Tourism Committee

Regular Meeting

Pekin, IL · March 2, 2026

Minutes

City of Pekin PROCEEDINGS OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOURISM COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF PEKIN, ILLINOIS, HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF CITY HALL 111 S. CAPITOL ST ON MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2026 AT 5:00 PM Call to Order The Tourism Committee met at 5:00 p.m. in the Pekin City Hall Council Chambers. A quorum was not established, and no action was taken. Present: Emily Lambe; Amy McCoy; Cindy Gaylean Absent: Cindy Galyean; Melanie Matthews; JoElle Master Approve Agenda Approval of Minutes 3.1. Minutes from the Tourism Committee Meeting on February 16, 2026 Public Input Reports 5.1. Discover Peoria Ashley Hildebradt from Discover Peoria reviewed the statistics from the last Quarterly Report. New Business 6.1. Sponsorship Funding Recommendation 6.2. Tourism Fund Budget Discussion Any Other Business to Come Before the Committee The committee will have a special meeting on Tuesday, March 10 at 5:00 p.m. to review the sponsorship funding recommendations. Adjourn The meeting ended at 5:37 p.m.

Agenda

Packet

REGULAR TOURISM COMMITTEE MEETING MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2026 5:00 PM 1. Call to Order 2. Approve Agenda 3. Approval of Minutes 3.1. Minutes from the Tourism Committee Meeting on February 16, 2026 4. Public Input 5. Reports 5.1. Discover Peoria 6. New Business 6.1. Sponsorship Funding Recommendation 6.2. Tourism Fund Budget Discussion 7. Any Other Business to Come Before the Committee 8. Adjourn Page 1 of 5 Page 2 of 5 Page 3 of 5 REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Agenda Date: March 2, 2026 To: Members of the Tourism Committee From: Joshua Wray, Economic Development Director AGENDA ITEM: Sponsorship Funding Recommendation DESCRIPTION: A summary of event sponsorship requests and preliminary Committee discussions is below. Event FY26 Budget FY27 FY27 Prelim Requested Committee Funding Discussion Marigold Festival 15,000 10,000 10,000 Farmers Market 5,000 5,000 5,000 Pekin Pride Soccer 5,000 10,000 5,000 Club Disc Golf 1,5000 10,000* 2,500 Tournaments AJGA Golf 2,250 2,250 2,250 Tournament Pekin Holiday 5,000 5,000 5,000 Tournament Downtown 2,500 3,500 2,500 Supercruise Brotherton Events 1,055** 4,500 2,500 Twisted Cat Fishing 5,000 7,500*** 2,500 Tournament Pekin Main Street 8,500 8,500 2,500 Events Winter Wonderland did not apply 3,000 1,500 Fireworks 10,000 15,000 15,000 Total 59,750 84,250 56,250 *request includes an increase from 1 to 2 events **FY26 funding was through a 1/3 grant Page 4 of 5 ***request was made in fall 2026 - current schedule does not show Pekin Also, for the Committee's information, City Council held a budget workshop on February 27. In that meeting, they provided feedback to staff that they do not want to see the full welcome sign replacement initiative move forward. Staff believes there would be support to approve replacing one sign in FY27, particularly the one near Pekin bridge. Council also provided feedback to move $100,000 of the $150,000 budgeted for that project into the General Fund, leaving $50,000 in the Tourism Fund (on top of the other discussed expenses in the fund). This additional $50,000 could be applied to any Tourism expense if the Committee would prefer something other than a welcome sign. City Council would like to consider the FY27 sponsorship list at its next meeting on March 9. Page 5 of 5