Five minutes before Tuesday night’s First Ward meeting was scheduled to begin, city and library staff were still pushing stacks of chairs into the conference room at the Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave.

About 100 seats were already filled and a steady stream of Evanston residents waited patiently at the door. Some moved to seats set up along the side of the room, while others stood in the back of the room.

When the meeting finally got underway, it was clear First Ward residents had a lot on their minds.

In the first meeting Ald. Cheryl Wollin (1st) held for her ward since assuming her position last May, residents heard a presentation on the past, present and future of downtown Evanston by Assistant City Manager Judith Aiello and Diane Williams, executive director of EVMark, a downtown marketing organization.

“Our downtown has changed,” Aiello said. “It’s not just a place that goes 9-to-5 with business. It’s a neighborhood.”

They showed a series of photographs of how Evanston looked as early as 1889 and how certain buildings look today.

“We’ve come a long way and now we all have to decide where want to go moving forward,” Aiello said.

Williams identified some priorities for the future, which included defining “new planning and development issues for the next decade.” She also emphasized the city’s desire to hear and address issues residents are facing.

Aiello pointed out plans to replace the 98-year-old Chicago Transit Authority viaduct at Church Street, a project that was approved last month.

“There will be a time when traffic around downtown is going to be difficult,” she said, drawing laughs from audience members. “(But) the goal is for all the viaducts in Evanston to be replaced.”

Aiello and Williams also solicited comments from citizens.

Residents raised concerns about new developments in Evanston. They called projects like Sherman Plaza, on Davis Street between Sherman and Benson avenues, “ghastly Stalinistic buildings” and a “damned monstrosity.”

Despite a round of applause from residents after these comments, Aiello called the building’s aesthetics a matter of “personal preference.”

A local business owner spoke of her concerns about rising rents, which she said would “push a lot of small businesses out of Evanston.”

“Our downtown isn’t going to be a downtown if we let all big boxes (in),” Aiello said in response. “The beauty of the downtown is the mix.”

Other residents took issue with overflowing city trash cans and Dumpsters, dangerous winds around tall buildings, and a proposed condominium building on Chicago Avenue and Davis Street that some residents feel doesn’t fit in the city visioning process.

Evanston police officer Loyce Spells and Director of Public Works David Jennings also gave short presentations.

Spells, who playfully referred to the city as “Heavenston,” reminded residents to call the police even for minor problems.

“Crime is down,” he said. “But we cannot decrease our guards. We cannot be naive to think crime will not occur in our city.”

Jennings spoke about a sewer system construction project on Orrington Avenue between Noyes and Emerson streets.

“If you live at the corner of Orrington and Noyes, here we come again,” he said.

Reach Matt Presser at [email protected].