Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole met Feb. 1.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
CALL TO ORDER
President Troy Parlier called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Board Members Physically Present: President Troy Parlier; Trustees Tom Guist, Kit Kuhrt, James Marter II, Terry Olson, and Jennifer Jones Sinnott.
Board Members Absent: Trustee Brian Thomas (attended at 6:03pm).
Staff Physically Present: Dan Di Santo, Village Administrator; Christina Burns, Deputy Administrator/HR Director; Tina Touchette, Village Clerk; Jeff Burgner, Police Chief; Jennifer Hughes, Public Works Director; Rod Zenner, Development Services Director; Scott McMaster, Economic Development Director; Joe Renzetti, IG/GIS Director; Corey Incandela, Administrative Intern; Julie Hoffman, Community Engagement- Special Events; and Karl Ottosen, Village Attorney.
CONSIDERATION OF AND POSSIBLE ACTIONS ON ANY REQUESTS FOR ELECTRONIC PARTICIPATION IN MEETING
President Parlier noted that Trustee Thomas would like to electronically attend tonight’s meeting. Trustee Thomas submitted the necessary documents to the Village Clerk.
A motion was made by Trustee Olson and seconded by Trustee Marter II to approve Trustee Brian Thomas to electronically attend the February 1, 2022 Committee of the Whole Meeting.
Aye: Tom Guist Kit Kuhrt
James Marter II Terry Olson
Jennifer Jones Sinnott
Nay: None
Absent: Brian Thomas
The motion was declared carried by a roll call vote with five (5) aye votes and zero (0) nay votes. Trustee Brian Thomas attended electronically at 6:03 p.m.
PUBLIC FORUM
Public Forum was opened at 6:03 p.m. There was no one who requested to speak. The public forum was closed at 6:03 p.m.
OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business.
NEW BUSINESS
G.1 2022 Special Events Calendar and Budget discussion
Deputy Administrator Burns and Julie Hoffman addressed the Board regarding special events.
• Thursday free events= approximately 600 attendees
• Saturday paid events= approximately 1,500 attendees
• Darker yellow depicts new Venue events
• Saturday events will be at an increased cost
• Need good weather to have profitable events
• Expand brand
Staff is seeking:
• Village Board direction on the proposed 2022 events calendar
• Based on the direction, staff requests a one-time transfer to the Special Events Fund to “pre-fund” the 2022 season
Board and staff discussion focused on looking forward to 2022 events; returning to normal and maybe better; sponsorship for events; transfer of funds to support programs; had to cancel some events due to COVID; begin marketing; tickets sold at VetFest varied night by night, but the Village did not track; tough to estimate because of the one for one ticket sales; Aurora Visitors Bureau can help with marketing; $25,000-$100,000 for a national act; numbers seem high; seasonal workers versus Public Works personnel; time Public Works spends preparing for events taking them away from core functions; whether there is an issue with the union contract by hiring seasonal workers; Public Works wants assistance for events; have rental agreements for organizations wanting to rent the Venue; staff will begin marketing the Venue; number and type of events; can add a national act in lieu of one of the Saturday events; whether there is a chance of oversaturating of events; four paid events; Thursday night before a paid event will be a movie event; spoke to 18-25 communities that are running successful event series’; could take 1-3 years to become successful; like that they are revenue positive; overtime is added to the event expenses; whether events can be insured if there is bad weather; Christmas Drive-Thru was the largest net negative; will determine whether to continue with this event; will bring back to a future meeting to discuss; Board will not pick and approve the concerts; staff will keep the Board updated; staff will keep the genre different; how to gauge the turnout for events; will change marketing plan as we go along; capacity at the Venue; could expand to the parking lots; if an act is over $25,000, it will need to go to the Board for approval; whether we are getting our money’s worth with the Aurora Visitors Bureau; attorney to look at the Special Event Fund; if a contract with an act needs Board approval, we may lose the band if having to wait for a Board meeting; Village will be the producer. Board consensus was given to move forward with the yellowed events, national act and the moving of funds to the Special Events Fund. There was no further discussion.
G.2 Trustee Engagement Opportunities
Trustee Kuhrt addressed the Board regarding ideas of engaging the community. He would like to do coffee with seniors, ice cream socials, engaging with mom groups, and bingo nights with seniors. People don’t understand project developments. People could sign up to talk about the Village. He is still brainstorming on what it looks like and how we do it. We have a lot coming in and need different ways to engage; wanting more than the booths and expos; people want to know about the water; if Troy cancels, then the Trustees can go. He wants to get information out and get in front of people. Trying two events and see who signs up. The Oswego Chamber could help. It’s staff’s job to get involved and market.
Board and staff discussion focused on capitalizing on volunteering with what staff needs; good year to engage more; utilize events; too loud at music venues to engage the public; focus on open houses for the projects; Open Meetings Act concerns; Board is to provide information and not changing discussions into possible actions; after action open house; Board can all be together after a decision has been made; concerns with crowds that might be drawn; extra costs involved and don’t know if it will work; if using public funds for these engagements, then it’s public funds for a campaign; more workload on staff; being mindful of nights and weekends with regards to staff; Trustees had 65 events they could have attended; how much planning is needed by staff; would need permission from other taxing bodies; concerns with getting staff involved; need to know the costs. There was no consensus to move forward with Trustee engagement opportunities. There was no further discussion.
CLOSED SESSION
There was no closed session held.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 7:06 p.m.
https://www.oswegoil.org/home/showpublisheddocument/4743
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