Community Promotion & Tourism

Village Hall Village of Lombard 255 East Wilson Ave. Lombard, IL 60148 villageoflombard.org Minutes Community Promotion & Tourism Trustee Bernie Dudek, Chairperson, Trustee Andrew Honig, Alternate Chairperson, Marguerite Micken, Joe Orsolini, Nancy Schukat, Phil Dahm, Nicholas Piron, Jim Grilllo, Gayle Kankovsky and Amy LeBeau Ex-Officio Members: Melissa Infusino - Lombard Chamber of Commerce; Beth Marchetti - DuPage Convention & Visitors' Bureau; Yorktown Centre - Josh Dean; Embassy Suites - Mike Hansen; Sure Stay Plus - Randy Cline; Sonesta ES Suites - Alan Gagnon; Extended Stay America (22nd) - Iverliss Hernandez; Comfort Suites - Frank Balisteri; Extended Stay America (Technology) - Adriana DeHoyos; Fairfield Inn & Suites - Tamara Rodgers; Hyatt Place - Arvyda Mikalainis; Towne Place Suites - Ashley Libbe; The Westin - Kym Myers Tuesday, January 18, 2022 7:00 PM Village Hall Board Room 1.0 Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance The meeting was called to order by Chairperson, Bernie Dudek at 7:15 pm The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Nicole Aranas. Chairperson Bernie Dudek, welcomed new committee Jim Grillo. 2.0 Roll Call Present 8 - Bernie Dudek, Andrew Honig, Marguerite Micken, Nancy Schukat, Nicholas Piron, Jim Grillo, Gayle Kankovsky, and Amy LeBeau Absent 2 - Joe Orsolini, and Phil Dahm Also Present: Britney Conway, Lombard Jr. Women’s Club, Melissa Infusino, Lombard Chamber of Commerce, Sharon Rakowski and Cindy Ward, Lombard Garden Club, Ellyn Murphy, Lombard Lilac Festival Parade Committee and Nicole Aranas, Staff Liaison. Village of Lombard Page 1 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes January 18, 2022 3.0 Public Participation None. 4.0 Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Nancy Schukat, seconded by Gayle Kankovsky, to approve the minutes of the November 2, 2021, committee meeting. The motion passed by unanimous vote. 5.0 Old Business None. 6.0 New Business Chairperson Dudek shared with the committee and the grant recipients that this year the committee will vote on approving the grant awards after all the 2022 grants have been presented. The committee will vote at the February 1, 2022, committee meeting. 220002 Local Tourism Grant Application 2022 - Lilac Princess Program Grant request from the Lombard Jr. Women's Club in the amount of $6,000 from Hotel/Motel funds for expenses supporting the Lilac Princess Program. The grant will support expenses related to the Coronation of the Lilac Queen and her Court and scholarships awarded to the court. The program begins in March and culminates May 15, 2021. The Local Tourism Grant application for the Lilac Princess Program was presented to the committee by Brittney Conway of the Lombard Jr. Women’s Club. The Lilac Princess Program has been a part of Lombard since 1920. The Lombard Jr. Women’s Club has run the program for the last 22 years. The Lilac Princess Program is a scholarship program for young women ages 16-21 in the Village of Lombard. The Lilac Court will be chosen on March 6th. The court will serve as ambassadors in the Village for the Lilac Time events. The Lombard Jrs. are requesting a grant of $6,000, which is same amount requested last year. The total cost of the project is approximately $10,300. Of the $6,000 requested in the grant, $5,000 will cover the scholarships awarded to the court. Hotel stays are estimated at 10 overnight stays. The Lombard Jrs. also Village of Lombard Page 2 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes January 18, 2022 hold their interviews at the Embassy Suites for one day. In 2019 the Lilac Princess program was able to track 15 hotel stays. Due to COVID, the event did not produce any hotel stays in 2020 or 2021. The Lombard Jr Women’s club holds fundraisers to help support the program. Last year dining out fundraisers, which are popular, earned $440. They will hold similar fundraisers again this year. The Lombard Jrs. also rely on in kind donations. The Lombard Jrs. have reduced their grant request amounts over the years. However, due to COVID, fundraising numbers were down, and the grant request amount is the same as in 2021. Chairperson Bernie Dudek asked for an explanation of how the Lombard Jrs., track the hotel stays. Brittney responded the information is shared by the Lilac Court members and their families. Chairperson Dudek also asked about the detailed budget included in the application, specifically, the revenues are higher than the expenses, and he is curious why the Lombard Jrs. is asking for assistance with the program. Brittney responded that they are anticipating revenues of $2,000 over expenses. However, because they are unsure of the fundraising revenues and the in-kind donations for 2022, they are planning for unseen expenses. 