Taste of Lombard in deep trouble, but supporters hoping for the best

The Taste of Lombard - one of the suburbs' biggest and most popular celebrations over July 4 - is all but dead for this summer.

No carnival rides, no beer tent, no grilled corn on the cob - and no fireworks on the Fourth of July, ending a half-century tradition.

But with just days left until contracts with vendors and bands must be finalized, Taste supporters are organizing a petition drive in a last-ditch effort to save the event.

More than 3,500 people have joined the Facebook group People who want the Taste of Lombard back - including 1,700 in the first 12 hours.

"There's a fairly strong grass-roots effort to put petitions together ... asking trustees to look at their vote again and to reconsider the decision," said the Lombard Jaycees' Mike Hughes, co-chairman of Taste of Lombard 2010.

The village board voted 4-2 last week not to fund the Taste or the Fourth of July fireworks this year.

"We originally were going to fund the fireworks and some of the (other costs), but the board decided not to do any funding at all," Village President William Mueller said.

Last year, the village kicked in $110,000 to cover the cost of the fireworks, security, bus service and other expenses. That money comes from hotel-motel tax revenues, which are expected to drop 25 percent in the coming fiscal year.

Mueller said earlier this year he thought the village would be able to contribute 50 percent or less of its typical subsidy for the Taste. The Jaycees were asked to come up a plan to cover the rest - possibly by obtaining corporate sponsors, scaling back and absorbing some costs.

But the plan the Jaycees presented to the village board last week fell short, Village Manager David Hulseberg said.

The organization estimated it could pick up $25,000 to $30,000 of the Taste expenses. Furthermore, some of the service cutbacks the Jaycees proposed "the professional staff of the village said they could not concur with," Hulseberg said.

With so many surrounding communities cutting back or canceling Fourth of July celebrations, "this is one year you don't want to scrimp (on security)," Hulseberg said. "If you are going to have the Taste this year, you are going to have overflow crowds."

The Jaycees based the service cuts on numbers the organization received from the village, Hughes said. "The security numbers we were told were far less than they were going to require," he said.

The village still has $65,000 in the hotel-motel budget that could be used for the Taste, Hulseberg said.

"If the Jaycees came and said they could pick up 50 percent of the cost, then certainly the $65,000 in uncommitted dollars could be tapped," Hulseberg said. "There's no reason they or another group still could not come forth with a grant application."

The Taste isn't the only summer event to face sharply curtailed village support. Lombard slashed its grant for Cruise Nights from $40,000 to $10,000, but the event will continue with less live entertainment. "We already have some bands that are volunteering their time," Mueller said.

Taste supporters plan to show up in red T-shirts - the color the Jaycees wear while working the fest - to present their petitions at the April 1 village board meeting.

"I love the fact that it's a place where the community actually gets together to gather with old friends and family members," said Aaron Richard Macias, the Lombard resident who started the Facebook group. "The music, the food, the atmosphere, of course the rides and - most importantly of all - the fireworks."