Hoffman Estates OKs contract with Altogether for updated comprehensive plan and public engagement

The Planning, Building and Zoning Committee for the Village of Hoffman Estates voted Feb. 10 to waive formal bidding and award a contract to Altogether of Evanston, Illinois, for support on an updated comprehensive plan, public engagement and graphic design, in an amount not to exceed $110,500, with the village manager authorized to approve change orders up to $30,000.

Committee members heard a presentation from village staff explaining the scope and purpose of a modern comprehensive plan and the proposed public-engagement approach. Phil (staff member) summarized the difference between older-style plans and contemporary plans focused on a smaller set of “big ideas” and integration with strategic priorities. "A good comprehensive plan does 3 simple things. It tells us where we are, it asks us where we wanna go, and it tells us how we're gonna get there," Phil said.

The consultant will support the village’s in‑house drafting work, lead the first wave of public engagement to identify pillars or big ideas, help staff synthesize findings and provide graphic design and branding for outreach and the final document. Staff emphasized the village’s prior public-engagement work (Hoffman in Motion) as experience that the firm will build on; the presenter said past efforts produced more than 700 participants across workshops and surveys that exceeded expectations.

Trustees asked how the process would reflect differing priorities across distinct parts of the village. A resident, identified as Gary during public comment, suggested including community events such as neighborhood grilling to attract participants; staff said the proposed program includes both large events and smaller, targeted pop-ups for different subareas.

The motion to approve the waiver of bidding and the contract passed on a voice vote. The record shows approval of the contract amount not to exceed $110,500 and authorization for up to $30,000 in change orders by the village manager; the motion and second were recorded but individual named votes were not listed in the transcript.

The village said the work will be carried out in waves: wave 1 will be an initial, open public engagement to gather community input; subsequent waves will refine messaging and recommendations based on those findings. Staff said concurrent technical work will compile demographic data and existing-conditions analysis.

The contract award is intended to produce an updated comprehensive plan that village officials can use to guide long-term land-use and capital-improvement priorities and to align internal strategic planning with external community goals.

The committee moved on to other agenda items after the vote; staff will return to future meetings as the project proceeds.