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Committee addresses vendor power hookups, sanitation, volunteers and tickets; adds volunteer to festival committee
Summary
Organizers reviewed vendor lineup and logistics: utility hookup delays could force generator use, porta-potty placement will shift closer to food vendors, volunteer staffing remains short for the July festival and tickets and beverage prices will increase; committee voted to add volunteer Lisa to the festival committee with mayoral support.
The Franklin Civic Celebration Committee discussed operational readiness for the July festival, including vendor electrical hookups, porta-potty placement, volunteer staffing, ticket prices and a motion to add a volunteer committee member.
Committee members reported the city and a contractor installed new electrical boxes but the utility company must connect the mainline; the utility company told staff it is backlogged and the hookup could take about two months, a delay that organizers warned would affect food vendors and could require vendors to bring generators. "We got the electrical outlets... Weenergies has to do the mainline power," a committee member said, and staff said they had informed food vendors that generators may be needed.
Sanitation and site logistics were discussed at length. Organizers said last year there were too few porta-potties near the food-vendor area and agreed to shift more units to that side and to place additional units in the police station parking lot near the parade staging area to serve participants who will be in line earlier. The committee also discussed portable hand-washing stations and short refill intervals for water; organizers said refills typically last two to three hours and the committee will evaluate hand-wash stations or additional water spigots.
Volunteer recruitment remained a focus. The committee reported the volunteer spreadsheet had about 19 filled slots but said many shifts still require staffing, particularly beer tent shifts on July 4. Members discussed using an online sign-up tool and prepopulating slots for volunteers who call in, and agreed to plan for more bartenders than minimum to avoid slow service. Committee members also discussed licensing for bartenders; members encouraged volunteers to renew city bartender licenses and said the city reimburses the licensing fee.
Ticketing and sales plans were updated: printed tickets will increase from $1 to $2, beer will be $6 (up from $5), and soda and water will be $2; koozies will be offered as a ticket redemption item and the committee agreed to order new koozies with a Ben Franklin design. The committee also discussed enforcing a policy that tickets carry the festival year and older tickets should not be accepted.
On governance, a committee member moved to add Lisa to the committee as an additional member; the motion was seconded in committee discussion and the organizer said the mayor approved the appointment and would swear Lisa in. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn.
Committee members tasked staff to reconfirm electrical timelines with the utility, adjust porta-potty placement, advance volunteer outreach (including a sign-up tool), finalize ticketing and koozie orders, and confirm bartender-license reimbursements and insurance coverage for vendors.
