Community Promotion & Tourism

Village Hall Village of Lombard 255 East Wilson Ave. Lombard, IL 60148 villageoflombard.org Minutes Community Promotion & Tourism Trustee Mike Fugiel, Chairperson, Trustee Bill Johnston, Alternate Chairperson, Jill Payne, Marguerite Micken, Joe Orsolini, Lori Solyom, Nancy Schukat, Phil Dahm, Bill Mrazek and Brad Hanewall Ex-Officio Members: Yvonne Invergo - Lombard Chamber of Commerce; Beth Marchetti - DuPage Convention & Visitors' Bureau; Yorktown Centre - Todd Hiepler; Neil De Guia - Embassy Suites; M. Jimenez - Extended Stay America; Randy Kline - Sure Stay Plus; Max Schultz - Hyatt Place; Karen Borris - Marriott Fairfield Inn; Maria Morales - Extended Stay America; Frank Balisteri - Comfort Suites; Maureen Fleetwood - Sonesta ES Suites; Nick Hefner - Towne Place Suites; Mike Feigenbaum - The Westin Hotel Tuesday, February 6, 2018 7:00 PM Community Room 1.0 Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Mike Fugiel at 7:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Jill Payne. 2.0 Roll Call Present 7 - Mike Fugiel, Jill Payne, Joe Orsolini, Lori Solyom, Nancy Schukat, William Mrazek, and Brad Hanewall Absent 2 - Marguerite Micken, and Phil Dahm Also Present: Carmel MacNamara-Ludwig, Firebirds Soccer Club and Nicole Aranas, Committee Liaison. 3.0 Public Participation None. Village of Lombard Page 1 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 6, 2018 4.0 Approval of Minutes A motion to approve the minutes of the January 16, 2018, committee meeting was made by Jill Payne, seconded by Bill Mrazek. The motion was passed by unanimous vote 5.0 Old Business 170208 Firebird Soccer Club 2017 Local Tourism Grant Reimbursement Discussion of a revision of the Firebird Soccer Club grant reimbursement. Five reimbursement options for the 2017 Local Tourism Grant will be discussed. The DuPage County Preseason Invitational tournament held by the Firebirds Soccer Club was not what they had proposed. Chairperson Mike Fugiel and Committee Liaison Nicole Aranas presented five options to the committee for revising the reimbursement of the 2017 Local Tourism Grant. Option A: Reimburse the entire initial grant award 100% = $10,440 Option B: Deny any award to grant recipient (0%) = $0 Option C: Cap the award at 50% of actual expenses = $6,631 Option D: Match ratio of initial grand award/budget expenses = $3,316 Option E: Match award to ratio of actual expenses to budget (41%) = $2,718 Committee Member Joe Orsolini asked if they had already gotten something through a Local Tourism Grant. Chairperson Fugiel responded yes, they were awarded the grant but they approached us to let us know that their turnout and response were not as expected. He also stated that we were in uncharted waters of having an event that did not materialize the way it was initially presented; Chairperson Fugiel then shared the options for reimbursement to be discussed. It was noted that the Firebirds still need to provide the village with the complete set of receipts for the expenditures that were made. Committee Member Bill Mrazek asked if The Firebirds are a 501C3. Carmel MacNamara replied that yes they have not-for profit status. Joe Orsolini commented that he feels the committee should do something to support the club through the grant program. He also stated that this type of event is what we want to encourage, because there will be hotels, dining, etc. There are growing pains but we want to encourage them along to help them to get it running at a bigger scale. Bill Mrazek agreed that it’s not easy to get a tournament running in the first year. Village of Lombard Page 2 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 6, 2018 Committee Member Lori Solyom noted that the committee is looking at their application for 2018 and they are trying to hit the same marks again. I want to encourage them to continue with their program. Committee Member Brad Hanewall asked how many teams you have. Carmel replied that the club didn’t have registration set up until June last year, this year we are already ready for people to register for our tournament online. They are participating in tournaments now and are trying to do new things. She said that she is in charge of a committee to get out of state participants to join our tournament. This year we are partnering with Chicago Fire and partnering with businesses to get a package together to have a stay to play package. She also stated that the club learned a lot last year. We also are paying for marketing to neighbors in Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana. Joe Orsolini asked if the Firebirds Club attends out of state tournaments. Carmel responded that yes, we go out of state for other events and we want to get them to come to our tournament. We will start off here but we would love to see incorporating soccer into the vision in Lombard and identifying other opportunities within the Village and eventually work with the Park District and Village to get a facility. This has started a larger discussion. Our goal was to start small with neighboring teams and getting them to get them to come here. Our teams played with teams from St. Louis, Indiana and other places and if they are coming here to tournaments elsewhere in the Chicago area, there is no reason they couldn’t come to Lombard. Chairperson Fugiel suggested the club leverage their out of state participation to have out of state teams to come here. Brad Hanewall asked how many teams participated in the tournament last year. Carmel replied there were 