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Villa Rica staff propose making Thomas A. Dorsey festival concert a city event, reallocate $10,000
Summary
Council discussed moving the Thomas A. Dorsey Festival’s Saturday concert to city management and shifting a typical $10,000 community grant into the Main Street budget; staff estimated total concert costs just over $20,000 and said the Dorsey board is willing to have the city manage the festival portion.
City staff asked the Villa Rica City Council during its May 5 work session to make the Saturday “concert at the Mill” portion of the long-running Thomas A. Dorsey Festival a city-run event rather than a community-granted program. Karina, who said she is on the Thomas A. Dorsey board and has been working on the event, told the council the change would allow staff to move a customary $10,000 community grant into the Main Street budget and to manage advertising, sponsorships and artist selection.
Staff estimated the concert and related production costs would total just over $20,000, with headline talent and production accounting for the largest line items. Council members asked for a clearer total and more detail about what city responsibilities and costs would increase; staff said they will re-evaluate the line items during the upcoming budget process and return with numbers. Councilman Warmouth and others said they support the change in principle but want confirmation the Thomas A. Dorsey board is comfortable with the city taking over the festival portion; staff reported the board had been consulted and indicated it is agreeable to the city managing the festival segment while the board retains control of other week-long events.
Council members pressed for augmented marketing and measurable goals. Karina said current attendance for the Dorsey festival is under 1,000 people and that her goal is to grow attendance to about 2,500 for peak events by improving programming (adding jazz and blues alongside gospel), increasing sponsorships and running a coordinated advertising campaign. Multiple councilmembers recommended producing a mission statement and measurable KPIs so future investments can be evaluated by attendance and sponsorship revenue.
Next steps: staff will provide a detailed budget and cost breakdown for the concert portion, work with the Thomas A. Dorsey board on a mission/KPIs, and return this item for formal consideration during the budget process. No formal vote was taken during the work session.
