O'Fallon advisory committee previews March 11 senior fair, flags layout concerns for vendors

The Senior Resident Advisory Committee on Dec. 8 reviewed the senior fair application and a multi-year vendor roster and confirmed the fair is scheduled for March 11 at the Elks Lodge.

Staff told the committee the application form in the meeting packet has only minor updates from last year — address and date tweaks — and said Kira Douthit's contact information will be listed on the application for anyone sending checks. Staff said the vendor roster in the packet lists vendors from 2023, 2024 and 2025 and that initial signup emails will be sent in January. "If there's anyone additional on there that you would like us to send it to, just shoot us an email or let us know at the end of the meeting so we can get them added," staff said.

Committee members and staff also discussed feedback collected from vendors and participants. Staff summarized vendor concerns about noise and visibility, saying activity and entertainment areas should be separated from vendor spaces so both vendors and attendees can hear vendor conversations. "I just think it probably needs to be a little bit more pulled away from the vendors," Dorsey, the recording secretary, told the group when relaying vendor feedback and suggesting a separate activity space.

The committee agreed to arrange a site visit of the Elks facility to plan layout and logistics; staff suggested going through the mayor's office or contacting Tom Ginevra to coordinate access. Staff noted they did not include full participant survey results in the packet (they said the survey would have been about five pages) but offered to share that information if members requested it.

Next steps: staff will post signup details in January, circulate the final application with Kira Douthit's contact listed, and schedule a small team to visit the Elks Lodge to finalize event layout.