Now that another Heritage Festival is behind us, perhaps the Council can reevaluate some errors in judgement. Tourism and Events Commission has taken charge of the Heritage Festival. It is made up of Director Mary Scalzetti and 8 appointed members and chaired by Commissioner Martin Tully. Director Mary Scalzetti has stated, "Heritage Festival was originally intended to honor non-profit groups". I question what decisions being made help the non-profit organizations? Ms. Scalzetti has also stated that the Village doesn't charge non-profits for vendor booths. That simply is not true. What, if any, non-profit group's fee was waived. This year the application fee alone was raised a minimum of $20. At this time, I would like to publically request a $70 refund for the booth rented by the Downers Grove Watch.
For the first time this Village had a corporate sponsor. Pepsi gave us $5,300. With that decision, many non-profit organizations lost a great deal. We also lost our freedom of choice and much ill will was generated. How much of the cost of Heritage Festival did this sponsorship actually defray? Perhaps Pepsi could have donated their beverage to the non-profit organizations rather than being permitted to dictate the cash-only purchase and the selling price of the beverage. Where is democracy headed next?
Then there's the parking deck. This Downers Grove Village Council decided that the taxpayers are responsible for the $22+ million tab for that structure. Appointed employees of the Village decided what organization gets the parking deck income during Heritage Festival. a student group J. Kyle Braid - from the high school. The school and the Village are separate taxing bodies and separate administrations. The Tourism and Events Commission could not (or would not) give me a phone number or contact name for this group. Tourism and Events did not know the amount of money collected during Heritage Festival for the parking deck. I had to ask School District 99 for the information. The income received for parking during the Heritage Festival weekend totaled $9,462.20 a lot more than what Pepsi contributed.
This was another decision not made by Council. No non-profit organizations were given the opportunity to apply for this large income opportunity. Instead a few appointed members of the Tourism and Events Commission determined who was to receive that money.
On the other hand, as was appropriate, the bus income of $7,233 earned during Heritage Festival was placed in the transportation fund. Why wasn't this done with the parking deck income? The Council does not appear to be at all concerned with the fiscal impact of the decisions being made in our Village, nor are they directing staff to perform with the best financial interests of the taxpayer in mind. It's not obvious how the Village is helping to enhance and highlight the non-profits in town?
On top of that, on July 8 - a work day for most of us - the Tourism and Events Commission spent $1,100 to have an appreciation picnic for the Heritage Festival staff. The Heritage Festival is the staff's job. No, this picnic was not donated by any corporation. The taxpayers were not invited.
I attended the Tourism and Events Commission meeting in which the Heritage Festival was reviewed. For those who don't know, one of the missions of this Commission is to enhance our quality of life. Whose quality of life are they working on? Certainly not those desperately volunteering with non-profits and not the taxpayers' either. This Commission is chaired by none other than Commissioner Tully. Why then did the Council not know about the Pepsi contract before it was signed? Were they informed about the parking deck income? At the review meeting, member Patty Marino was vocal in her statement that she hoped her son or daughter would earn a scholarship from the J.Kyle Braid Group. Get the picture here? The public is not part of the picture. Special agendas by a select few are unacceptable.
It appears that the staff and other appointees are controlling the process. The staff should be following the direction of this Council, who was elected to represent the community's best interests. This council did not vote to accept the conditions of the Pepsi sponsorship. This Council did not vote to turn over parking deck income to a small group of high school students. No other organization was given the opportunity to request this income for their group.
The current purchasing policy allows for these decisions without a Village Council vote, but that is not right. Just such decisions should indicate that a review of the purchasing policy is required now.
If it wasn't so typical of our village administration, I would say I was amazed by the arrogance and mis-guided decisions made for this year's Heritage Festival. This council appears to be incapable of monitoring cash outflow. The inappropriate decisions by staff that are being permitted puts the integrity of this Village in question. Public policy dictates a vote by council for something of this magnitude. Elected officials should be accountable for the decisions and the public should have input.
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