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, Bill Mrazek and Brad Hanewall Ex-Officio Members: Yvonne Invergo - Lombard Chamber of Commerce; Beth Marchetti - DuPage Convention & Visitors' Bureau; Yorktown Centre - Todd Hiepler; Neil De Guia - Embassy Suites; Juanita Hernandez - Extended Stay America; Randy Kline - Sure Stay Plus; Max Schultz - Hyatt Place; Karen Borris - Marriott Fairfield Inn; Adriana DeHoyos - Extended Stay America; Frank Balisteri - Comfort Suites; Maureen Fleetwood - Sonesta ES Suites; Nick Hefner - Towne Place Suites; Mike Feigenbaum - The Westin Hotel Tuesday, February 5, 2019 7:00 PM Community Room 1.0 Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Mike Fugiel at 7:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Bill Mrazek. 2.0 Roll Call Present 5 - Mike Fugiel, Lori Solyom, Phil Dahm, William Mrazek, and Brad Hanewall Absent 4 - Marguerite Micken, Jill Payne, Joe Orsolini, and Nancy Schukat Also present: Tim Glennon, Glenbard East Boosters, Leslie Sulla, Lombard Historical Society, Justin Roach, DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau, Marco Colbert, Prairie State Cycling Series, LLC, Nicole Aranas, Staff Liaison. 3.0 Public Participation None. Village of Lombard Page 1 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 5, 2019 4.0 Approval of Minutes A motion to approve minutes of the January 8, 2019, committee meeting was made by Lori Solyom, seconded by Bill Mrazek. The motion passed by unanimous vote. 5.0 Old Business None. 6.0 New Business 190037 Local Tourism Grant Application 2019 - DuPage Preseason Invitational Grant Request from Firebirds Soccer Club, in the amount of $7,500 from Hotel/Motel funds for the DuPage Preseason Invitational. The funds will be used to support the overall soccer tournament expenses and for marketing. The event will begin August 30, 2019. The Firebird Soccer Club representatives were not present to review the grant for the DuPage Preseason Invitational Tournament. This item was tabled to the March 5, 2019, committee meeting. 190016 Local Tourism Grant Application 2019 - Lombard Ale Fest Grant request from the Glenbard East Boosters in the amount of $10,000 from Hotel/Motel funds for expenses for the event. Expenses include tents, fencing, security, marketing and street closure. The event will take place June 8, 2019. Tim Glennon represented the Glenbard Boosters Local Tourism Grant application for the Lombard Ale Fest on June 8, 2019. This is the fifth year the Boosters are holding the Ale Fest and they are requesting a $10,000 grant, which covers 22% of expenses. The event will start at noon. Many of the attendees of the event then overflow into Cruise Night event downtown, which boosts attendance. Attendees eat and drink downtown, visit other parts of Lombard and patronize local restaurants. The Boosters use proceeds to offset spending on a 10 year note to pay off the turf field at Glenbard East. Currently, the Boosters owe $33,000 on the note. Boosters pays for 65% of the athletic costs for GEHS which includes basic necessities for the athletic program. To offset the costs, the Village of Lombard Page 2 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 5, 2019 Booster Club holds a Red and Black Ball and as well as the Lombard Alefest. Committee Member Lori Solyom asked if the profits are used to fund other charities? Tim responded that a number of the volunteers are supplied by the Lombard Historical Society and Sarah Richardt, director of the Lombard Historical Society, is a Chairperson of the committee. She handles Compliance by completing the grant application, the Liquor Application and Special Event Application, so the committee gives something back to the LHS. Committee Member Bill Mrazek asked if the Boosters are doing anything new this year? Tim replied they are reviewing the entertainment and bringing in new bands. They have also previously considered use of the space to do something on the Friday night. This is something the Boosters have discussed but have not had any takers yet. Volunteers are needed to operate something on Friday night but nothing has materialized. The Boosters would love to have a partnership with the local hotels to stay and play through the event to support the hotels. A motion by was made by Bill Mrazek, seconded by Brad Hanewall to approve a grant for $10,000 from Hotel/Motel funds to the Glenard East Booster Club. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. 190015 Local Tourism Grant Application 2019 - Sheldon Peck Exhibit Grant Request from the Lombard Historical Society in the amount of $15,000 from Hotel/Motel funds for production of the Sheldon Peck, Noted Folk Artist: Footsteps of His Life Portrait Exhibition. The funds will be used for marketing, insurance, security and shipping expenses. The Exhibit will take place June 4 through August 31, 2019. The Lombard Historical Society grant application for funding for the Sheldon Peck Exhibit was represented by Leslie Sulla. Leslie provided the committee with handouts representing the exhibit. Since the initial application of the grant request, the LHS has decreased the funding request to $13,460. They have approved a request at 18% of funding for the event. Total costs increased but the funding request has decreased due to even more in-kind donations than expected. The exhibit will take place in June, July and August at the Sheldon Peck Homestead. Sheldon Peck was an itinerant painter, his work is displayed in the National Folk Art Museum, as well other National museums. The only time there was ever a collection of Peck paintings was in 1970’s by the Whitney museum which displayed16 paintings from around the country which was a unique experience. There will be antiques and art weeklies. The LHS will have flyers on where to stay and where to eat. Committee Chairperson Lori Solyom asked if the LHS has cooperation with the Chicago Art Institute. Leslie responded Village of Lombard Page 3 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 5, 2019 the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau is doing a lot with us. Lori stated that Sheldon Peck’s son started the Art Institute and suggested the LHS maybe make a connection with them as well. Chairperson