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Geneva, IL 60134

Kane County

KC Strategic Plan Subcommittee

Meeting Minutes

STRATHMANN, BATES, Gripe, Linder, Molina, Surges and Pierog (ex-officio)

Tuesday, September 2, 2025 10:00 AM County Boardroom

Call To Order

Chairman Strathmann called today's meeting to order at 10:03 AM.

Roll Call

Board Member Cherryl Strathmann

Board Member Mavis Bates

Board Member Michael Linder

Chairman Corinne M. Pierog

PRESENT

REMOTE

Board Member Jon Gripe

Board Member Myrna Molina

Board Member Clifford Surges

Also present: Co. Bd. members Allan*, Roth; Finance Exec. Dir. Hopkinson; Grant

Admin. Cofer; ITD/BLG Exec. Dir. Fahnestock and ITD/ BLG Chief Information Officer

Lasky; Transportation Deputy Dir. Rickert*; ITD staff Kash; and members of the press

and public.

Remote Attendance Requests

Chairman Strathmann announced the remote attendance requests for today's meeting.

She asked if there were any objections to Committee Members Gripe, Molina, and

Surges attending remotely. There were no objections.

Approval of Minutes: None

Public Comment

Kane County resident Steve Lefler spoke on potential funding for the Strategic Plan. He

believes the plan is important to have, however, he suggests that the county rely on

artificial intelligence (AI), and using in-house staff to implement it.

Kane County resident Brian Anderson reminded Board Members of the county's

budget crisis, and that saving money is crucial for the county. With budget

presentations being presented in October, Anderson hopes the members of the

Strategic Plan Committee pause all strategic plan discussions temporarily, or possibly

cancel all committee plans.

Presentations/Discussions

Strategic Plan Discussion

Finance Exec. Dir. Hopkinson explained that the Strategic Plan will collect information

from a broad group of stakeholders across the county. This information will be provided

to the county identifying what is important to stakeholders who respond to various

surveys, questionnaires, social media websites, and focus groups. The strategic plan

will facilitate the development of key objectives for the county, effectively prioritize and

direct budget resources, and establish benchmarks for achieving specific objectives.

Hopkinson stated the a request for approval (RFP) was developed and issued for the

plan. The RFP will ensure that the winning consultant would assist the county with

report implementations. A total of nine responses were evaluated, with BerryDunn

selected and approved on February 11, 2025 as the county's accounting and

consulting firm. A kick-off meeting in April was held between the consultants and staff

discussing staff roles, designing surveys, and data gathering. A County staff Work

Team was developed to facilitate collection of documents and stakeholder lists. In

August, there were two staff work team meetings with BerryDunn discussing document

collections and ensuring access to the consultant portal for uploading documents.

Hopkinson added that the team is in the process of customizing a website used to

collect information. To date, documents have been collected for an information and

data request. County staff have identified six categories to display on the Social

Pinpoint Ideas Wall website, including Jobs and Economic Development,

Transportation and Mobility, Public Health, Public Safety and Court Services, Housing

Land Use and Environment, and access to county services. The Social Pinpoint Ideas

Wall will be available on a website for community engagement. In addition to the Social

Pinpoint site, there will be a survey with a series of questions for identifying

stakeholders.

Grant Administrator, Paul Cofer, stated that during the week of October 27, BerryDunn

will conduct on-site community forums in the area. Stakeholders will be interviewed to

develop the final Environmental Scan. There will be facilitated events distributed

throughout the county to solicit input from members of stakeholder groups. Cofer noted

that it will be important for the subcommittee to prioritize identifying the best

stakeholder groups for the community forums.

Hopkinson stated that in November, there will be an in-person strategic planning

workshop consisting of a one four-hour session with County Board Members, a one

eight-hour session with department heads, elected officeholders, and other leadership

staff, reviewing and finalizing all strategic objectives to develop a final draft of the plan.

The initial draft plan will be presented to the County Board in December. The final

strategic plan will be presented to the County Board the week of January 12, 2026. The

strategic plan is projected to be completed in early March 2026. Discussion ensued.

Subcommittee Member Bates presented information and comments about why the

need for a strategic plan is important for Kane County. She stated that a strategic plan

provides a county government with a future-oriented roadmap, aligns budgeting with

priorities, and promotes a unified vision across departments. The key benefits of the

plan include improved resource allocation, enhanced community collaboration,

proactive identification and mitigation of challenges, increased accountability, and the

ability to achieve long-term sustainability and growth by responding effectively to citizen