220003 Local Tourism Grant Application 2022 - Lilac Time Art & Craft Fair Grant request from the Lombard Chamber of Commerce in the amount of $4,100 from Hotel/Motel funds to cover the cost of Village services (Police, Public Works and Fire Department overtime). The fair is scheduled for May 1, 2022. The Local Tourism Grant application for the Lilac Time Art & Craft Fair was presented to the committee by Melissa Infusino of the Lombard Chamber of Commerce. The Arts and Crafts Fair will take place on May 1, 2022. Last year, the event was hosted in October due to COVID restrictions in May of 2021. The number of vendors at the event was smaller than previous years; the Chamber is hoping the number of vendors will increase over last year. This event normally attracts approximately 3,000 people to the Lombard area. At this time, there 38 vendors registered, 20 of them from out of town. Vendors are coming to Lombard from Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa and hotel stays by vendors are anticipated. Village of Lombard Page 3 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes January 18, 2022 The Chamber will have musical talent at the event. They also provide a kids area with blow up activities. They are working in partnership with the Lombard Jr. Women’s Club who is holding the Princess Coronation on the same day to draw crowds from one event to the other. The Chamber is requesting $4,100 in Village Services which includes barricades, Public Works overtime and Police presence at the event. The event in 2021 did not bring in revenue, all revenue listed on the budget came in from 2020. The Chamber is asking for $4,100 because of the uncertainty in donations due to businesses recovering from the effects of COVID. In the past Portolets and toters are donated by Waste Management; they are unsure at this time if Waste Management will donate the equipment in 2022. This is the largest fundraising event for non-dues revenue for the Chamber. They anticipate costs of the event will be higher due to a lack of sponsorship and donations. The budget is set with the anticipation of 150 vendors. Last year they had 78 vendors register. Many backed out when the event was cancelled in 2020 and did not return last year. The event will also have food vendors, but the number of outside food vendors is limited in order to promote the local restaurants. Committee member Jim Grillo asked Melissa if any revenues from the event will be returned back to the community. Melissa responded that in the past the Chamber has donated to local non-profits. Their board is currently in discussion on where to send their support, but at this time they are also trying to build up non-dues revenue for the Chamber of Commerce to make up for revenue lost due to COVID. Amy LeBeau entered the meeting at 8:00 pm. Chairperson Dudek asked if Melissa had details of the previous grant awards by the Village of Lombard. Melissa thought the amount of the request is similar to what has been rewarded in the past. Chairperson Dudek also asked how the final amount paid out by the grant is determined. Nicole Aranas responded the Village tracks the costs incurred through project codes; the Village would cover the costs approved in the grant, any additional costs would be then billed to the Chamber. Melissa Infusino added that the cost of Village service was approximately $2,100 in 2021. Chairperson Dudek also asked how the Chamber tracks hotel stays. Melissa responded that she asks the vendors if they are staying in a hotel and she recommends Chamber hotels for their stay. Village of Lombard Page 4 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes January 18, 2022 Chairperson Dudek asked Melissa Infusino for more detail on the 35% of event expenses covered by the Chamber. Melissa listed the Chamber covers the cost of the bounce houses for the children’s entertainment, the musical entertainment and printing costs for signage and advertising. Committee Member Nick Piron, asked where vendors sign up the for event. Melissa responded they register on the Lombard Chamber website. 