25 teams, but our goal is 65. Lori Solyom commented she felt it was a very doable goal and she felt the Firebirds are on track for this year. Lori Solyom stated she would be in favor of giving them 50% of the expenses because they set reasonable goals. Although they didn’t meet them, they aren’t increasing their expenses and are trying to meet their goals from last year. In addition, the Club is making an effort to try to fix the trouble spots. Lori would be in favor of Option C. Joe Orsolini asked if Option A and C are the same amount of money. Chairperson Fugiel responded that yes, the total amounts are the same but the by approving C, the Committee is setting a standard for the award and permitting funding at a different percentage than previously awarded. Lori noted she felt that it is better to recommend up to 50% so that the committee establishes a precedent that we will not award greater than Village of Lombard Page 3 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 6, 2018 50% of expenses. Chairperson Fugiel, noted that because we have not had this situation previously occur, our actions are precedent setting. Joe Orsolini asked how we have not already given them the money. Chairperson Fugiel stated that they came to us and said that they didn’t draw the teams they said and the ones they got were local. Nicole Aranas and I wanted to figure out how we would address this in the future. They made the expenditures already and the grant funds are awarded as a reimbursement. Lori Solyom stated she felt she would want this to be considered a reinvestment in the team rather than a job well done because they are going about it the right way. Joe Orsolini felt they did the right thing by coming to us. A motion was made by Jill Payne, seconded by Nancy Schukat, to revise the 2017 Local Tourism Grant to the Firebirds Soccer Club to 50% of expenses, equaling $6,631. The motion was passed by unanimous vote. 6.0 New Business 180019 Local Tourism Grant Application 2018 - DuPage County Preseason Invitational Soccer Tournament Grant Request from the Firebirds Soccer Club in the amount of $7,950, from Hotel/Motel funds for expenses supporting the overall soccer tournament. The expenses include marketing, trainers, referees, trophy's, facility use, and insurance. The tournament will take place August 17-19, 2018. Representing the Firebirds Soccer Club, Carmel MacNamara reiterated that the Firebirds very much appreciate that you recommended the 2017 award. The Club wants to take the resources they have and put them towards this year’s tournament. We think it will definitely grow. The Club learned so much along the way to organize the fields, teams, and now we reallocated committees because of the tasks. I personally want to be sure that we are getting the out of state individuals since that is an important part of the grants. The Club has also approached the organizers of the tournaments they attend to learn details of how to organize a tournament. A Schaumburg club gets people from all over and it is very complicated and now we have watched it and talked to them and now we know more about how to make a better investment and will help us. The group is committed to making things better in the long term for the Village. Carmen stated that through her involvement with the grant she has gotten more involved and will be a part of the Firebirds Club Board to see this come to fruition. She feels the numbers the Club has submitted are more valid, what we are reaching for is achievable. The club is working with Justin at DuPage Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, because he does Village of Lombard Page 4 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 6, 2018 things to bring people in from out of state and he is helping us with marketing, vendors and participants and is very helpful. We are looking for support for this year and we think we will be closer to what we are asking for and plan on having greater success. Lori Solyom asked whether she feels that the club is on track with their milestones and timetables. Carmel replied that yes, we are way ahead of where we want to be, we had Justin at a meeting to help us, we launched our save the date cards to other states and other teams. The Club has members in charge of vending, registration, etc. and feels they are on track. Joe Orsolini asked if they have players form other towns. Carmel responded they have players from Glen Ellyn, Addison and Villa Park. The Firebirds are asking for a grant of up to $7,950 this year. A motion was made by Joe Orsolini, seconded by Brad Hanewall, to approve a 2018 Local Tourism Grant of $7,950 to the Firebirds Soccer Club. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. 7.0 Other Business None. 8.0 Information Only Chairperson Fugiel shared with the committee that two other groups have applied for 2018 Local Tourism Grants. The committee has been asked to put the applications on hold while revisions of the applications are being considered. The Lombard Historical Society has sponsored a Civil War Reenactment Group in the past and is looking for a different sponsor. Glenbard Booster’s Ale fest is looking at, or contemplating an additional event on Friday night to make use the set up on Friday night as a smaller version of the Ale Fest. Lori Solyom commented that both have been successful events for us. 9.0 Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Lori Solyom, seconded by Nancy Schukat at 7:24 p.m. The motion passed by unanimous vote. Village of Lombard Page 5