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, Gayle Kankovsky and Amy LeBeau 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 - Arvyda Mikalainis; Towne Place Suites - Ashley Libbe; The Westin - Kym Myers Tuesday, February 1, 2022 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 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Nicole Aranas. 2.0 Roll Call Present 6 - Bernie Dudek, Marguerite Micken, Nicholas Piron, Jim Grillo, Gayle Kankovsky, and Amy LeBeau Absent 3 - Joe Orsolini, Nancy Schukat, and Phil Dahm Also present: Beth Marchetti and Angela Rauen, DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau, Melissa Infusino, Lombard Chamber of Commerce and Nicole Aranas, Staff Liaison. 3.0 Public Participation None. Village of Lombard Page 1 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 1, 2022 4.0 Approval of Minutes A motion to approve minutes of the January 18, 2022, committee meeting was made by Jim Grillo, second by Amy LeBeau. The minutes were approved by all. 5.0 New Business 220016 Local Tourism Grant Application 2022 - Lombard Cycling Classic The committee will discuss and make a motion on a grant request from DuPage County Convention and Visitor's Bureau and Prairie State Cycling Series, LLC, in the amount of $9,000 from Hotel/Motel funds for expenses related to the fees associated with the event. The event is scheduled to take place July 26, 2022. The Local Tourism Grant application for the Lombard Cycling Classic was presented to the committee by Beth Marchetti and Angela Rauen of the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau (DCVB). The Lombard Cycling Classic will take place on July 26, 2022. Beth Marchetti introduced Angela Rauen to the committee. Angela has worked with sports marketing and supported the event last year. The DCVB Strategic Plan for Sports includes initiatives to capture the sports market. A Sports Commission was created which oversaw the Cyclocross and the 2019 cycling event. For the bike race, the local organizing committee is DCVB, which hosted the first race in 2019, no event in 2020 due to COVID-19, and an event in 2021. The DCVB feels the proposed event has a clear return on investment. Beth Marchetti shared an impact summary. Angie Rauen provided details and stats of the 2021 event which hosted more than 500 riders from overseas and all over the US. The event also included a fun ride for families, with 50 riders registered initially but ended with 123 riders. Local kids and families were able to ride alongside the course with the professional riders. The race course is proposed to be the same for 2022. Possible changes will be discussed regarding the start and finish locations. More than 400-600 room nights were tracked with 70% of the rooms in Lombard. The race director, Marco Colbert, has agreed that for 2022, all hotels will be in Lombard. There will be one source to book your hotel and they will be Lombard hotels. In 2021, the Lombard Chamber oversaw the vendor expo without charge to the vendors. This year the DCVB will bring sponsors in and charge businesses who wish to sponsor the local events or the 10-day series. Village of Lombard Page 2 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 1, 2022 The DCVB would love to keep the event going, however, in the future, the DCVB might not be the Local Organizing Committee. Committee Member Amy LeBeau asked if riders are here 10 days in one hotel? Beth Marchetti responded that staff is here before and after the event and many riders do stay for the full 10-day series. DCVB is requesting $9,000 this year to fund the race and for additional funding for expenses of the production of the race. Melissa Infusino, Lombard Chamber of Commerce, commented that it was great to contribute and participate as the chamber. They posted on social media and this is a great event for Lombard. We had a booth from the chamber and we invited members to come and promote their business. Angie Rauen noted that Lombard has really opened its arms to this event. The proposed day of the week is still Tuesday; the businesses stated they preferred to keep it on a Tuesday because it is a quiet day downtown. The other option is to move the event to a Thursday, however the premium to host the event on Thursday is $10,000. The Intelligenista Cup Series has 10 days of racing with 3 days in DuPage. Events are also held in Glen Ellyn and Winfield. Other locations are Elgin, West Dundee, Fulton market, Chicago. It is estimated that lodging for the event was 40k in revenue, not including support for local businesses and restaurants. The DCVB felt the event is a good return on investment of the $9,000 grant. Committee Member Marguerite Micken asked which hotels in Lombard receive the overnight stays? Angie responded the Fairfield Inn of Lombard sales manager and manager has hosted events. Staff would like the Fairfield to be the main hotel, but other hotels in Lombard will be offered the opportunity. Staff personally visited all