Wauconda meetings rescheduled to accommodate cruise night events
In a move that balances an increasingly popular public event with the need for open government, Wauconda officials have rescheduled three summertime village board meetings so they don't conflict with cruise night car shows on Main Street.
The cruise night events, which have been held on the third Tuesday of the month in June, July, August and September since 2014, require the closure of some sections of Main Street and some side streets.
The village board also meets the third Tuesday of each month, and village hall is on Main Street near the Cruise Night site. The street closures and resulting detours make getting to village hall for board meetings difficult. Parking is harder to find than usual, too.
“Having a board meeting on a cruise night restricts the ability of the interested public to attend meetings due to limited parking and access,” Village Administrator Doug Maxeiner said.
The car show has been incredibly popular. More than 550 cars were displayed at the most recent show in September 2015 — more than six times the number of autos displayed at the debut event the previous year, officials said.
The shows also attract thousands of people to the downtown area during the summer.
“The purpose of this event was always to showcase the town of Wauconda and our local businesses,” said Wauconda resident Jason Laureys, who serves on the village's cruise night committee. “Nobody on our committee ever thought our event would grow this fast.”
During a public discussion of the issue in February, Maxeiner proposed changing some of the board's meeting nights during the summer months to accommodate the car shows.
Three changes have since been made to the board meeting schedule:
• The meeting set for June 21 will be held Monday, June 20.
• The meeting scheduled for July 19 will be held Monday, July 18.
• The meeting scheduled for Sept. 20 will be held Monday, Sept. 19.
No conflict existed in August. August meetings already had been rescheduled to accommodate a different village event.
Trustee Linda Starkey, who serves on the cruise night committee, sees a few advantages to shifting meetings.
Not only does it make meeting attendance easier, it also lets people going to the car show use the village hall parking lots on Tuesday nights, she said.
“(And) it frees up the trustees and staff so we can volunteer for the event,” Starkey said.
Laureys appreciates the board's flexibility.
“I'm joyfully shocked,” he said. “The board must feel the event is helping promote Wauconda.”