Trustees pause staff-run venue concerts; opt to make venue available while hiring events manager

At a Committee of the Whole meeting, trustees agreed to pause active, staff-run concert programming at the village amphitheater and adopt an interim approach that would prioritize free or low-cost community use while the village onboards a new events manager.

Jean, a community relations staff member, presented a year-end review of 2025 special events and four options for the venue's future. "We want to emphasize quality over quantity," Jean said, summarizing staff recommendations intended to reduce employee workload and make long-standing events more sustainable.

The discussion centered on three financial and operational points: the Special Events Fund is trending to a surplus this year of approximately $60,000 (not including Christmas Walk, which is still under financial audit); the venue concert series nearly broke even but recorded a net loss of about $375 for the season; and last year the village spent just over $100,000 on venue-related expenses. Jean told trustees that Movies Under the Stars averaged roughly 200 to 300 attendees per showing this year and that equipment malfunctions had required rental of audiovisual gear.

Staff explained that a substantial portion of event delivery relies on exempt and public-works staff time. Jean presented estimated allocations for key staff during event seasons — for example, the events manager and certain relations staff spend a large share of their work time on events — and noted that many technician hours tied to setup are not included in overtime accounting. Trustees repeatedly raised concerns that current staffing devoted to events leaves less capacity for communications, social media, and other municipal responsibilities.

Jean laid out four options for the venue: (1) return the venue to its original intent as a free or low-cost community resource and stop staff-run concerts (coast mode while the village hires an events manager); (2) offer three free Thursday-night concerts; (3) hold one large post–Labor Day event each year; or (4) pursue an outside entertainment firm to operate the venue under an RFP/RFQ. Staff said Option 4 might have low interest from vendors but could be pursued as a preliminary step to test market interest.

Trustees discussed trade-offs among community access, staff capacity and cost recovery. Several trustees said they favored Option 1 as an interim course while the village completes hiring for the events manager position and reviews operational processes for established events such as Wine on the Fox and Christmas Walk. One trustee urged the village to continue encouraging third-party rentals and to lower fee barriers to increase community use; others cautioned that rentals often shift logistical burdens (porta-potties, garbage pickup, traffic control) to village staff unless contracts specify otherwise.

On next steps, trustees directed staff to proceed with Option 1 as an interim approach, continue promoting third-party use of the venue, and return with recommendations after the new events manager is onboarded. Trustees also authorized staff to explore a market test (a request-for-interest or RFP) for external operators as a separate inquiry, not as an immediate replacement.

Background: Jean said wine-focused events remain the most profitable, with Wine on the Fox carrying much of the Special Events Fund, while Christmas Walk and fireworks generate little or no revenue and require significant staffing for security and logistics. Staff noted that moving Movies Under the Stars back to Village Hall would reduce hauling and rental costs but could reduce the multigenerational, picnic-style audience that attends the outdoor venue.

The Committee of the Whole will revisit venue policy and staffing allocations after the events manager is hired and reports recommendations to the board.