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Council weighs festival, parade and fair funding and existing land/rental agreements
Summary
Councilors discussed Bavarian Blast parade costs, the Brown County Ag Society land-rent schedule and Heritage Fest-style parade funding, expressed concern about recurring increases and directed staff to continue current funding levels until negotiations finish.
Councilors on July 15 reviewed funding requests tied to events and public gatherings — including the Bavarian Blast parade, Brown County Ag Society (the fair) and other community festivals — and discussed how those requests interact with larger budget and contract obligations.
A councilor noted that parade entry fees historically have been low ($50 for businesses, $10 for nonprofits) and suggested participant groups could contribute more to reduce reliance on city funding. The city’s payment to the Brown County Ag Society was discussed: councilors said the city currently pays $25,000 and that the payment increases by $5,000 every five years under an existing arrangement; the council reported negotiations were underway to revisit that arrangement and several members said they would hold funding at last year’s level until talks conclude.
Councilors also discussed Bavarian Blast’s request that some city funding offset parade costs and observed that festival reserve accounts can fall quickly after a single bad year; one councilor said that $700 in entry fees (if 70 units pay $10 each for nonprofits) would not cover parade costs if the city were to run the parade directly.
On sports funding, councilors referenced a previously approved $100,000 loan for River Valley BMX and expressed reluctance to start recurring annual allocations to new sports groups, saying park and recreation already supports many special-interest groups.
Discussion vs. decisions: Councilors made no formal budget votes. They said they would follow the same funding level as last year for groups pending contract negotiations and that staff should continue negotiating the Ag Society agreement; one councilor recommended placing the Ag Society funding route “the same route as last year” while talks continue.
Next steps: Staff will include festival, parade and fair requests in draft budgets and continue negotiations on the Brown County Ag Society land-rent agreement; councilors requested clearer breakdowns of reserve balances, revenues and expenses for event organizers when staff returns with budget numbers.
