Nov
24
Heritage Fest on hold
The kids couldn’t believe their ears: There will be no village-sponsored Heritage Fest in 2010. The annual festival will be suspended, allowing staff to reconsider and reconfigure the event for the financially challenged future.
During head-nods at tonight’s council workshop meeting, only Commissioner Geoff Neustadt, who chairs the Community Events Commission, spoke plaintively in support of continuing the 27-year-old festival next summer. But other commissioners could find better uses for the funds, whether to allow the Department of Counseling and Social Services some time to transition its clients to other programs or to replenish the reserve fund.
The only possible reprieve short-term is for a community group or other sponsor to step forward. Come on, guys, don’t be shy.
More to come.
Credit Barnett for working all week on a compromise that would allow for a reasonable winding down of Counseling & Social Services by suspending HF for one year. Fieldman summarized the week in a memo that will go up on-line shortly, and we’ll link it.
Neustadt championed the cause of saving HF, given the yeoman work the Community Events Commission and he (as liaison) and even the Car Show folks hammered away at in one week. More volunteers, and a no-cost-to-the village mission was set out as the goals for that group of residents volunteers. This makes Community Events Commission potentially the key volunteer group in the village over the next year. They have a timed race to change, organize, find funding for, and bring back the centerpiece community event.
Despite the 6-1 head nod vote to suspend it for 2010 (Nuey against) and factor that into the budget, there seemed to be a 7-0 consensus it should come back in 2011, with a smaller footprint and function, a smaller more local-centric event.
Everyone also, apparently thanks to Barnett, amped back down into a group that understood tough times are just that; tough times. No reason to take a disagreement as anything more, a thorough airing of opinions and options. As expected here and elsewhere, water under the bridge. Good initiative, good job Bob.
This was a smart decision. It will be unpopular but it was smart. We are in tough times and whether you want to believe the nation is on the upswing from a recession or not, local governments usually feel the pain two and three years after the so called bottom.
This is just the beginning for DG and paring down these types of costs is the right move. If we have programs or departments that are over or improperly staffed, then now is the time to eliminate, downsize or restructure for the future. It’s a tough job to be an elected official right now. I commend those who are willing to make the tough decisions today in the interest of tomorrow’s future.
Sara Lee, is that you??
I generally sit back and watch everyone else post with amusement at what other people think. Some people blog, and some people have little spare time to blog. I personally feel that people that do blog are a vocal minority. People that are unhappy in general are more vocal than people that are happy.
This brings me to a couple of issues that have me irate.
1. Heritage Fest has been a big part of this town for years. People on this blog have trashed it, and the Poll did not give one an option of saying that they like Heritage Fest the way it is. Only gives the option of change. What if we like it. What if my kids look forward to it each year. What if the Fest is a High School reunion each year where you get to meet and catch up with your friends. First off I would hope that the council were not swayed by the negativeness on this blog and reacted by this vote to stop the fest. This is nucking futs!!!!! I would certainly hope that the Council comes to their senses and realize the votes they will lose in cancelling this event. I live in Downers Grove because I like this community. The fest and other parades downtown are what I like about this town.
2. Red Light Cameras – If you turn on red you get a ticket. What is so wrong about that. If you do not want a ticket, obey the law. If we happen to make a little money from it…..GREAT. What is so wrong with this?????????????
3. Speed bumps – I read somewher that these speed bumps will cost about $68,000 on Blodget street??? And according to Barnett this is a core service that needs to be done??? Cut the Fest but spend large on speed bumps??? All speed bumps do is have people avoid them by going down neighboring streets. Look at the studies. The amount of traffic on the street went down several hundred cars when they put up the temporary speed bumps. Do you think all of these cars decided to avoid the Blodget cut through and have decided to go to Fairview?? No they are now just speeding down Grant (or is it Grand?? Whatever the neighbor street is) or Fairmount. Now that a study was done on Blodget, has there been a study done on how much traffic increased on the neighboring streets?? Are we then going to spend $68,000 on Grant and Fairmount speed bumps if the study says so??? This whole speed bump stuff is nuts. Why not just throw up stop signs on Blodget??? Seriously!!! You have 4 cross streets on Blodget that could get signs. That would slow up traffic. What would that cost? $300?? After you put four of them on Blodget you could then put “Stop Sign Cameras” on these and generate huge amounts of money while protecting our kids.
This is about all I will rant about tonight.
My kid better be at a carnival eating a greasy elephant ear this June.
Good point about the HF poll, Dilbert.
I tried a couple of different versions and probably still didn’t get it exactly right. Now it seems the question is as straightforward as it gets: Keep it or dump it.
For the record, my teens also are horrified that the festival won’t/may not be back next summer. The older one immediately put out the word on FaceBook. I guess that apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Dilbert-welcome to the ‘minority’
A tip. You blog because you have an opinion, a concern and a passion. You want your voice heard. You care. Some of us blog here often, and in the immortal words of Tommy DeVito, what am I a clown? I’m here to amuse you??” I assure you I’m not. Well, sometimes but not always.
