McHenry Times

City of Harvard Events Committee met May 19.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Chairman Evers called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm. Committee members present: Laura Evers, Raul Meza, Scott Logan, Lori Moller, Derek Malinowski, Francine Sinderson and Katie Sumano. Member Sonia Hernandez was absent. A quorum was present. Also present were Mayor Kelly, Kristine Austin with Visit McHenry County and Will McKay, Harvard Moose Lodge.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None

MINUTES - APPROVED

A motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Derek Malinowski to approve the Events Committee Meeting Minutes of April 20, 2020, as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

TREASURER’S REPORT

No Report. Treasurer Scott Logan stated that there were no financial transactions since the last meeting.

CORRESPONDENCE

None

EVENTS COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

The following board members expressed their desire to renew their term: Derek Malinowski and Francine Sinderson. This will be included in the City Directory to be approved at the next City Council meeting.

FOOD TRUCK FEASTIVAL – POSTPONED UNTIL 2021

The Committee discussed whether to move forward or cancel the event based on the Governor’s current guidelines. A motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Francine Sinderson to postpone the Food Truck Feastival until 2021. All ayes. Motion carried. The Committee was open to planning an informal, impromptu event in September/October that would be on a smaller scale depending on the Governor’s guidelines.

• Derek reported that he contacted American Mobile Staging who was willing to carry over the deposit in the amount of $1,100 until 2021.

• The general consensus was to refund food truck vendors who already submitted payment. Laura will contact the vendors and advise them of the Committee’s decision to postpone the event until 2021.

CHRISTMAS IN HARVARD

Chairman Evers asked the committee chairmen to work on their portion of the event and report next month. Adjustments can be made as we get closer to the event to determine where we’re at with the Governor’s guidelines.

NEW BUSINESS/OTHER EVENTS

Beautify Harvard Virtual Contest (Raul/Derek)

Alderman Meza outlined a proposal to have a Beautify Harvard Virtual Contest for community residents to submit pictures of their gardens, landscaping, etc. This originally was something the Mayor was looking for the City Council to do but Raul thought perhaps the Events Committee could take it on as we don’t have any upcoming events. He was willing to donate out of his alderman’s pay to provide a gift card to Harvard Nursery or True Value as the winning prize. The contest could be shared on the City Events Facebook page which would generate traffic and content to the page. A subcommittee was set up comprised of Alderman Meza and Derek Malinowski to move forward with the contest.

The contest could be tied in with the We Are Harvard campaign. Mayor Kelly asked Lori to put an ad on the digital sign at 5-points that the signs are available for purchase at City Hall.

Mayor Kelly suggested that the final 5 contestants be determined by the committee with the final entries posted on the Facebook page for residents to vote on. He also suggested creating a list of rules to set expectations so contestants understand the criteria and qualifications necessary to enter the contest.

Katie joined the meeting at 5:45 pm.

The contest should be limited to properties in City limits with entries including name/address in order to vet the pictures that are submitted. Picture submittals can be sent either through Facebook or to Lori’s email (moller@cityofharvard.org) with entries to include name of the contest in the subject line. Lori will forward any email submittals to Raul and Derek.

Chairman Evers asked Treasurer Logan if the Committee had funds to contribute towards the prize money. Treasurer Logan reported that the Committee doesn’t have any profit/loss statement for the current fiscal year which just started May 1st, but the Committee ended the last fiscal year which ended April 30th ahead by $1,847. A motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Derek Malinowski that the Events Committee contribute $250 towards the Beautify Harvard Virtual Contest with the subcommittee to determine the actual levels and prizes to be awarded. All ayes. Motion carried.

Super Hero Mother-Son Dance 2021 (Katie) 

No report

Fourth of July 2021 (Scott) 

No report

EVENTS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

No report

MAYOR’S REPORT

Mayor Kelly thanked the Committee for taking on the neighborhood recognition program he was looking to get started from the City. Hopefully this contest gets the program off the ground and a more robust one can be formulated that is ongoing. Getting this out now will get people engaged and allows them to put some pride in their property and get recognized.

UPCOMING MEETING DATE

The next regular meeting is June 16, 2020, at 5:30 pm.

At 5:57 pm, a motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Derek Malinowski to adjourn the meeting. All ayes. Motion carried.

https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/events_committee/meeting/12691/minutesevents2020-05-19.pdf