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O'Fallon CVB approves 2026 budget placeholders for festivals, marketing and monuments
Summary
At its Aug. 27 meeting the O'Fallon Convention and Visitors Bureau approved several 2026 budget allocations and placeholders including $5,000 for the Rail District Festival, $3,500 for historic-preservation brochures, $15,000 for Mid America Veterans Museum marketing, a $10,000 sports-tourism shuttle placeholder, $25,000 for a marketing audit, $50,000 for a Space Force monument, and $30,000 for mobile event data; projected year-end balance is $1,000,758.
The O'Fallon Convention and Visitors Bureau voted Aug. 27 to include a series of event- and marketing-related allocations and placeholders in its proposed 2026 budget.
Board members approved a $5,000 allocation to support marketing for the Rail District Festival, which drew about 2,000 attendees in 2024, and a $3,500 allocation to help the Historic Preservation Commission leverage a federal grant to produce an 8-panel brochure and related educational materials about O'Fallon's history. Historic Preservation representative Rick Dodson said the commission plans a staggered distribution and an educational rollout for schools and community sites; Dodson said the commission had estimated a print run of 18,000 brochures and invited the CVB to review a draft before printing.
The bureau trimmed a larger request from the Mid America Veterans Museum, approving a modified $15,000 allocation to support marketing for the museum's Fallen 13 commemorative weekend rather than the museum's original $92,500 proposal.
Members also approved a $10,000 placeholder to seed a sports-tourism partnership that would subsidize hotel shuttle services for tournament and event guests; board discussion focused on whether the program should be limited to hotels inside city limits and how reimbursements would be structured.
After reviewing responses to a recent request for information, the bureau agreed to budget $25,000 for an initial marketing audit and strategy phase with the expectation of issuing a formal RFP and possibly amending the budget next year for campaign work. The board discussed cost-sharing options with other departments and the range of consultant proposals that staff received.
The CVB approved a proposed $50,000 allocation for a sixth pillar at Veterans Memorial Walk to represent the U.S. Space Force; staff said veterans groups plan to work with the original monument designer to match the existing five pillars. The board also authorized $30,000 to pursue a mobile-data (cell-phone mobility) analysis service to measure visitor origin, dwell time and post-event behavior; staff cautioned the board that such data produce large volumes of information and recommended tourism staff report on its utility before committing to multi-year spending.
Don Dietrich recused himself from the historic-preservation brochure vote, stating, "I need to recuse myself for this because I sit on that committee." Kelly Perano, who led the budget presentation, said the 2026 draft remained similar to July's and summarized the priority requests. Rick Dodson asked the CVB to review brochure drafts and return with an update in about six months.
After the approved allocations and placeholders, staff reported a projected 2026 ending balance of $1,000,758. Board members also requested an October update on the Theatre Works project because key staff will be unavailable in September.
The bureau handled the items through voice votes and passed each motion during the meeting; staff will bring more detailed proposals, vendor information and drafts back to the board for follow-up and potential budget amendments.
