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DDA boosts Clawson market budget to $5,000, co‑sponsors Chamber bar crawl and approves Cinema in the Streets budget
Summary
The DDA increased the summer market budget to $5,000, agreed to co‑sponsor a May 2 Chamber bar crawl at no direct cost, and approved a $3,962.32 Cinema in the Streets budget for July 25 (film: Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi). Staff outlined vendor costs and fundraising offsets.
The Clawson Downtown Development Authority voted to increase its proposed summer market budget to $5,000 to provide additional flexibility for vendor booking, entertainment and promotional activities across six market dates from May through August.
Staff presented a budget framework that included porta‑potty rentals at $117 per date, live music at $250 per date (discounted to $1,500 total), marketing and advertising ($150–300), family‑friendly activations such as a petting zoo ($285–$600 depending on hours), kids crafts ($250) and a modest contingency. Staff said last year’s market spending was roughly $3,000–$3,500, and estimated the draft plan would have a maximum outlay of about $4,500 before the board’s increased headroom.
"This $4,500 is the very maximum that she's kind of anticipating; increasing to $5,000 allows some flexibility if marketing performs well," a board member noted while supporting the motion. The motion to raise the market budget to $5,000 was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.
Separately, the board agreed to co‑sponsor the Chamber of Commerce’s Star Wars‑themed bar crawl on May 2. Alec, representing the chamber, said co‑sponsorship would provide an administrative umbrella (insurance, coordination) and volunteer support; there is no DDA financial contribution for the co‑sponsorship as approved by the board.
The board also approved the Cinema in the Streets budget for July 25 with a not‑to‑exceed total of $3,962.32. Line items include movie licensing (listed at $775, with staff noting a possible partial refund), screen rental and set up ($2,320), porta‑potty ($117), promotional materials ($150–300), kids activities ($100–200) and concessions/popup snacks ($150–250). Staff and the chamber discussed sponsorship offsets: businesses may buy screen ads (staff estimated $100 per business) and the chamber will run raffles to help offset costs.
Board members discussed event logistics including parade presence, costume contests, rain‑date planning and crowd‑flow mapping. Staff said Oakland County can provide heat‑map data to estimate foot‑traffic and attendees for post‑event evaluation.
Next steps: staff will finalize vendor bookings, outreach to potential sponsors for the cinema event, circulate a volunteer sign‑up for the bar crawl and provide updated budget numbers and a final cinema rain‑date to the board.
