McHenry Times

City of Harvard Events Committee met Dec. 17.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Vice-Chairman Meza called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm. Committee members present: Raul Meza, Scott Logan, Lori Moller, Derek Malinowski, Kim Raciborski, Francine Sinderson and Tina Viray. Members Laura Evers and Michelle Luis were absent. A quorum was present. Also present were Mayor Kelly and Sonia Hernandez.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None

MINUTES - APPROVED

A motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Tina Viray to approve the Events Committee Meeting Minutes of November 12, 2019, as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

TREASURER’S REPORT - APPROVED

Treasurer Scott Logan reviewed the Treasurer’s report. Current net income for Christmas in Harvard is $3,190.47. There are a few outstanding invoices that haven’t been submitted. There is also one outstanding Christmas Tree Sponsorship. A motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Lori Moller to accept the Treasurer’s Report as submitted. All ayes. Motion carried.

Milk Center 4H submitted $26 in cash to the Events Committee which represents 50% of the sales of the tamales and hot chocolate. After discussion, a motion was made by Francine Sinderson, seconded by Lori Moller to give Milk Center 4H the proceeds in the amount of $26. All ayes. Motion carried.

At Scott’s inquiry, Sonia replied that the Santa suit used for Visit with Santa belongs to Women for Harvard. Scott suggested giving Jeff Martin $50 for his duties as Santa. Sonia related that Women for Harvard typically give a donation to Santa in the amount of $50. After discussion, Sonia commented that she appreciated the offer but felt that that since Visit With Santa has always been a Women for Harvard event, it should be their decision.

It was noted that Laura has already spoken with Agija at Kelley’s who had a different Santa at Breakfast with Mrs. Claus which created some confusion. Laura advised her that Breakfast with Mrs. Claus should just be Mrs Claus.

CORRESPONDENCE

A thank you letter was received from the Harvard Commuity Education Foundation for the donation of the Money Tree to the Black and Gold Ball.

COMMUNITY MOVIE NIGHT

There were 30 in attendance at the December 7th Movie Night. Upcoming Movie Night

January 18 Abominable

EVENTS COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP/ACCEPT MICHELLE LUIS’ RESIGNATION

A motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Derek Malinowski to accept Michelle Luis’ resignation from the Events Committee, with regrets. All ayes. Motion carried.

CHRISTMAS IN HARVARD REVIEW/COMMENTS

• Scott indicated he would like to change up the categories for the parade and increase the prizes from $25 to $50 for next year. Another option discussed was a traveling trophy for the winners. Tina suggested having a category for families/individuals to participate.

• The Friday evening parade and new route went well. It was suggested to change the time to 7 pm and to encourage businesses to stay open later.

• Raul suggested bringing back the Window Decorating Contest. Sonia recommended reaching out to Interact or other high school group to see if they would like to participate with decorating the windows and maybe facepainting. Lori suggested taking advantage of the City Newsletter to get the word out.

• Francine and Lori noted that all the vendors they spoke with did very well and had nothing but positive comments. Francine recommended having smaller spaces for the craft show, 10’ x 8’, which opens up more aisle room and room for 5 additional vendors. Laura and Lori met with Will McKay at the Moose about having multiple locations for the craft show and he was very open to the idea. Francine noted we need to make sure

that each location charges the same vendor fee.

• Lori related a comment on behalf of the Mayor to have a tent for refreshments after the tree lighting ceremony.

Another idea discussed was to locate the tree in the area outside of City Hall and to consider planting a tree as a permanent location that could be used in the future. If the tree were relocated, once the new PD is constructed, the new community room at City Hall could be used after the tree lighting ceremony for refreshments.

• Raul asked who maintains the pedestal lights where Harmilda is located. This area could also be decorated for Christmas in Harvard. Raul will contact Bryce Bannwolf.

• Laura’s written comments are included in the agenda packet and will be reviewed at our next meeting.

FOOD TRUCK FEASTIVAL – SEPTEMBER 19, 2020

Kim suggested having a Taco Fest with different taco vendors for this year’s Feastival. Scott felt it would be easy to incorporate a taco fest with the food trucks, inviting food trucks and several taco trucks. Incorporate a food competiton with the feastival with every paid admission getting one ticket.

Kim contacted Los Logos who submitted a quote in the amount of $30,000. She proposed having a Battle of the Bands with area bands. Sonia inquired about the band Rico, Shake the Lake. Lori suggested having a battle of the bands earlier in the day with a paid act later in the evening.

Food Vendors

• The event time frame needs to be determined so applications can be sent out to food vendors. Sunset in mid-September is at 7:30 pm. The consensus was to set the time of the event from 11 am – 7 pm so we don’t need as much lighting. That way we can move forward with the food vendor app and book entertainment accordingly.

• Scott suggested not allowing generators.

• The vendor fee should be tiered for late applications, with an initial fee of $100. A separate electric fee needs to be determined, perhaps similar to what was charged for Balloon Fest. The consensus was not to move forward with a blanket health department permit as we would need to have an individual on premise during the event that has a food handlers license. Add the time frame for Health Dept. permit submissions before a late fee is incurred. The application can be on the agenda for next meeting for final approval.

• The logo needs to be updated with the new date and location. Lori will forward Derek and Laura our current logo. Raul suggested incorporating Spanish into the flyer.

Discussed whether to charge for parking or admission:

• If you have an open gate, you need to have other means to generate revenue to cover expenses.

• Since the event is at Milky Way Park, other activities such as inflatables, petting zoo and bumper boats could be brought in.

• Raul suggested free access to the food area and having a smaller fenced in area for the entertainment where we would charge admission.

• Advise businesses that we would like to offer the event free to the public and have sponsorship cover the expense of the event. Fencing for sponsor banners would give them more visibility.

• We should utilize the fencing that we already have.

The consensus was to charge admission similar to last year with $5 per person with children 12 & under free. 

Lori will add the Feastival to the City website calendar.

NEW BUSINESS/OTHER EVENTS

Raul and Laura met with Amber with the Dual Language. They are working on an April event and Raul suggested the Events Committee have a table.

Sonia Hernandez was asked if she would be interested in filling the vacancy on the Events Committee. Sonia indicated she would be interested in serving on the Committee. This will be on the next Events Committee Agenda on January 21, 2020.

EVENTS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

No report.

MAYOR’S REPORT

No report.

UPCOMING MEETING DATE

The next regular meeting is January 21, 2020, at 5:30 pm.

At 6:35 pm, a motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Lori Moller to adjourn the meeting. All ayes. Motion carried.

https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/events_committee/meeting/12341/minutesevents2019-12-17.pdf