Kane County subcommittee finalizes outreach plan, schedules stakeholder interviews and November forums

Kane County’s Strategic Plan Subcommittee on Oct. 8 reviewed a draft outreach plan for the countywide strategic plan and agreed on next steps for stakeholder interviews, community forums and the public-facing Social Pinpoint engagement site.

Michelle Kennedy, the project consultant, told the subcommittee the team had completed the early tasks needed to move into broad stakeholder engagement and that “we made pretty considerable progress over the last week to week and a half,” including finishing survey questions and polishing the Social Pinpoint site before it is launched. Kennedy said the project team has compiled a stakeholder list and that consultant Barry Dunn will schedule virtual interviews starting “early next week” and that on‑site group interviews and community forums are planned for November.

The subcommittee said it expects the next four to five weeks of outreach to be “pivotal” in collecting information that will feed an environmental scan, which in turn will form the basis for the strategic plan. Kennedy and staff emphasized time and budget limits: one-on-one interviews should be reserved for board members and “high priority” stakeholders, while group interviews will be used to reach more participants and foster cross‑discussion among similar organizations, such as chambers, mayors, businesses, education and faith‑based groups.

Subcommittee members discussed details of the stakeholder list and how to prioritize participants. Mr. Gripe asked when the list would be available; Kennedy said consultants will not act until the committee gives final approval and that several suggested names were already included. Mavis, identified in the meeting as a co‑chair, and others urged members to send additions promptly and to respect the deadline the consultant and workforce group set. Paul Cofer, who drafted a tentative schedule for interview slots, said there will be two days of on‑site group interviews and community forums, and that he has broken larger groups into one‑hour slots while reserving some slots for community forums.

The committee agreed to a hybrid approach for many sessions: in‑person facilitation with a simultaneous Zoom link so participants who cannot travel can still join. Several organizations and groups were added or confirmed for outreach, including chambers of commerce, libraries, service organizations (Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions), AID (Individual Development), the Visiting Nurse Association, Farm Bureau, Special Olympics, faith leaders, and department directors and other county staff. The committee specifically discussed grouping forest preserve, transportation, development, farm bureau and water resources into a single virtual group interview because of limited in‑person slots.

Members also discussed who the group interviews should include. Kennedy advised using group interviews for sectors where participants can “play off of one another” and where richer discussion is likely, while reserving one‑on‑ones for participants with deep institutional knowledge. The consultant recommended attaching the interview guide to invitation emails and asking invitees to respond in writing if they cannot attend, to ensure the team still receives substantive input.

The subcommittee confirmed the engagement platform’s structural limits: Social Pinpoint supports up to six categories for the virtual “wall.” Members agreed to add “accessibility” into the public categories, finalizing a category labeled “public health, safety and accessibility.” Kennedy noted the platform’s six‑category limit and said the analysis would allow deeper categorization off‑platform.

On process and schedule, Kennedy and staff asked that members send prioritized additions to the stakeholder list to the co‑chairs rather than directly to Paul Cofer so staff can avoid duplicate entries and respect the consultant’s timeline. The team plans outreach emails from the county with the interview guide attached, phone follow‑ups by committee members where needed, and the option for stakeholders to submit written responses through the Social Pinpoint site or the virtual wall.

The subcommittee closed by noting the next tasks: finalize the stakeholder list, distribute the interview guide with invitations, schedule virtual and on‑site interviews (virtual interviews to start the following week, on‑site forums in November) and hold county staff focus groups. Paul Cofer said he would continue refining the schedule and coordinate invites. The meeting ended after a unanimous consent approval of the minutes from the Sept. 24, 2025 meeting and a motion to adjourn.