With the city growing again, Latham hopes to bring economic development to Sandwich in 2nd term

In his second term, Sandwich Mayor Todd Latham said he plans to build on what he accomplished in his first term.

That includes improving transparency with residents.

“We put a new website up this year and we broadcast our meetings and we archive those," Latham said. “Sandwich Police Chief Kevin Senne has put an interactive website together for our citizens to go take a look at so they can see what kind of crime or issues occur in their ward or neighborhood.”

Improving the city’s streets also has been a priority for him. Following the reconstruction of North Latham Street last year, North Main Street from the north railroad right-of-way to Knights Road near Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital will be reconstructed this year.

As part of the project, a large portion of the sidewalks along that stretch will be replaced and sidewalk ramps at crosswalk locations will be improved to current Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

In addition, undersized utilities that are in poor condition will be replaced during the early stages of construction to eliminate the need for future utility improvements after the reconstruction of the road.

Bringing more economic development to the city is another goal of his.

“We’re trying to get the corridor out by the hotel to open up to further development,” Latham said. “And we’re looking at other places. Gletty Road to County Line Road back to Main Street is another corridor we’re trying to open up and develop. We’re very landlocked in the city of Sandwich. We have a very short west to east boundary.”

City officials also plan to address a shortage of space at Sandwich City Hall.

“We only have one conference room that’s shared by three or four different departments,” Latham said. “We just don’t have space available. I think ultimately, we will be looking at moving some of our downtown operation to other parts of the community.”

Repairing the historic Sandwich Opera House in downtown Sandwich is another priority of his. Part of the roof on the 1878 building needs to be replaced, as well as the gutters.

A $3.15 million repair estimate would include the installation of new copper gutters. He said the city will probably apply for a grant through the office of U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, to help pay for the project.

He is proud of everything the city has been able to accomplish in his first term, including the opening of a new police station.

“We’ve also put in bodycams for our police and upgraded our squad cars with computers and dash cams and we bought new vehicles for our police department,” Latham said.

In the coming years, Latham sees the city continuing to grow. The city currently has a population of about 7,300.

“We did have 20 years of negative growth in the census and now we’re having positive growth,” he said.