Schaumburg gives green light to planning scaled-back Septemberfest
After rigorous discussion, Schaumburg trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to begin spending money to plan a scaled-back, two-day version of the traditional Septemberfest celebration over Labor Day weekend.
Village Manager Brian Townsend has pointed out a rise in COVID-19 cases still could prevent the festival from taking place, but trustees have now authorized a deeper exploration of its feasibility.
Much of Tuesday's discussion stemmed from concerns raised by Trustee Mark Madej about the loss of some elements he felt contributed to Septemberfest's ability to break even financially, such as a third day on Labor Day, a parade, and an arts and crafts show.
But others explained the reasons they wanted to move forward and why it was reasonable to have different financial expectations this year.
"What this village needs is something to bring it together right now," Trustee Frank Kozak said.
Trustee Marge Connelly, at her final village board meeting before her retirement, said that even though she's fairly conservative regarding the need for COVID-19 precautions, the Septemberfest plan the staff came up with made sense to her. But she cautioned others that the village won't break even on the event this year.
Townsend also reinforced that point.
"There is no question that the village will have to subsidize the event to a greater degree during a pandemic year than during a typical year," he said.
Though Septemberfest was not included in the annual village budget also approved Tuesday, a scaled-back version was estimated to cost $204,000 - 47% of the 2019 tab - before a fireworks show was made a last-minute addition. Revenue generated by sponsors and other sources was estimated at $109,000, or 26% of that collected in 2019.
The village will almost immediately have to reinstate the furloughed special events coordinator at a cost of about $10,250 per month.
Planned to remain part of Septemberfest are the full-sized carnival, musical entertainment on two stages, and the presence of a smaller number of local restaurants Sept. 4-5 on the village's municipal grounds.
Mayor Tom Dailly said the shorter Septemberfest would more resemble the event as it was in the late 1970s and early '80s, but he too saw it as a way for the village to celebrate coming out of the pandemic.