Shorewood committee approves BID 2026 operating plan, clears Criterium route change to avoid Oakland construction

The Shorewood Community and Business Relations Committee voted unanimously to approve the Shorewood Business Improvement District's 2026 operating plan, which includes a temporary Criterium bike-race route that avoids North Oakland Avenue during planned construction.

Rebecca explained the annual statutory requirement for the BID to submit an operating plan and noted that the 2026 report includes the Criterium route change so planning may proceed. She summarized the statutory context for the submission: "Annually, the bid is required by statute to provide us with an annual operating plan for the next fiscal year, that also identifies the assessments that they're requesting to be charged annual basis." Janet Henning, representing the BID, said the group wanted the change recognized so they could begin planning and work with the school and vendors on logistics.

Committee members questioned specific budget lines. Trustee Rusty Kudo called attention to two $15,000 line items, including a newly itemized streetscape lighting budget. Janet said the BID owns the light strands but installation costs had risen; she reported two bids: about $14,000 and $17,000, and said the $15,000 figure was intended to be between those quotes and hoped to keep it under $15,000. The committee confirmed that the school district had been consulted and that school staff were agreeable to allowing use of school grounds for the race while school is out of session.

Following the discussion, a motion to approve the 2026 BID operating plan, including the new Criterium route, was moved and seconded and passed unanimously. The committee asked staff and the BID to coordinate event planning and public communication ahead of next year’s event.

The committee recorded no conditions on the approval beyond the usual permitting and special-event coordination.