the businesses and sent letters, etc. Some of the businesses moved their storefronts outside. In the area surrounding the event where the roads were closed, they sent out flyers to residents. They mailed 1,000 flyers and only 60 were returned. Staff Liaison, Nicole Aranas, explained the history of the bike race and how the DCVB offered to take over the role of Local Organizing Committee (LOC) with grant money support from the Village along with the Village agreement that the Village receive hotel stays. The $34,500 total cost is just for the Lombard portion. Village of Lombard Page 3 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 1, 2022 Committee Member Jim Grillo asked if they run hotel shuttles? Angie’s response was that riders can’t transport their bikes on a shuttle so they tend to drive. She also added that the Downtown is still the preferred location for the event to support the businesses. In Glen Ellyn or other non-downtown locations, there are beer trucks and outside vendors and less of an impact directly to local businesses. Chairperson Dudek asked if the DCVB plans to pass the event to another LOC in 3 years or so? Beth Marchetti responded that maybe the Sports Commission can take over in the future, but it could also be a LOC from an outside group. Beth Marchetti commented that this is a good event that has an established return on investment. A motion was made by Gayle Kankovsky, seconded by Jim Grillo, to approve the grant application for DCVB in the amount of $9,000. The motion passed by unanimous approval. 6.0 Old Business 220002 Local Tourism Grant Application 2022 - Lilac Princess Program The Committee will discuss and make a motion on the grant request from the Lombard Jr. Women's Club in the amount of $6,000 from Hotel/Motel funds for expenses supporting the Lilac Princess Program. The grant will support expenses related to the Coronation of the Lilac Queen and her Court and scholarships awarded to the court. The program begins in March and culminates May 15, 2021. A motion was made by Jim Grillo, seconded by Amy LeBeau, to approve the grant application for Lombard Jr. Women’s Club Lilac Princess Program, in the amount of $6,000. The motion passed by unanimous approval. 220003 Local Tourism Grant Application 2022 - Lilac Time Art & Craft Fair The committee will discuss and make a motion on the Grant request from the Lombard Chamber of Commerce in the amount of $4,100 from Hotel/Motel funds to cover the cost of Village services (Police, Public Works and Fire Department overtime). The fair is scheduled for May 1, 2022. A motion was made by Marguerite Micken, seconded by Nick Piron, to approve the grant application for the Lombard Chamber of Commerce Lilac Time Art & Craft Fair in the amount of up to $4,100 in Village services. The motion was approved by all. 220004 Local Tourism Grant Application 2022 - Lilac Sale The committee will discuss and make a motion on the Grant request from the Lombard Garden Club in the amount of $2,000 from Hotel/Motel funds to cover the cost of the purchase of lilac bushes to be sold. The sale is a Village of Lombard Page 4 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes February 1, 2022 three day event beginning May 5, 2022. A motion was made by Gayle Kankovsky, seconded by Amy LeBeau, to approve the grant application for the Lombard Garden Club Lilac Sale in the amount of $2,000. The motion passed unanimously. 220008 Local Tourism Grant Application 2022 - Lombard Lilac Parade The committee will discuss and make a motion on the Grant request from Lombard Lilac Festival Parade Committee in the amount of $18,000, plus the cost of Village Services, from Hotel/Motel funds to support all expenses of the parade, honorariums paid to the participants, advertising expenses and recognition expenses. The parade will take place on May 15, 2022. Discussion of the grant for the Lilac Parade was held. Committee Member Gayle Kankovsky was impressed that they only have 10 members and it is well run. Committee Member Marguerite Micken commented the parade draws people from far and the grant request is a fair amount. Gayle Kankovsky noted that there is a lot of logistics in transporting and she feels that the amount that they are requesting is reasonable. The units could be asking for more money this year or next year with their increasing costs/inflation. Marguerite Micken also added that the $18,000 request has been static and is a fair amount. Melissa Infusino made a comment that the chamber is not seeing big sponsorships like they had in the past. A motion was made by Jim Grillo, seconded by Marguerite Micken, to approve the grant application for Lombard Lilac Parade Committee in the amount of $18,000, plus village expenses. The motion passed by unanimous approval. 7.0 Other Business None. 8.0 Information Only None. 9.0 Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Gayle Kankovsky, seconded by Jim Grillo, at 8:17 pm. The motion was approved by all. Village of Lombard Page 5