Commission awards $500 publicity grant to Our Lady of Guadalupe festival; larger infrastructure request tabled to January

The Kosciusko County commission approved a $500 publicity sponsorship to support the 15th annual Our Lady of Guadalupe festival and asked the organizer to return in January with additional cost estimates for permanent electrical upgrades or short-term generator rentals.

Diana (Speaker 7), who identified herself as a lead coordinator for the event, told the board the festival draws visitors from across neighboring counties, highlighted cultural programming and said the event raised roughly $130,000 this year but that staging the event costs about $40,000. She said the festival had about 39 booths this year and that electrical posts and a donated but non-electrified stage created potential safety concerns when it gets dark.

Board members offered operational suggestions and pushed for fiscal prudence. One commissioner suggested renting a large generator as a lower-cost interim solution; another cited a rented-generator example of about $1,600 for two days and asked staff to obtain weekly rental rates. The commission put the larger infrastructure decision on hold and instructed the applicant to return in January with quotes and options.

In the meeting record a motion to award a $500 publicity grant was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. The transcript does not show a roll-call tally. The applicant thanked the board and said she would gather generator and cost information to present at the commission’s January meeting.

Next steps: the festival organizer will research generator rental and permanent-electrical costs and present findings to the board in January; the $500 publicity sponsorship will be applied to event promotion.