Joliet To Spend $581,000 To Develop Comprehensive Plan

JOLIET — If you were wondering about the city of Joliet's next major spending project of your tax dollars, city planner Jayne Bernhard has unveiled a proposal to spend $581,000 to hire a Chicago company called Lamar Johnson Collaborative for a new citywide comprehensive plan.

According to Bernhard's memo to her boss, Jim Torri, and Joliet City Council members who serve on the economic development committee: Cesar Cardenas, Chairperson, Councilman Cesar Guerrero and Councilman Pat Mudron, the Lamar Johnson Collaborative’s project approach consists of five phases, with each phase including public engagement activities and associated deliverables. Lamar Johnson Collaborative estimates the project will occur over 18 to 24 months.

Phase 1: Evaluate (project kick-off, project branding, data collection, existing conditions analysis, advisory committee and working group meetings)

Phase 2: Investigate (key person interviews, community visioning public workshop, key topic area definition and policy framework, advisory committee and working group meetings)

Phase 3: Enhance (public workshop on key topic areas, advisory committee and working group meetings)

Phase 4: Empower (preparation of draft plan and preparation of subarea plans, advisory committee and working group meetings)

Phase 5: Examine (preparation of implementation plan, presentation of final plan, final plan open house)

Bernhard's memo explains that The Lamar Johnson Collaborative proposal has a project fee of $564,250, which includes extensive public engagement, stipends for volunteer citizen participation and labor for the preparation and delivery of the plan.

Lamar Johnson has suggested that Joliet should budget an additional $15,000 to $17,000 to cover the costs of direct costs and additional expenses, which is around 3 percent of the total project budget.

Therefore, the total project costs are estimated at $581,000. Joliet intends to budget for this project across three fiscal years. The Community Development Department has sufficient funds in its 2024 budget for the first year of this project. Funds will be charged to the Planning Professional Services, Bernhard's letter explained.

Bernhard pointed out that Joliet sent out a request for qualifications more than 18 months ago — back on October 11, 2022, for professional services to prepare a city-wide comprehensive plan. Six qualifications were returned to the City by the November 14, 2022, deadline.

They came from:

• Camiros
• Confluence
• Dover Kohl & Partners
• Graef
• Houseal Lavigne
• Lamar Johnson Collaborative

The land use and economic development committee met at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the City Council Chambers.

After the afternoon committee meeting, Joliet's media relations director Rosemaria DiBenedetto issued a press release revealing that Joliet also wants to hire a second company to help with the overall comprehensive plan initiative.

The second company, Urban3, was recommended to perform a specialized economic analysis to evaluate the impact that development has on the city’s finances and infrastructure. This analysis will enable Joliet to make policy decisions on future developments with the understanding of the overall impacts to the city, DiBenedetto indicated.

Urban3’s fee proposal for an Economic Analysis is $138,768 which the city anticipates will be funded in part by a grant of $75,000 through the Joliet Arsenal Development Authority.