Port Richey committee scales back centennial calendar, consolidates children’s events into May festival

Port Richey City committee members agreed to scale back the city’s centennial calendar and concentrate programming so fewer, better-promoted events will run in mid- to late spring. The group voted by consensus at the meeting to remove several March events from the calendar and to fold children’s activities and the flea/craft fair into a single Centennial Festival on May 17, with fireworks and an early-day time-capsule ceremony planned for May 18.

Committee members said the move responds to low attendance and limited volunteer and sponsor engagement following recent storms, and to a desire to give sponsors and vendors six weeks of reliable promotion before an event. “We haven’t got the engagement that we’d hoped,” Member Cheryl Taylor said during the meeting, urging the group to concentrate resources on key events and give sponsors time to commit.

The change cancels or defers the March 8 field day, chili cook-off and 5K as standalone events; instead, organizers will transfer selected children’s activities (tug-of-war, dunk tank, simple field games) into the May 17 Centennial Festival. The committee also removed the Taste of Port Richey/pub-crawl concept from the schedule.

Organizers confirmed several April dates under the revised plan. The Centennial Business Expo is set for April 30, the car show for April 12 at Ocean Honda, and a food-truck night at the Ocean Honda location for April 13. The fishing tournament was moved from a late-April date to Saturday, April 19; the recorded plan calls for a captain’s party the evening before at Whiskey River and a 3:00 p.m. weigh-in at Whiskey River on tournament day. The golf scramble was confirmed for the date recorded in the minutes as “the 20 eighth” at 7 Springs (organizers described that date in audio as the planned date); the event is expected to run as an early-morning shotgun with an eight‑a.m. start and lunch/awards near 1 p.m.

Budget and sponsorship details were discussed at length. Member Adam Thompson reported the committee’s current recorded cash and expenditures: “right now, the only thing we’ve spent actual spends that I have on here is $849.13 for the first event, $83.19, for the medals,” and the spreadsheet shown to the group listed roughly $38,003.42 in cash available. Committee members told the meeting that the fireworks contract is budgeted at $20,000; sponsors already pledged or expected included Verana Consulting ($500), a pending $2,500 from Whiskey Joe’s, and in‑kind commitments from Tampa Bay Watch and Whiskey River (captain’s/after‑party support). Organizers said they will continue to pursue additional sponsors and will publish sponsor lists on the Centennial web page and social media.

T-shirts: the committee agreed to remove the event calendar from the centennial T‑shirt artwork so all sponsor logos can be included without compressing text; organizers set a commitment timeline (design to be finalized at the March 4 meeting) so the printing run can proceed. Committee members said sponsors who confirm after that date could be promoted online or included in a later secondary print run, but the initial T‑shirt run will use the March 4 cutoff. “We need to have all the sponsors done by mid‑March,” one organizer said while proposing the deadline.

Operations and payments: staff and committee members discussed payment options for events and reported that the city’s current portal requires multiple steps to reach a one‑time payment screen. Committee members asked staff to pursue a simpler online payment path for event registrations (a direct event payment page or a QR code that points to a prefilled event payment page) and to circulate the city sales‑tax exemption form to vendors. The meeting record notes the city attorney advised caution about side betting/“sweepstakes” elements when events sell entry fees and redistribute prize money; the attorney’s guidance prompted organizers to remove optional side contests connected to the bowling tournament and similar sweepers until the legal question is resolved.

Next steps: the committee asked staff to update public calendars and flyers immediately to reflect the new schedule, to push an aggressive six‑week promotional plan for April–May events, and to finalize sponsor artwork and the T‑shirt design at the March 4 meeting. Organizers also said they will confirm contracts and any required deposits for venues (for example, a recommended small deposit for the golf scramble venue) and will circulate sign‑up forms to sponsors and vendors so flyers and social posts can be distributed.

The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn that was seconded and carried by voice vote.