicated to addressing the six strategic themes for parks, facilities, programming, communications, finance and internal operations.
Due to the dramatic financial and operational impacts of the pandemic, the District’s Vision 2020 Strategic Work Plan (SWP) needed to be reevaluated based on current data trends. In late-fall 2020 the Board and staff developed the 2021 SWP by reviewing performance data, economic indicators, national and local trends, and community and employee feedback. To address the needs identified in the data trends, the Board and staff developed Vision 2020 strategic priorities to continue focusing on the Plan’s goals during the pandemic. Reflected in the 2021 budget and work plans, these 2021 SWP priorities focused on the following next steps:
- strategically position the District in 2021 to successfully reopen facilities and grow core offerings within Restore Illinois Plan guidelines and address some participants continued reluctance to be indoors;
- facilitate future financial sustainability;
- complete high priority park and facility projects with dedicated revenue sources (e.g., Adult Center renovation, Centennial Park development, Glos Park expansion); and
- maintain a strong organizational culture as staff continue to face challenges while working during a pandemic.
As reflected in the 2022 budget and work plans, the 2022 SWP focuses on the next steps towards continued implementation of Vision 2020 strategy as the District positions itself for the future after the pandemic (2023 and beyond) including:
- complete Vision 2020 park and facility projects with dedicated revenue sources;
- facilitate a successful recovery from pandemic-related financial and operational constraints;
- update and communicate capital and other strategic priorities; and
- foster a strong organizational culture.
In 2022, the Park Board and staff will develop new fiscally responsible strategies to address the remaining large-scale project priorities (such as a dog park) based on community feedback. These strategies will create a new community-driven vision of parks and recreation for 2023 and beyond.
