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Council reviews Illuminate Isanti finances and debates whether to scale back or end the lighting event after large staff and equipment costs
Summary
Council members reviewed a financial recap showing the Illuminate Isanti event ran well but cost the city roughly $50,000 after accounting for operating expenses, public-works labor and limited donations. Staff will return with options to scale, sell displays, seek private partners, or otherwise reduce ongoing costs.
Council members reviewed a financial recap of Illuminate Isanti and discussed whether the city can continue supporting the month-long event at the current scale after staff presented expense and staffing figures.
Finance staff reported the event’s planned operating budget for 2024 was $27,819 (including $7,000 budgeted for overtime and seasonal staff). Actual operating expenses were $14,702.85 with $4,164 in staff overtime, producing a combined operating outlay of $18,867.29 — about $9,000 under the originally planned operating budget. Separately, public works staff reported approximately 720 hours of work supporting the event this year; using a median loaded-cost estimate for wages and benefits, staff calculated that public-works time on the event equates to roughly $39,600. Sponsorships and other monetary support were discussed as distinct from small donations for volunteers; staff said sponsorship revenue of roughly $9,000 was not yet factored into the event-account balance while a limited amount of direct donations for volunteers (reported in the meeting text as $798.74) was noted.
Council members and staff summarized those numbers into an overall shortfall figure. As a council member summarized during the discussion, staff calculations combined operating costs, overtime, and public-works labor and compared that to donations and sponsorships; on that basis the city “went in the hole roughly $50,000 this year” when all labor and costs are considered. Council members said the figure did not include some staff time for higher-level planning that also went into the event.
Council discussion focused on options to reduce recurring costs: scale the program back to a smaller set of anchored displays; place high-visibility pieces in Bluebird Park and downtown instead of a month-long park-wide installation; solicit private sponsors to host or erect displays on leased or sponsored lots; recruit volunteers or community organizations to staff smaller events; or sell excess displays outright. Several residents and meeting attendees urged either a scaled, volunteer-driven approach or sale/repurposing of displays.
Public commenters included Nathan Chapman, who said he and his son “really enjoyed it” and appreciated elements such as Santa and a large excavator display. Danelle Van Vliet suggested selling the displays as surplus to recoup funds. A councilmember and staff noted that cellphone-location estimates showed roughly 5,000 unique visitors across the month, with weekend attendance concentrated on Saturdays and many visitors residing outside the Isanti city limits; the finance presentation also referenced prior years’ attendance (4,224 in 2022 when ticketing was used; 3,820 in 2023).
Council directed staff to return with options and creative alternatives to bring down the city’s cost exposure — including scaled-back layouts, greater use of sponsorship/retail partners, volunteer staffing models, or one-time sale of displays — and to bring a recommended approach back to a subsequent council meeting for decision. Several councilmembers said they were not comfortable continuing the event at the current cost level without a viable plan to reduce the city’s financial and staff-time burden.
No formal decision to end or continue the event at full scale was taken at the meeting; the item was left for additional analysis and a future council decision.