220004 Local Tourism Grant Application 2022 - Lilac Sale Grant request from the Lombard Garden Club in the amount of $2,000 from Hotel/Motel funds to cover the cost of the purchase of lilac bushes to be sold. The sale is a three day event beginning May 5, 2022. The Local Tourism Grant application for the Lilac Sale was presented to the committee by Sharon Rakowski of the Lombard Garden Club. Cindy Ward was also present as the head of the Lilac Sale. This is the 7th year the Lombard Garden Club has submitted a grant application, consistently requesting $2,000. The Lombard Garden Club sponsors a scholarship program for graduating high school seniors who are majoring in horticulture or environmental sciences. Last year they awarded three $1,000 scholarships. The Lilac Sale is a well known event that has been taking place close to 45 years. This is the only fundraiser held by the Lombard Garden Club. The revenue from the fundraiser covers the cost of programs held by the club, speaker fees, rental fees and other operating expenses and programs, as well as the scholarship program. They also support gardens in the parks and support the Lilac Princess Program by providing a lilac to each of the members of the court. The club was able to continue the event through 2020 and 2021, delaying the 2020 sale until September, holding online sales both years. This year the club will hold the sale online and have lilacs available for in person purchasing. The Lombard Park District provides space for the sale and other assistance. In return, the Lombard Garden Club makes a donation to the park district for their support. The amount is usually around $450. They estimate 1,000-1,200 actually attend the Lombard Lilac Sale whether they purchase their plants online and pick-up or attend the sale for purchase of Lilacs. The grant also helps the club keep the cost of the Lilacs down. The event does not generate hotel stays, however, the event does support the local restaurants. Village of Lombard Page 5 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes January 18, 2022 Committee Member Jim Grillo asked where to go to access the online sale. Sharon responded the online catalog will be available on April 10th at www.Lombardgardenclub.org. They advertise in the Lombardian, Daily Herald, Facebook and will put notice of the sale on the Village communication board. Chairperson Dudek asked if the Garden Club and also asked Brittney Conway of the Lombard Jr. Women’s Club to comment whether either group advertises that they receive funding through a Village of Lombard Tourism grant to support the scholarship programs. Sharon responded she will ask her scholarship committee. Brittney Conway responded that they use a statement noting that the scholarship is funded by the Village of Lombard in their promotion of the preliminary interviews and also make note of the funding in a thank you published in the Lombardian. Nicole Aranas also noted that there is a requirement in the grant program that requests the grant recipient use specific attribution language; This program is sponsored in part by a grant from the Village of Lombard Local Tourism grant program. 220008 Local Tourism Grant Application 2022 - Lombard Lilac Parade Grant request from Lombard Lilac Festival Parade Committee in the amount of $18,000, plus the cost of Village Services, from Hotel/Motel funds to support all expenses of the parade, honorariums paid to the participants, advertising expenses and recognition expenses. The parade will take place on May 15, 2022. The Local Tourism Grant application for the Lombard Lilac Parade was presented to the committee by Ellyn Murphy, committee chair pro-tem of the Lombard Lilac Festival Parade Committee. The parade began in the 1930’s and has been a annual event since the 1950’s; the parade committee was formed in 1967. The committee is once again asking for a grant of $18,000, plus the cost of police, fire, ambulance barricades and public works services which amounts to approximately $18,000 as well, 50% of the actual cost of the parade. The entire cost of the parade is approximately $50,000. The $18,000 covers the cost of honorariums. The committee has to pay some commercial units and makes donations to other not-for-profits to cover the cost of participating in the parade, such as bus service and bus rental. Over the past couple of years, the committee has held fundraisers to help cover other costs of the parade. Unfortunately, in 2020 and 2021, due to COVID-19, the committee was unable to hold the fundraisers. The main fundraisers are the egg roll Village of Lombard Page 6 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes January 18, 2022 and Wine walk. The committee partners with Lombard businesses and the Lombard Park District for all supplies. Committee member Jim Grillo commented that in the application it was noted that they have not received a commitment from a sponsor, he asked if the parade committee is looking for a title sponsor for the parade. Ellyn Murphy responded that in in the past, the committee sends out requests for financial