Community Promotion & Tourism

Village Hall Village of Lombard 255 East Wilson Ave. Lombard, IL 60148 villageoflombard.org Minutes Community Promotion & Tourism Trustee Mike Fugiel, Chairperson, Trustee Bill Johnston, Alternate Chairperson, Jill Payne, Marguerite Micken, Joe Orsolini, Lori Solyom, Nancy Schukat, Phil Dahm and Bill Mrazek Ex-Officio Members: Yvonne Invergo - Lombard Chamber of Commerce; Beth Marchetti - DuPage Convention & Visitors' Bureau; Yorktown Merchants' Association - Todd Hiepler; Neil De Guia - Embassy Suites; M. Jimenez - Extended Stay Deluxe; Randy Kline - Stay Inn; Nilesh Pandey - Hyatt Place; Karen Borris - Marriott Fairfield Inn; Homestead Village; Frank Balisteri - Comfort Suites; Cynthia Ivey - Marriott Residence Inn; Nick Hefner - Towne Place Suites; Mike Feigenbaum - The Westin Hotel Tuesday, March 7, 2017 7:00 PM Community Room 1.0 Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance The meeting was called to order at 7:01 by Trustee Fugiel. Nancy Schukat led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. 2.0 Roll Call Present 6 - Mike Fugiel, Marguerite Micken, Jill Payne, Lori Solyom, Nancy Schukat, and William Mrazek Absent 2 - Joe Orsolini, and Phil Dahm Also Present: Chris Chowela, Lynne Magnavite and Stephanie Schizik of Lombard Town Centre and Nicole Aranas, Committee Liaison 3.0 Public Participation None. 4.0 Approval of Minutes Village of Lombard Page 1 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes March 7, 2017 A motion was made by Nancy Schukat, seconded by Bill Mrazek, to approve the minutes of the February 7, 2017, committee meeting. The minutes were approved by unanimous vote. 5.0 Old Business 170013 Local Tourism Grant Application 2017 - Lombard Town Centre Spooktacular Grant request from the Lombard Town Centre for funding from Hotel/Motel funds, for costs associated with the Spooktacular event. The grant supports services from the Village Lombard Police and Public Works departments, the cost of barricades, generators, the Park District stage and port-o-lets from Waste Management. The event is scheduled to take place October 14, 2017, in Downtown Lombard. Chris Chowela, LTC Board President, presented the revised grant application. She stated that the goals of LTC are the same as those of the Community Promotion and Tourism Committee. Both groups are seeking to bring people into the community from out of town. Having an event was a major discussion point and strategic planning initiative for the LTC organization. LTC determined that we would either add an additional event to generate revenue or expand an already existing event. Because our mission is commitment to the downtown, we have an obligation not to be in conflict with the interests of the downtown. Chris introduced new director Stephanie Schizik, and stated that Lynne Magnavite will transition to VP on the Board. Stephanie introduced herself. She is one week on the job with LTC and was recently Executive Director of Campfire Organization, a small Lombard non-profit; her responsibilities included fundraising and event planning. Chris stated that part of LTC’s plan was to hire a not-for-profit professional like Stephanie and to hire an event company to plan and support our event. That group now is Lou Dog. We have had many meetings with businesses and with the Village and determined that we wanted to expand our signature event. We previously met with Village staff members to ensure that the event would be viable. We wanted to walk through the budget and want to explain how we came up with the numbers and figures that we did. We assessed areas including how to generate revenue from the event. We know that attendance, and sponsorships can generate revenue for this event. We wanted our proposal to be realistic and talked through the event with Lou Dog, who has experience running an event in Lombard. We decided we can minimally bring in 2,000-2,500 attendees, with the possibility of more but we want to be Village of Lombard Page 2 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes March 7, 2017 realistic. Vendors will also be a source of revenue and we have gotten feedback that it is easier to get sponsors and vendors for an already existing successful event. We think we are underestimating the attendee and sponsorship fees, but we want to be conservative. We will be having a beer tent and revenue from beer sales. Lou Dog is working to get a sponsorship for the alcohol which would increase our net revenues. The budget reflects $3,000 from Waste Management, which we are hoping may be a sponsorship. Total expenses for the event are $30,000 but the fees for Lou Dog are not reflected in the budget. Their fees will depend on how much they do for us. Their proceeds will come from attendance fees. Committee member Lori Solyom commented that it looks like you are increasing your expenses 10 times in hopes to increasing the profits by 10 times. Chris responded that the old event was very youth and family event targeted, but the new event will have a more festival type feel. Lori stated this budget looks much better than the last one presented to the Committee. Chris commented that the numbers that were presented in the last application were incorrect and has been revised. Lori asked if