Trustee board won’t act on proposal
Former Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch sees opportunity at the village of Lansing’s beautiful new Fox Pointe civic complex and outdoor concert venue.
Specifically, Welch sees opportunity for his consulting business, Sinclair Solutions, to take a 20 percent cut of revenue from sponsorships he might obtain for the new space.
“It’s a great asset for the south suburbs,” Welch said by phone this week while he was vacationing in Florida. “There’s a lot of opportunity there.”
Lansing could fill a void for entertainment venues created by the closure in late 2017 of the 3,400-seat Holiday Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, Ind., Welch said.
Welch proposed the 20 percent deal in a Jan. 14 letter to the village. Lansing provided a copy of Welch’s offer in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
“Sinclair Solutions will be payed twenty percent of all sponsorship proceeds monetary or in kind within 10 days of Village receipt of same,” Welch wrote in the proposal, using an uncommon spelling for “paid.”
Lansing trustees discussed the proposal during a Feb. 5 public meeting. Ken Reynolds, the village’s communications director, said in an email Wednesday that the village plans no action on Welch’s proposal.
“Earlier this afternoon, our Village Administrator Dan Podgorski informed me that Mayor (Patty) Eidam has directed the administration not to pursue any type of contract with Sinclair Solutions,” Reynolds wrote.
That should be a relief for Lansing’s 28,000 residents. They should be able to enjoy their new, $5 million municipal venue without Welch taking a 20 percent cut of revenue from sponsorships.
Work on Fox Pointe began in mid-2017 and was completed last fall, in time to host Lansing’s annual Autumn Fest. The village used tax-increment financing funds to acquire several acres where a lumberyard formerly operated at 18138 Henry Street, not far from Ridge Road and Burnham Avenue.
The development consists of four structures: a stage, a pavilion and buildings for restrooms and concessions situated around a grassy area that could be used as lawn seating for as many as 2,000 people during concerts.
Welch said the village should get the most out of the space by booking up to 32 major concerts a year at the outdoor amphitheater.
“They’ve built it,” he said. “They either use it or look at it.”
Welch said he could sell naming rights for the venue and obtain other sponsorships because of relationships he developed during his 27 years as mayor of Country Club Hills. Welch, 69, did not seek re-election in 2015.
Lansing could learn from mistakes that Country Club Hills made with its outdoor municipal venue, Welch said. Partly due to a lack of sponsorships, the venue lost about $200,000 in operating expenses each year, he said.
“Sponsorships are everything,” Welch said.
Country Club Hills initially spent $7.4 million on its outdoor amphitheater that opened in 2007 at 4200 183rd St. with a capacity of 5,000. The theater closed after the 2013 season, but reopened in 2016 after the city spent an additional $1.7 million converting lawn seating to fixed seating.
Though Welch claimed the annual operating losses were much less, city budgets showed the theater lost $600,000 in 2012 and nearly $400,000 in 2013,
The amphitheater hosted a few events during the past three seasons and has not yet publicly announced any events for the 2019 season. Tickets for two 2018 events ranged from $35 to $55 for jazz saxophonist Dave Koz and Friends and from $40 to $70 for blues legend Buddy Guy.
While the theater was losing money when Welch was mayor, he was criticized for spending large sums for meals and entertainment on the taxpayers’ dime. A 2011 Better Government Association investigation chronicled how Welch charged more than 300 meals one year on a city-issued credit card.
The BGA reported Welch was paid a $144,000 annual salary and the city council approved an additional $36,000 allowance for city business. But Welch and the city manager overspent their allowance, and taxpayers ended up footing the bill for $121,000 at restaurants and other miscellaneous expenses, the BGA said.
“Any mayor is going to have a few bumps and grinds,” Welch told me. “I can assure you I retired honorably.”
Instead of looking to Country Club Hills as a model of how for run a grand civic space like Fox Pointe, perhaps Lansing would be better off adopting some of the practices New Lenox officials have used for events at its Village Commons venue.
New Lenox has staged concerts by big-name artists for its Triple Play Concert Series since 2009. The 2019 lineup was just announced and features Cheap Trick on June 8, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts on July 20 and Kenny Loggins on Aug. 31.
A $75 ticket buys admission to all three concerts, and New Lenox residents are given priority to purchase tickets, Mayor Tim Baldermann said.
“We use it more as a benefit for our residents,” Baldermann told me. “Not every event we do is meant to be a money-maker.”
Baldermann credited the village’s special events staff and volunteers for organizing numerous events at Village Commons throughout the year. In addition to the ticketed events featuring famous artists, the venue hosts free concerts by local musicians, movie nights, a Kids Fest and Christmas in the Commons.
“We look at (the Commons) as more of a community gathering place, not a for-profit venture,” Baldermann said.
In addition to handling scheduling and bookings, the village’s special-events coordinator obtains sponsorships from local businesses, Baldermann said.
“They want to give something back to the community,” he said of local merchants who financially support events.
Municipally owned outdoor entertainment venues seem to be increasing in popularity throughout the region, Baldermann said.
“A lot of communities are starting to do this,” he said. “The competition is getting stiffer.”
Planners never intended to book big-name acts every summer weekend at the New Lenox Village Commons venue, he added.
“We would not have the ability to do that,” he said. “We’re not the United Center. It’s been successful for us because it’s been community-driven.”
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