donations from local businesses, but because they have not held the parade in the 2020 or 2021, they have not asked business that sponsored them previously for additional funding because they were not getting any benefit. Chairperson Dudek asked to clarify the total cost of the parade to the Village of Lombard. The grant request is for $18,000 and the committee is asking the Village of waive the fees for services provided. Ellyn Murphy responded that this is correct. He also asked to clarify that the parade committee pays a large amount to honorariums and that the grant from the Village covers the expense entirely. Ellyn responded the committee reviews the participant applications they receive each year. They review the cost of the participants and make their decisions how popular the participant was in previous parades. Chairperson Dudek also asked if the committee is seeing an increase in costs from the participants this year? Ellyn responded that from the applications they received last year, the costs were pretty level. They have not begun receiving applications for the 2022 parade; the application process opens February 1st. Ellyn anticipates the returning units will remain the same or possibly ask for 10% more. Newer units that are less flexible in working with the committee on cost are not signed by the committee. Chairperson Dudek commented that he recalls how disappointed he was that the Village of Lombard cancelled the parade in 2019 due to weather and again the past 2 years as the parade date was moved and cancelled due COIVD-19, he feels the Village of Lombard becomes the fall guy in this situation. He would like to confirm the relationship between the Lombard Lilac Parade Committee and the Village of Lombard. Ellyn Murphy and Nicole Aranas, the Village staff liaison to the parade committee, responded that in 2019 it was not the parade committee’s decision to cancel the parade. The decision was made jointly with the committee, the Village Manager, the National Weather Service, the Fire Department and Police Department. Chairperson Dudek commented that the relationship the Village has with the committee is a complicated relationship than the Village does not have Village of Lombard Page 7 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes January 18, 2022 with other grant applicants. Nicole Aranas commented that she thought that many years, ago the Village was more involved in the planning of the parade. She also added that in the past 9 years the Village has assisted the parade committee in establishing themselves as a not-for-profit organization and the parade committee is a separate entity. The Village assists the committee with staff liaisons, such as Nicole and a liaison from the Police Department, who attend the committee meetings and the Village assists with funding through the grant program and services, but that the committee is independent. Ellyn Murphy added that she assumes that before the committee formed in 1967, the parade was a Village sponsored event. When Ellyn began volunteering on the committee in the 1990’s, the Village of Lombard funded the entire event. In the past 9 years, the committee was asked to begin fundraising to help cover the costs of the parade. Ellyn stated that the purpose of the committee is to produce a parade for the Village of Lombard. If the funding from the Village is discontinued, she feels the parade would be discontinued because the parade committee consists of a very dedicated core group of less than 10 volunteers, with approximately 45 volunteers to help the day of the parade. They are not professional fundraisers and volunteer with the committee to put on a parade. Cindy Ward of the Lombard Garden Club commented that all the events for LilacTime are a big deal in the Village of Lombard and that it takes coordination with the Village of Lombard and the Lombard Park District to produce the events to promote the Village of Lombard. 7.0 Other Business None. 8.0 Information Only Nicole Aranas, staff liaison commented that the final recommendations of the Community Promotion and Tourism committee for the Local Tourism Grants will be made after the final two grant applications are reviewed at the February 1, 2022, committee meeting. The recommendations of the committee will be sent to the Board of Trustees for final approval at the February 17th or the March 3rd BOT meetings. Village of Lombard Page 8 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes January 18, 2022 9.0 Ajournment A motion was made by Jim Grillo, seconded by Amy LeBeau, to adjourn the meeting at 8:46 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. Village of Lombard Page 9