Council gives direction to negotiate contract for downtown night‑market series; proposal estimates $300,000 for 2025

Council members on Jan. 14 directed staff to negotiate a contract with the vendor that responded to the city’s night market RFP and to return a contract for final council approval. The proposal, submitted by Ghillie Wagon LLC (proposal name "North Shore Nights"), would run weekly night‑market events Saturday evenings from May 31 through Aug. 30 and proposed a per‑event fee of $15,000 for a 15‑week series (total $225,000) plus in‑kind city services; staff estimated total program costs near $300,000 for 2025 once permits, sanitation, traffic control and other city services are included.

Why it matters: The city would fund the 2025 series from general fund reserves if council approves a contract. Councilors asked multiple budgeting and scope questions and debated whether to scale the series down from 15 events to a shorter test series. Council did not take a final contractual vote at the Jan. 14 meeting; staff will negotiate terms and come back for a vote.

Nick Stroup, director of Parks and Recreation, told council: “Tonight, I’m here seeking your direction on whether to proceed with negotiating a contract based on the results of an RFP for a community event series called North Shore Nights.” Stroup said the submission proposed a 15‑week Saturday night series that would use the pedestrianized section of Main Street and includes line items for permitting, fire inspections, sanitation and traffic control that the city typically provides for large events.

Finance staff told council the general fund is projected to exceed reserve targets, which would allow the city to use reserves for a one‑time series in 2025 without cutting existing programs. Several council members said they supported trying a night market but asked staff to seek options during negotiations: shorten the series (proposals discussed ranged from 6–12 events), shift the seasonal window later into summer/early fall, and explore adding local buskers or community performers rather than relying solely on contracted talent. Council member Kurt suggested a smaller pilot (8–12 events) to gather data before committing to a full 15‑week series; others, including the mayor and several councilors, urged giving the proposer a full chance and emphasized the experiential value of a larger series.

Stroup told council negotiations will explore possible scope and cost variations and emphasized any final contract must return to council for approval. If council approves a contract, staff said they would fold this series into broader summer programming plans and coordinate outreach to downtown businesses about event logistics and impacts.

Ending: Staff will enter negotiations with Ghillie Wagon LLC, explore scaled options as requested, and return to council with a contract for approval. In the interim, staff will continue stakeholder outreach and finalize more detailed cost and operational assumptions.