Committee of the Whole Meeting - October 7, 2025

The Oswego Village Board Committee of the Whole met on October 7, 2025, at 6:00 PM at Village Hall. The primary discussion focused on the Special Events Program update and planning for 2026, including the future of the venue concert series and staff workload. The board also considered improvements to the Village Board on Your Block program. A separate agenda item on pedestrian protection was deferred to a subsequent board meeting.

Discussion Items

Special Events Program Update and Planning Discussion

Community Relations staff presented a detailed recap of 2025 events, including the legislative breakfast, state of the village, Wine on the Fox, summer concert series, movies under the stars, Fourth of July fireworks, National Night Out, and Christmas Walk. Key financial highlights:

• Wine on the Fox, the most profitable event, generated approximately $60,000 in surplus despite lower attendance due to cold weather.
• The venue concert series struggled: without the final September concert (which had high attendance), the series would have exceeded expenditures by over $20,000. The series overall was close to breaking even for the first time since opening.
• Movies under the Stars attendance ranged from 200-300 per movie; equipment malfunctions led to rental costs, expected to be covered by sponsorships in 2026.
• Fireworks and Christmas Walk generate little to no revenue.

Staff emphasized the significant time commitment: the community relations team spends 75-100% of their time on events, leaving limited capacity for other duties such as communications, HR, and social media. The department has a pending hire for an events manager.

Four options for the venue were presented:

1. Revert to free/low-cost community use with no staff-run events; movies under the stars could return to Village Hall.
2. Move to three free Thursday night concerts, similar to movies under the stars, with patrons bringing food/drink and select vendors.
3. Host one post-Labor Day event (e.g., a music festival) in partnership with community organizations; movies under the stars could remain at the venue or return to Village Hall.
4. Explore hiring an outside entertainment firm to run the venue (staff expressed low feasibility for this option).

Board discussion included concerns about staff burnout, the purpose of the venue as a community asset, and the financial losses relative to staff time. Trustee Hughes favored Option 1, noting it would free staff for other priorities while still allowing community use. Trustee Novi preferred Option 3 (a single post-Labor Day event) but acknowledged the need to first address staffing. Trustee Torres supported Option 4 (outsourcing) but others doubted its viability. There was broad agreement to reduce fee barriers for third-party venue rentals and to allow the incoming events manager to evaluate and recommend a long-term plan.

Village Board on Your Block Integration

The board discussed combining the Village Board on Your Block program with existing high-attendance events such as Prairie Fest, National Night Out, Hometown Expo, and the senior center meeting, rather than holding separate neighborhood events that saw low turnout. This was seen as a way to increase resident interaction with trustees without additional staff burden.

Key Outcomes

• The board reached a consensus to pursue Option 1 (revert the venue to free/low-cost community use) as an interim measure, pending the hire and recommendations of the new events manager.
• Staff will immediately work to reduce fee barriers and promote the venue for third-party rentals.
• The Village Board on Your Block program will be consolidated with Prairie Fest, National Night Out, Hometown Expo, and the senior center annual meeting, eliminating standalone neighborhood events.
• The pedestrian protection discussion (agenda item F.2) was deferred to a future board meeting.
• The meeting adjourned after the Committee of the Whole session, with a five-minute break before the regular board meeting.