Highland Park council waives bidding, approves one-year promotional contract with amended revenue share

The Highland Park City Council on Jan. 27 approved an ordinance waiving the city—s formal bidding requirements and authorized a one-year agreement with Ripple Public Relations LLC for event promotional services, with council members voting 6-1 to set the sponsorship commission at 30%.

City Manager Gita Newkirk told the council the proposed arrangement had two components: event management and a revenue share on sponsorships. Newkirk said moving much of the city—s events into the Central Business District would increase site-management work and make sponsorships harder to secure, which the contractor cited when asking to raise its commission from a historical 20% to 50 percent. The manager said the majority of council —would determine— the acceptable rate and staff would return to the contractor if the rate was not accepted.

Councilmember Annette Littler raised specific concerns about the increase in the contractor—s share of sponsorship revenue, noting the contractor had historically received 20% and had proposed 50%. Littler said she supported the services but objected to the size of the jump. Assistant manager Jason (last name not specified in the record) reported that Ripple said it would not accept less than 35%, and staff recommended a compromise of 35% if the council preferred that level. Councilmember (name recorded as) Motagio and others noted that increasing the commission from 20% to 30% already represented a substantial raise.

Councilmembers ultimately approved a motion to waive bidding and accept the agreement with Ripple with a 30% commission on sponsorship revenue and a $60,000 retainer (as described in the staff presentation). The roll-call vote was: Barissa Brockman, Yumi Ross, Councilmember Tapia, Annette Littler, Kim Stone and Mayor Nancy Rotering — aye; Tony Bloomberg — no. The motion carried 6-1.

City staff said the total estimated financial impact for event operations this year is roughly $265,000 and that last year sponsorship revenue totaled about $60,000; the commission applies to sponsorship revenue generated, not to the entire event budget. Staff also said if the contractor declined the terms the city would negotiate further and, if necessary, return to council.

Councilmembers emphasized the need for more comparative information with other municipalities but noted differences in arrangements, including when sponsorship agreements are held by nonprofit partners rather than the municipality itself.

The council—s vote waived the bidding requirement in the city purchasing manual and approved the one-year agreement as amended. The contract and the revenue-share arrangement will be tracked by city staff, and staff committed to follow up with the contractor if the final agreed percentage differs from the council—s action.