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Name:
Jeff Palmquist
What office are you seeking?
Geneva City Council 5th Ward
What is your political party?
Non-partisan
What is your current age?
65
Occupation and employer:
Director of Planning, Fox Valley Park District
What offices, if any, have you previously held?
None
City:
Geneva
Campaign Website:
Candidate did not respond.
Education:
BA Urban Planning, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign 1981
Master of Landscape Architecture (Environmental Planning Concentration) University of Michigan 1984
Community Involvement:
Conservation Foundation Advisory Council for Kane County
Dare2tri volunteer - adaptive fitness non-profit
Marital status/Immediate family:
Married: 30 years to Christine Palmquist
Two children: Rebecca Palmquist, 25 and Eric Palmquist, 22
Questions:
City officials have made it clear that Geneva’s facilities need to be either replaced or extensively remodeled. With the withdrawal of the referendum for this year, do you support a new ballot question for 2026 to get voter support to meet these needs? Why or why not?
I agree with the City Council action to deem public safety facilities as the priority project to be funded by a possible referendum. I support the process that included the community survey and public input to establish a referendum generated funding level that is acceptable to the community. The process now needs to examine if or how the plans for police and fire facilities can be modified to save money in order to correlate to the original referendum funding level. Do we elevate the police station as the top priority? I would further explore the extent to which additional funds from the general fund can be directed to offset funding gaps. What potential capital projects would need to be deferred to free up money from the general fund? Additionally, I want to determine if response times, or any compromise of safety standards would result from too much deviation from the original plan.
These and other questions should be thoroughly explored before there should be any consideration of increasing the referendum amount from the amount that was to originally appear on the April ballot or even re-visiting a referendum in a future election cycle.
Of course, the public needs to be informed and engaged throughout this process and presented with clear pros and cons of alternatives.
Discuss how you would implement the Geneva Strategic Plan Advisory Committee plan, which measures the city’s goals and prioritizes its resources.
The most systematic and impactful way to implement many aspects of the Strategic Plan is to elevate the goals into fundable, achievable initiatives that become line items in the City’s annual budget. Identifying the goals to elevate, define, and prioritize initiatives should be an integral part of the annual budget workshops that occur in the months preceding actual budget approval.
My priority as 5th Ward Alderperson will be to communicate with residents to determine their priorities for Ward 5 and for the entire City. I also endorse the process to include City Council in the regular review of Strategic Plan Implementation based upon defined progress metrics.
Should local law enforcement cooperate with ICE to identify and deport immigrants who do not have legal status to be in the United States?
I would expect the Geneva Police Department, as well as Kane County Law Enforcement, to follow Illinois law that largely prohibits local law enforcement from actions to enforce immigration law except in the case of criminal activity.
What are your top three priorities for our city, and how do you plan to address them?
Three priorities for the City Council of Geneva to directly address include:
- Determine how the City should fund the necessary facility and infrastructure needs, beginning with public safety – a new police station and potential fire station. Now, following up on information received during the process to establish a public safety referendum question, many questions need answering:
How much of a tax increase are residents willing to accept and what would it provide?
How can the plans for the new facilities be modified or passed to bridge funding gaps?
What other funding opportunities such as grants are available?
What planned capital improvements may need to be deferred to free up funding for the police station?
- An on-going priority should be to diversify Geneva’s housing – especially by affordability, but also by lifestyle choice and aging accommodations. I would consider density increases and zoning restriction relief in exchange for more housing choice and affordability options. Recently, Geneva adopted an ordinance allowing for the construction of secondary dwellings on single family lots. I endorse such solutions and encourage city staff to explore other creative measures.
- Most broadly, Geneva’s identity, (historic downtown, river, beautiful walkable neighborhoods), stands out. The Geneva City Council has the important task of setting policy that must balance preserving and enhancing this identity with affecting necessary progress to ensure that our community continues to thrive, be successful as a great place to live, and remain a notable tourist destination.
How do you intend to balance economic development with environmental sustainability in the community?
Economic development and environmental sustainability - it’s not an “either-or” choice. I believe that environmental sustainability can drive economic development.