the amount LTC has indicated for the sponsorships is a realistic number? Chris replied that we think so. Our goal isn’t big sponsorships from small businesses. We are seeking larger donations from larger groups. For example, we are hoping to get a large sponsor to sponsor the kid zone. Lori asked what is the “other income” reflected in the budget? Chris responded that those dollars reflect private donations that we receive from people who wish to contribute towards the event. Lori asked if they are seeking more money for entertainment, what are your plans? Lynne said they are hoping to have larger bands for the event to have an increased draw. Lori asked if there is a cap on the amount of fees LTC is willing to pay Lou Dog? Lynne replied Lou Dog has an a la carte menu and their fees will be dependent on how much work they do towards the event. Lori asked if LTC has consulted with the GE Boosters regarding their event? Chris replied that they haven’t sorted it all out yet, but previously was in communication when they originated the event. Lori shared that committee member Joe Orsolini was concerned about the transition between kids/families to an adult event? Chris replied that Lou Dog was helpful in spelling out that we would need to have a seamless transition. We are not having a beer adult/only event so we are not going to ask kids to leave at any set time. The transition will occur naturally as areas are closed off and as kids activities slow down, families will probably diminish. Committee Chair Mike Fugiel has a concern that we are increasing the grant line by a substantial amount of money. The grant request is dangerously close to funding at a 50% level. Under the current Village of Lombard Page 3 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes March 7, 2017 budget, it is possible that LTC could come up short on sponsorships, bring in nothing and still net $5,000 in revenues. Can we create a condition whereby the grant revenues are tied to the amount of revenues that are generated? Chris stated that the condition shouldn’t be tied exclusively to the amount of sponsorships as they may bring in more in attendance fees and sales to compensate. Committee member, Jill Payne stated her belief that the $15,000 grant request is ambitious. Lynne stated that Spooktacular is the only fall festival/ Halloween event in the area. Our plan is that we have to make an investment to grow. Jill stated that for $15,000, we will not generate very many room nights. Lynne stated that we will bring people in from out of town by bringing in people from all over. As far as the budget request, the Waste Management fees likely will not be expended. Lou Dog also may help us reduce our expenditures as they have better relationships with vendors and may be able to secure our equipment for less cost. Our expenses may be a lot less than what we are requesting. Lori stated her belief that the group needs another $5,000 revenue stream to add to the event. Maybe a haunted house or some other revenue generating activity would help to increase and diversify the revenue for the event. Wristbands are priced at $5. Jill Payne stated that she was still uncomfortable with the requested grant amount. Committee Member Marguerite Micken asked how they expect to raise additional revenues? Lynne stated they are not going to get sponsorships from each and every business, but are confident that we can reach our goals because we have more support this year from businesses. Staff Liaison, Nicole Aranas asked if LTC can get Waste Management sponsorship, is it possible to cap your spending to $12,000? The Committee should be aware that there can be a condition. Lynne stated that the expenditures for items beyond WM would not exceed $12,000. Marguerite Micken asked what participation they plan to get from the Downtown businesses? Lynne responded that they are doing focus groups and getting positive feedback from restaurants and attempting to address the concern of service businesses. Lori Solyom asked if they are approaching tent and party rental people to get donations and sponsorships? Chris replied definitely yes. Marguerite Micken would like to see LTC get $10,000 in grants and get more donations. Lori questioned what the average attendee will spend? Chris felt the average adult will have 2.4 drinks. LTC decided to have the beer tent because we didn’t want to compete with the restaurants and our bars. We only want to make sure that people are able to get non-competing food and drink easily vs. overwhelming our bars and restaurants and having to stand in long lines. Village of Lombard Page 4 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes March 7, 2017 A motion was made by Nancy Schukat to recommend a grant in the amount of $10,000, to the Village Board Trustees. The motion failed due to lack a second. A motion was made by Marguerite Micken, Seconded by Lori Solyom, to approve $12,500 in grant funds from the Hotel/Motel funds. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. 6.0 New Business None. 7.0 Other Business None. 8.0 Information Only None. 9.0 Adjournment A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Jill Payne and seconded by Nancy Schukat at 8:00 PM. The motion passed by unanimous vote. Village of Lombard Page 5