Community Promotion & Tourism

Village Hall Village of Lombard 255 East Wilson Ave. Lombard, IL 60148 villageoflombard.org Minutes Community Promotion & Tourism Trustee Bernie Dudek, Chairperson, Trustee Andrew Honig, Alternate Chairperson, Marguerite Micken, Joe Orsolini, Nancy Schukat, Phil Dahm, Nicholas Piron, Jim Grilllo and Gayle Kankovsky Ex-Officio Members: Melissa Infusino - Lombard Chamber of Commerce; Beth Marchetti - DuPage Convention & Visitors' Bureau; Yorktown Centre - Josh Dean; Embassy Suites - Mike Hansen; Sure Stay Plus - Randy Cline; Sonesta ES Suites - Alan Gagnon; Extended Stay America (22nd) - Iverliss Hernandez; Comfort Suites - Frank Balisteri; Extended Stay America (Technology) - Adriana DeHoyos; Fairfield Inn & Suites - Tamara Rodgers; Hyatt Place - Max Schultz; Towne Place Suites - Ashley Libbe; The Westin - Mike Feigenbaum Tuesday, November 2, 2021 7:00 PM Lorraine G. Gerhardt Community Room 1.0 Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Bernie Dudek at 7:00 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Bernie Dudek. 2.0 Roll Call Present 7 - Bernie Dudek, Marguerite Micken, Joe Orsolini, Nancy Schukat, Phil Dahm, Nicholas Piron, and Gayle Kankovsky Absent 1 - Jim Grillo Also present: Beth Marchetti, DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau and Nicole Aranas, Staff Liaison. 3.0 Public Participation None. Village of Lombard Page 1 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes November 2, 2021 4.0 Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Nancy Schukat and seconded by Phil Dahm, to approve the minutes of the September 7, 2021, committee meeting. The motion passed unanimously. 5.0 Old Business 210283 2022 Hotel/Motel Budget Update to the 2022 Hotel/Motel Budget fund. Staff Liaison, Nicole Aranas presented an update to the Hotel/Motel budget for 2022. She shared that the board discussed the Hotel/Motel fund at the Village Board workshop and made several recommendations for approval as part of the full budget approval. The decision was made to allocate $1M to Hotel/Motel Stabilization in order to replenish the Hotel/Motel reserve fund and replace lost revenue with surplus funds generated by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Further, the Village Board recommended setting aside $300K of funds towards hospitality, hotel, and tourism from the same source to support this business sector as it was particularly hard hit by the pandemic. 210177 American Rescue Plan Funding Continued discussion concerning hospitality sector relief funding for industry recovery and public safety. A presentation was made by Nicole Aranas regarding ARPA funding for hotel tourism grants. Security and public safety are still a priority and DCVB and the Village of Lombard will set up a meeting with hotels in 1st Quarter 2022. Westin shared that they are seeking public safety improvements at their hotel. Committee member Joe Orsolini asked if the $300,000 would be Hotel/Motel funds or elsewhere. Nicole said the funds would be resultant from surplus funds resultant from ARPA and it would likely be from the general fund. 210282 2022 Local Tourism Grant Program 2022 Local Tourism Grant program overview. Nicole Aranas presented the Local Tourism grant program. She shared the presentation that is given to new applicants with the Committee in preparation for the grant reviews in January and February. Committee Member Gayle Kankovsky asked if the bike race is coming back? Beth Marchetti of DCVB replied that yes, I think we will be back. Chairperson Bernie Dudek, asked if the Park District renovations at Village of Lombard Page 2 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes November 2, 2021 Four Seasons Park was the reason the soccer tournament was cancelled? Nicole Aranas replied, no I think there were other internal factors impacting their decision not to return. Chairperson Dudek then asked, about groups decreasing their request year over year? Nicole said this is something certain groups have done and the committee has previously inquired about. Joe Orsolini commented that the Chamber of Commerce will always request funds to cover village costs, but they don’t request a check, so grant requests/costs are relatively stable from year to year. Beth Marchetti, commented that groups can get sponsors. Chairperson Bernie Dudek commented that we haven’t heard from anyone yet. Chairperson Dudek inquired about Taste of Lombard. Joe Orsolini stated that he feels like kids sporting events and glass court tournament events should be considered. 6.0 New Business None. 7.0 Other Business None. A motion was made by Joe Orsolini, seconded by Marguerite Micken, to move the January 4, 2022, committee meeting to January 18, 2022. The motion was approved by all to move the January meeting to January 18th. 8.0 Information Only None. 9.0 Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Gayle Kankovsky, seconded by Joe Orsolini. The motion was approved by all and the meeting adjourned at 8:09 PM. Village of Lombard Page 3