Odd. You have time to read our ‘drivel’ but no time to add to the discussion. I enjoyed your post, and agree with almost all of it, I wish you’d dip down here more often.
I trashed Heritage Fest for 1 very specific reason, there was no Heritage in it. These summer fests have become ubiquitous in the Chicago suburbs, the same traveling industry of carny rides and carny cooks show up at every city from Antioch to Zion. How can we make ours different? Ribfest may not be everyone’s cup of sauce, but the event is synonymous with Naperville, as is Balloon Fest in Lisle. I enjoyed the Bike Races because no one else did them, that was ours. Was there a way to combine the events? A week long celebration culminating in the races? I don’t know, and as far as next year goes it no longer matters. I’m disappointed the fest is going away this year, but I understand. I for one am going to keep brainstorming for a way to make it better for 2011.
If you can spare the time, We’d love your help.
Kill the Fest. Enough of the outsiders and carnies hanging out in DG. HF lived its life…..now lets support the taste of DG in September.
Dilbert,
People were getting tickets from turning right LEGALLY on red. I don’t know what rules of the road your using with all due respect. Unless otherwise posted a right turn on red is very legal.
Meat summed up my feelings about the Fest.
In 1991, I was working for a guy active in Lisle Kiwanis, who partnered with the village to put together the then-much-smaller Fourth of July balloon fest and fireworks. The village was pulling out funding for the fireworks because of THAT recession. Everyone thought the 4th of July festivities were dead.
We rallied the community with flyers and word of mouth. Now it’s a monstrosity that I wouldn’t wish on our community, and the entrance fees and parking fees are ridiculous… but if you had been in that basement office the day those gentlemen found out their village was pulling funding, you’d think they were in mourning.
I love parties. I have no quarrel with people who love Heritage Fest, but If you love it so much, you can work to save it with your fellow Heritage Fest-lovers. I’ve seen it done before.
Chad you sure speak on a lot of topics and act as if you know about everything. If you turn right on red without stopping which is what I am sure Dilbert is talking about that is illegal. I don’t agree with getting a ticket for that but none the less it is against the law.
Chad,
If you do any research on Red Light Cameras, you will see that the issue people are mad about in Schaumburg and Bolingbrook is the right turn people getting tickets. But the issue is not LEGAL right turns. The problem is the rolling right turn, or the California stop as it is referred to. These people with the rolling stops are getting tickets. Now in my rules of the road and also your rules of the road, this is illegal. Now personally, if I get a ticket, I will not be happy, but I guarantee you that I speed and any ticket I get I do deserve.
And again, I do not understand why this is such a negative. Especially on Butterfield by the Hooters intersection. Stop there one night and see how many make that left turn AFTER it turns red. It is amazing. The village would get $300 every red light during rush hour….and the people deserve the ticket!!
I challenge you to stop exactly before the white line and do not go an inch past while checking traffic. I go past the white line all the time to check traffic better. Show me a cop who writes that chicken s*** ticket anyway. They better have better things to do than write that ticket and so should RLC’s.
I thought this post was about Heritage Fest?
If I may….
Lemont has 2 fests during the year. Keepataw Days, which is comparable to HF with the vendors, beer tent, and carnival, and their Heritage Fest. Their Heritage Fest is exactly that, celebrates the history of that old town. There are no “meat stick” booths, there are stores that show off historically important antiques and, if I remember correctly, how to make homemade soap, people dressed up like it’s the late 1800′s and early 1900′s…..THAT’S what heritage means.
At the very least, change the name of our HF to Carnie Fest, what do you think about that?
Public works had 3 people digging decorative stones out of the planting beds in the Lincoln center parking lot today….and why??????????? Seems they were put there on purpose. And using a back hoe not a wheel barrow to haul them…none were any bigger than the decorative stones in my yard – I used a wheelbarrow and I am half the size of most of the three workers (maybe twice the age) – wonder how much that cost DG? Workers, gas, machinery. It all adds up…..
If it was the Lincoln Center the men would be park district employees. Still…
I’m sitting here reading all the posts about the cancellation of HF because it costs the Village too much money.. Funny, I was always told that HF supported itself all these years! Hmmmmm now all of a sudden it’s such a burden on the Village budget! Which is it??? It may not MAKE money, but breaking even shouldn’t be a “burden” on the budget… But, I agree, keep it, but maybe just Friday and Saturday and if there “must” be a benefit concert, how about it benefits HF!!! Nobody is working on the Blodgett House anyway!
Maybe people doing a rolling stop and right turn on red is just one of your pet peeves. But if there is no oncoming traffic, no threat to anyone’s safety, no threat to a pedestrian, then it is NOT important and it doesn’t bother me that someone saved a few seconds and didn’t come to a complete stop. Issuing a ticket in such a case is nitpicking, Barney Fifelike crap.
(Now, if it catches some idiot throwing his cigarette butt out the window onto our streets, by all means fine them a couple hundred $!
)
And don’t get me started on the annoying possibility of vehicle stickers…
Open the books up on past Heritage Fests so everyone can see what the real dollar amounts are and what needs to be done.