My vision for Geneva implements measures such as green infrastructure and “Best Management Practices” for both public and private investment in our community. Features such as rain gardens and native planting areas can improve the water quality of stormwater run-off, be cost-effective, and more aesthetically appealing.
The most impactful approach to address environmental sustainability is through land use and zoning. Use the flexibility of P.U.D. zoning to require sustainable features in development within walking distance of the train station and promote compact development.
What are your plans for enhancing public transportation and infrastructure in the city?
I support the current downtown study, including the resident survey that includes feedback on downtown parking. This will provide important information to determine the proper levels of parking to support the Metra Station. We should regularly evaluate the PACE routes and stops to most efficiently serve existing and future users. I would also work to complete safe bicycle/pedestrian connections, especially between neighborhoods, parks, and the downtown.
What role should the city council play in supporting local businesses and economic growth?
I would promote several tools that the City of Geneva has available to encourage and support business and economic growth. Broadly, where applicable, TIF funding can be applied to infrastructure costs to lessen the burden on new or renovated developments. Geneva’s recent adoption of an international fire code will enable renovations to be more cost effective. I will encourage us to explore other such code related actions. Additionally, the city can offer flexibility with zoning and PUD requirements as incentives for quality development proposals.
What are your top public safety concerns for our community and how would you propose addressing them?
The incidents that are likely to affect most Geneva residents’ safety include theft, particularly car break-ins, cybercrime, and traffic/pedestrian/bicycle conflicts. To aid and deter crime, we need to stay vigilant with public awareness and to communicate to residents where and how such crimes are committed and how best to prevent them.
I am pleased that the pending East State Street improvements will include best design practices as well as streetscape improvements. The “road diet” restriping of S. Batavia Avenue to establish dedicated left turn lanes is a very positive improvement. We should continue to identify other particularly challenging locations where we can incorporate best safety practices. Further, we need to continue to improve and expand our pedestrian and bicycling accommodations, especially at difficult intersections and crosswalks, and close existing gaps in our bike path and bike lane system. Specifically, I will advocate for a safe crosswalk for pedestrians and cyclists connecting the east end of Fargo Blvd and Forest View Dr. to the Fabyan Forest Preserve.
Lastly, I am pleased that Geneva has a Mental Health Board, which is concerned with the mental health of people with intellectual or developmental differences, mental illness, or substance abuse. As Alderperson, part of my messaging to residents would be to raise awareness to the resources that this Board can offer.
How will you ensure that city policies promote inclusion for all residents?
Most importantly, access and inclusion are considerations that must be much broader than a focus on only race or gender. It encompasses an understanding and empathy toward socio-economic differences, age, physical differences, cognitive differences and cultural differences and the necessary adaptations to allow all city residents to live a vital, safe, healthy, and enjoyable life.
Approximately four years ago, Geneva established a DEI Task Force that subsequently, through resident surveys, forums, and deliberations, created a final report. This report was accepted by City Council in December, 2023. I endorse and support this initiative and report recommendations.
Two areas where I will be engaged with these recommendations are first in the periodic review of the Strategic Plan - looking to advance Task Force report related actions. The second area is the annual budget process. In the budget workshop process, I will look to elevate appropriate recommendations from the report.
I further support the formation of the Inclusivity and Belonging Commission and am excited to see their recommendations.
Lastly, as part of the annual capital planning process, I would promote the process to systematically identify and budget for measures to address ADA non-compliances in our buildings, sites, or website.
Do you support requiring government officials to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest, and how would you enforce this?
I absolutely expect government officials to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest. This should unequivocally be the case at the City Council, but also at the Planning Commission level and other appointed boards and commissions. As City Council members, we are required to file annual Economic Interest Statements with the County, which are a matter of public record. I support continued ethics and Open Meetings Act training for all of Geneva boards, commissions, and City Council.
I would expect pro-active recusal from any government official expected to deliberate or vote on a matter that may be a potential conflict of interest.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
I prefer direct, face-to-face contact with residents and to engage with them in conversation. I will set up systems to encourage formal and informal gatherings. I will also visit areas of the Ward, such as senior housing, where residents may have transportation challenges. Most of all, I am present and accessible throughout the streets of my Ward, either while walking two friendly dogs almost every day, or on my bicycle.
Immediately, I will also establish a habit of quickly responding to questions via email or phone.