04-08-2010, 05:53 AM
What a shame. I understand the police OT, but wasn't alot of the staff volunteer and food was local restaurants. Seems like they need another organizer the city might not be the best choice. This will hurt local business for sure. Will the informal event be scoopn without the police?
Scoopin' Genesee event cut
Mayor: 'We just can't afford it'
April 8, 2010
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:dmoran@stmedianetwork.com">dmoran@stmedianetwork.com</a><!-- e -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2146844,5_1_WA08_SCOOP_S1-100408.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 08.article</a><!-- m -->
WAUKEGAN -- The roller-coaster history of cruising around downtown took another dip on Wednesday when Mayor Robert Sabonjian announced that the latest incarnation of the tradition -- Scoopin' Genesee -- has been cancelled for 2010.
Sabonjian said that given the city's budget situation, it would be "absolutely impossible" to cover the public safety costs associated with the summertime event.
"We currently have no money in the budget, so we're not going to be able to do it this year," Sabonjian said. "At this point, we won't be having a Scoop the way we have in the past. We just can't afford it."
Pointing out that "scooping was an ad-hoc sort of thing" when he was growing up in the late 1960 and 1970s, Sabonjian did hold out the possibility that the public can stage an informal event this summer. But he added that "we're not going to have the organized type of thing this year. We're hoping to be able to do it next year."
According to information released last month, the city is mulling a $145.6 million budget for the coming fiscal year that would use "rainy-day" funds and require some 33 employee layoffs to avoid a deficit.
One critical factor in the decision was last year's layoff of 21 part-time community service officers from the Waukegan Police Department. Sabonjian said manpower costs, including overtime for full-time police and fire personnel, would be "prohibitive" for Scoopin' Genesee in the current economic climate.
Held on July 10-11 last year, Scoopin' ended up running in the red. According to Director of Governmental Services Ray Vukovich, the event posted a loss of $22,000 despite revenues from such things as corporate sponsorships, food and drink sales, vendor fees and entry fees for vehicles.
Overtime costs for municipal employees, including hours worked the weekend of the event and in the preparation phase, amounted to $18,000, Vukovich said.
As recently as October, Sabonjian told a Waukegan Main Street gathering that he hoped to bring Scoopin' back for 2010, and that past organizer North Shore Rods Inc. might be involved.
North Shore Rods holds the copyright for the name "Scoop the Loop," and organized the event under that banner from 1997 to 2006 before falling out with the city over costs. The city took the reins and launched Scoopin' Genesee in 2007.
The concept of scooping a loop around the downtown area dates back to at least the 1960s as a local pastime, though the city cracked down on the practice in 1979 due to complaints about noise and traffic. The first formal scoop festivals began in 1986 as a fund-raiser for the Lake County YMCA, which pulled out following the 1992 edition, stating that the price tag for city services was eating half of the event's profits.
The 2010 face of summer in the city will also be affected by two changes in the proposed budget, which eliminates both funding for the Municipal Band, a move that was first implemented last year, and the seasonal hiring of 19 Municipal Beach lifeguards.
However, the annual Harbor Lights Triathlon on the lakefront and Amstutz Expressway is on the schedule for July 25. City spokesman David Motley pointed out that triathlon organizer CAPRI Events of Chicago covers all public-safety expenses for the event.
Scoopin' Genesee event cut
Mayor: 'We just can't afford it'
April 8, 2010
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:dmoran@stmedianetwork.com">dmoran@stmedianetwork.com</a><!-- e -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2146844,5_1_WA08_SCOOP_S1-100408.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 08.article</a><!-- m -->
WAUKEGAN -- The roller-coaster history of cruising around downtown took another dip on Wednesday when Mayor Robert Sabonjian announced that the latest incarnation of the tradition -- Scoopin' Genesee -- has been cancelled for 2010.
Sabonjian said that given the city's budget situation, it would be "absolutely impossible" to cover the public safety costs associated with the summertime event.
"We currently have no money in the budget, so we're not going to be able to do it this year," Sabonjian said. "At this point, we won't be having a Scoop the way we have in the past. We just can't afford it."
Pointing out that "scooping was an ad-hoc sort of thing" when he was growing up in the late 1960 and 1970s, Sabonjian did hold out the possibility that the public can stage an informal event this summer. But he added that "we're not going to have the organized type of thing this year. We're hoping to be able to do it next year."
According to information released last month, the city is mulling a $145.6 million budget for the coming fiscal year that would use "rainy-day" funds and require some 33 employee layoffs to avoid a deficit.
One critical factor in the decision was last year's layoff of 21 part-time community service officers from the Waukegan Police Department. Sabonjian said manpower costs, including overtime for full-time police and fire personnel, would be "prohibitive" for Scoopin' Genesee in the current economic climate.
Held on July 10-11 last year, Scoopin' ended up running in the red. According to Director of Governmental Services Ray Vukovich, the event posted a loss of $22,000 despite revenues from such things as corporate sponsorships, food and drink sales, vendor fees and entry fees for vehicles.
Overtime costs for municipal employees, including hours worked the weekend of the event and in the preparation phase, amounted to $18,000, Vukovich said.
As recently as October, Sabonjian told a Waukegan Main Street gathering that he hoped to bring Scoopin' back for 2010, and that past organizer North Shore Rods Inc. might be involved.
North Shore Rods holds the copyright for the name "Scoop the Loop," and organized the event under that banner from 1997 to 2006 before falling out with the city over costs. The city took the reins and launched Scoopin' Genesee in 2007.
The concept of scooping a loop around the downtown area dates back to at least the 1960s as a local pastime, though the city cracked down on the practice in 1979 due to complaints about noise and traffic. The first formal scoop festivals began in 1986 as a fund-raiser for the Lake County YMCA, which pulled out following the 1992 edition, stating that the price tag for city services was eating half of the event's profits.
The 2010 face of summer in the city will also be affected by two changes in the proposed budget, which eliminates both funding for the Municipal Band, a move that was first implemented last year, and the seasonal hiring of 19 Municipal Beach lifeguards.
However, the annual Harbor Lights Triathlon on the lakefront and Amstutz Expressway is on the schedule for July 25. City spokesman David Motley pointed out that triathlon organizer CAPRI Events of Chicago covers all public-safety expenses for the event.