Council and volunteers begin contract talks for Illuminate Isanti; staff urges fiscal-host and clear limits on city time

A volunteer group seeking to run the city's Illuminate Isanti holiday lights event presented a draft plan and the council and staff began negotiating terms, with staff recommending a fiscal host, a one‑year pilot agreement, and explicit limits on city staff and public works time.

City staffer Josie (identified in discussion as staff) told the council, "it is our first recommendation that, we would recommend that Isanti Together would get a fiscal host," and noted that if the event is not organized as a city-run event staff cannot simply pass through city funds without a fiscal host or nonprofit status. Josie and other staff also recommended limiting the amount of public works time the city provides and setting clear, negotiated parameters for setup, repairs and teardown.

The nut graf: The discussion focused on how the city could collaborate…