Mike Fugiel noted the unique facet is that this is a one-time event. Leslie added that this is very well thought out and planned and that there are some intricate obstacles. The LHS is excited about holding this event. Staff Liaison Nicole Aranas provided information on the DCVB grant request the LHS received for this event. Lori asked if there is an admission charge? Leslie replied that yes, a request will be made for a $5 donation at the door ($5,000 is budgeted). The LHS can’t give it away because this is going to be amazing. Lori Solyom stated this is a great tie-in to the documentary. A motion to approve $13,460 from Hotel/Motel funds to the Lombard Historical Society for the Sheldon Peck Exhibit was made by Lori Solyom, seconded by Phil Dahm. The motion was approved by all. 190021 Local Tourism Grant Application 2019 - Lombard’s Civil War Reenactment Grant Request from Stanford’s Mississippi Battery Inc., in the amount of $8,600 from Hotel/Motel funds for the Lombard Civil War Reenactment. The funds will be used to provide entertainment, supplies, logistics and advertisement. The event will take place July 20 through July 22, 2019. The Lombard Civil War grant has been tabled to a subsequent meeting. 190029 Local Tourism Grant Application 2019 - Lombard Cycling Classic Grant Request from DuPage Convention and Visitor's Bureau for Prairie State Cycling Services, LLC, in the amount of $10,000 from Hotel/Motel funds for the Lombard Cycling Classic. The funds will be used for the race fee. The event will take place July 23, 2019. Marco Colbert of the Prairie State Cycling Series, LLC and Justin Roach of the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau represented the grant application for the Lombard Cycling Classic. Justin is the director of business development for DCVB. Justin provided a memo to accompany the original application noting the grant request is being requested by DCVB. Justin noted that the Village has been a benefactor of sports tourism efforts in the past. Next week the Westin will have Olympic level National Weight Lifting. A USBC Bowling tournament is also being planned expecting 30,000 visitors and Lombard has been a huge participant in getting that here. DCVB’s long term vision for sports tourism is to get additional sports tourism events. With weightlifting it is something that is competitively sought after from Village of Lombard Page 4 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 5, 2019 year to year and DCVB wants to create new local product for sports tourism. DCVB has worked with Marco and his team. They have two events as part of a cycling series, in Elmhurst and Glen Ellyn. They are seeking to add a third day to get more room nights from the weeklong event. The cycling event will provide seed money of $2,000, to recruit local sponsors and supporters with a plan to wean off of the grant funding and DCVB. The DCVB will be the local host agency and the grant, if awarded, will be awarded to the DCVB. DCVB will also provide the volunteers. Marco is the owner of the Prairie State Cycling Series and is in their 8th season of hosting these cycling races in the Chicago metro area. Their group loves being in Elmhurst and Glen Ellyn. Marco stated bike races are a multi-year project and they take years to mature and grow. In the second and third year they would think that the event would be well attended and reach full potential. It’s a family friendly event festival that has a bike race. The race course we are hoping to have is in the downtown area and usually the local businesses benefit, particularly food and beverage. Chairperson Mike Fugiel asked Marco to provide information about the number of participants and racing. Marco responded that each day they will have 10-12 bike races from 10 a.m. going continuously until 8:20 in the evening. The races get progressively more competitive throughout the day. Chairperson Mike Fugiel asked about the length of the course? Marco replied that it’s a road race criterion on the street, a loop of 1 mile or less (.8 or .9 is what we are looking at). The racers come around frequently, every 3-4 minutes. Justin noted that the race is a very fast paced event similar NASCAR on two wheels. Lori Solyom asked if there is a charitable aspect of these events. Marco responded that it fits our business model to partner with DCVB because they are good at running races but we need a local partner and we are really happy that they working with DCVB. He added that Elmhurst partners were able to raise more in donations in the first year than their costs and they brought in a lot of sponsorships and were able to give back to the community. Lori Solyom stated, we have heard that before, but I applaud it. Committee member Bill Mrazek asked if the races take place in all types of weather? Marco replied that yes they race in all types of weather unless they experience lightning or severe winds. Nicole Aranas explained the funding request has been reduced from $10,000 to $7,000, from the Village of Lombard, plus Village services. DCVB is committing to fund a minimum of $2,000 towards the event and is also applying for tourism grant funds from the State. The funding request from the Village is also to cover Village costs, which would Village of Lombard Page 5 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 5, 2019 include police, public works and barricade rental costs, which have been estimated by the Departments to amount to between $5,000 and $6,000. We have people coming from outside Illinois. $7,000 is what is on the table now. Lori Solyom commented that she can see the appeal of this and sees this as seed money. Honestly, this is the best proposal I have heard. A motion was made by Lori Solyom, seconded by Phil Dahm, for $7,000 from the Hotel/Motel fund and Village expenses, with the stipulation that the DCVB provides a $2,000 grant and State grant funds are approved. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. 7.0 Other Business None. 8.0 Information Only It was noted that Tuesday, March 5th, is the next meeting. 9.0 Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Phil Dahm, seconded by Brad Hanewall. The motion was approved by all at 7:41 p.m. Village of Lombard Page 6