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Deerfield staff tout communications reach, SolSmart gold designation and full event signups; cemetery survey underway
Summary
Village staff reported increased communications reach, a SolSmart gold designation from the U.S. Department of Energy, a full vendor roster for 2025 events after moving to OpenGov, the launch of a Hefty Renew recycling pilot with Lakeshore Recycling Systems, and a ground-penetrating-radar survey at the historic Deerfield Cemetery.
Village staff presented a wide-ranging administration report at the Jan. 6 Deerfield Board of Trustees meeting, highlighting the village’s communications growth, a federal solar-readiness award, technology upgrades and community programs.
An administration staff member said the village’s Facebook group has 4,319 followers with a total reach of about 74,000, and the village e-blast list has 3,182 subscribers with roughly 97,000 opens. Staff also reported that a request-for-qualifications for crisis communications led to the selection of JT Strategic Communications, with a plan delivered in December and an in-depth presentation to the board planned for 2025.
The staff member announced that Deerfield earned a SolSmart gold designation from the U.S. Department of Energy for local solar-readiness work. The report also noted implementation of in-house administrative adjudication hearings using new Tyler technology software and that monthly hearings are scheduled in 2025, with the next hearing set for Jan. 17.
Staff detailed an administrative move to the OpenGov events platform, saying organizers have already filled vendor slots for 2025 events. "For the first time ever, we have every single food vendor signed up for all 2025 events already as of today, January 6," the staff member said. The Family Days Commission is rebranding its newsletter and moving from a 16-page brochure to a four-page fold-out to control printing costs.
The report covered intergovernmental and program partnerships: staff served as TIF administrator for the Downtown and Lake Cook Road districts; the cemetery commission contracted a ground-penetrating-radar survey of four plots in the historic Deerfield Cemetery to locate unmarked graves and better predict available plots; and the village partnered with Swellco and Lakeshore Recycling Systems on Hefty Renew, a recycling program for hard-to-recycle items. Trustees asked about usage metrics for Hefty Renew; staff said Lakeshore Recycling Systems will provide quarterly reports and that the program launched in October, with initial bag distributions at the farmer’s market and front desk showing early resident interest.
IT upgrades included a core network switching replacement and implementation of high-availability architecture for firewalls, and staff said they processed 3,115 IT work orders in 2024. The board thanked staff for their work; no further action was taken on these items at the meeting.
What’s next: Staff will present the SolSmart-related materials and the crisis-communication plan when scheduled, and will report Hefty Renew’s first-quarter usage data to the board.
