NORTH AURORA DAYS
COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
Monday, October 11, 2021
Call to Order
Mark Gaffino called the meeting to order at 6:03 pm.
Attendance
Mark Gaffino, Holly O’Brien, David Fisher, Robyn Stecklein, Steve Bosco, Bill Hannah, Jessi Watkins, John Laskowski
Approval of Minutes
Jessi Watkins made a motion to approve the September 13, 2021 meeting minutes, which were seconded by Holly O’Brien.
Motion to Approve: All in Favor
Discussion
1. Discussion of Fall Fest on the Fox
Administrator Bosco asked for the committee to discuss any pros, cons and a general overview of how the Fall Fest on the Fox event went. Bosco noted the shuttle bus situation where one of the three buses failed to operate after the initial drop off was investigated by the bus company, who explained the driver was confused and thought after dropping off his first set of passengers who informed him to be back for them at eight that he did not need to continue services until that time. Bosco noted this was despite the fact North Aurora Police had spoken to each driver individually about the shuttle routes. The Village received a credit for the three hours in which the driver was not operating. The buses were rarely crowded and didn’t have passengers after 11:00 p.m., but Bosco said he would recommend no less than three for future events to prevent lines.
Mark Gaffino noted there were some complaints over the food shortage and long lines for food vendors, and Bosco said in speaking with the hot dog vendor they had not anticipated the size of the crowd. Jessi Watkins added the taco vendor, which did close temporarily to restock, said it was the best day he’d ever had. Gaffino noted that in the future he’d like to see a balance of food trucks and ready to go food – like hot dogs, pizza or burgers – to eliminate some of the lines and congestion. Bosco noted that the restaurant industry has had a lot of difficulty with staffing. Prices for a one-day event for food vendors through the Kane County Health Department were noted to be quite expensive especially for a one day event, although Bosco noted the Village charged nothing for food vendors to attend. Overall the layout for the food vendors flowed well, although Holly O’Brien noted at peak times the lines for the hot dog vendor merged with the beer tent lines. She said they had a lot of compliments on the location and that people liked the river. People also were asking about water for sale and the Committee discussed selling water bottles at the beer tent in the future for $1, which is what they ended up doing at the Fall Fest. O’Brien said that next year the Boy Scouts volunteered to run a tent with burgers and hot dogs and also sell water and pop.
Regarding flow, Watkins said it was awkward between the ID check and the ticket booth and Bosco noted that the direction staff received was to face the Lions Club trailer in towards the event rather than towards the river, which is why it was not set up in the open parking spots closer to the beer tent. O’Brien said going forward possibly combine the tickets with the ID check. Bosco noted in terms of alcohol the cans were popular and Watkins added having a fresh drink for each patron was ideal.
Finance Director Bill Hannah went over some financial information and said the beer tent generated $9,945.98 for the event, which he said was pretty good considering the scope of the event. A Friday or Saturday evening for North Aurora Days has had a low of $13,000 and highs of $18,000-$19,000. He said the Lions Club and Mothers Club would each, after taking out the cost for beer and ice chest rental along with the Lions Club and Mothers Club making a determination about the liquor liability insurance, would receive $3,432. The Village this year absorbed the full cost of the beer tent.
North Aurora Days expenses are generally around $50,000 including fireworks and generates around $31,000-$34,000 worth of revenue with sponsors. This year there were no sponsors and costs were around $22,000 and Hannah said would likely be more in the $24,000 range once everything is processed. Hannah said it was very convenient to have the festival located at Village Hall where staff could access the building at any time and did not need to preemptively bring everything to the event, but also noted that previously having local shops close by was helpful.
Chief David Fisher noted there were no issues on the police side but mentioned requests for more lightning. The Committee discussed possibly some low lights plugged in by the trees or lanterns.
2. Discussion of North Aurora Days 2022
Gaffino asked where the Village was with Clocktower Plaza and Bosco said several weeks ago the discussion was still that the Clocktower owners wanted to have a waiver for every attendee and the Village believed that was a misunderstanding and would have their attorneys work with each other.
Fisher said he liked having it down at the riverfront rather than Clocktower Plaza and noted the convenience of Village Hall and Watkins also said she loved it down at the river and it was a lovely setting and a nice change of pace. The Committee as a whole showed support for moving the event to North Aurora Riverfront Park and also working with the Fox Valley Park District about utilizing North Island Park.
Regarding days, Watkins said she’d like to see it be a two day event on Saturday and Sunday. Gaffino said he thinks it needs to be on Friday as Friday night people are looking for something to do and O’Brien noted the beer tent would do better on Friday and Saturday. Watkins said she was thinking with a Saturday/Sunday event to have music catered to one group on Saturday and another group on Sunday.
The Committee discussed start times for Saturday and said they could start earlier in the day with family activities or a family-friendly band but not open the beer tent until later. They discussed the logistics of where to put kids’ activities and whether it made the most sense to break them down at North Aurora Riverfront Park or keep them across the street.
It was discussed as to whether hold the event in August as normal or in September as Fall Fest had been. Gaffino said several trustees had really liked the September timeframe. O’Brien had concerns about school activities especially football games and homecoming and not just the issue of attendees but whether volunteers would be short-staffed. She said if the Committee picked a date in September and it was later revealed to be West Aurora’s homecoming weekend she’d be out as would many other Mother’s Club volunteers.
Weather was also discussed as August is typically hotter but September could be hot too. Bosco brought up flooding as a concern for August, but other committee members felt by August rain was not much of an issue. It was noted that there was far more shade at the park and it was cooler by the river rather than the asphalt and no shade of Clocktower Plaza to what Gaffino called scalding conditions.
The Committee ultimately agreed on a recommendation of moving to North Aurora Riverfront Park and keeping the event for the first weekend of August to present to the Village Board for their second meeting in October. Robyn Stecklein did note that the Public Works Department has a scheduled wedding that weekend and staff may be low. It was brought up there was less work involved in setting up the park and since it would be on Village property things could be set up further in advance to assist with staffing concerns. Bosco said he would reach out to the Park District regarding the use of North Island Park.
Sponsors were discussed and the Committee realized there was limited space at the park, and it was noted that the sponsors would likely want to be placed at North Aurora Riverfront Park rather than across the street. Hannah said they could limit which sponsorship levels received tables and suggested setting them up behind the gazebo.
The Committee agreed to discuss bands at the November meeting after getting direction from the Village Board as to whether they were in favor of the August weekend for the date.
Mark Gaffino made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:11 pm, which was seconded by David Fisher.
Motion to Adjourn: All in Favor
Respectfully submitted,
Natalie Stevens
