Wkgn Main Street chief lasts two months

[WT Reader]

Who is this James Donovan who chairs the Waukegan Main Street chapter? I have never heard of him, either.
Where did he come from?

How do persons get elected to this Board of Directors of the Waukegan Main Street chapter? They want public money
for their use, so what say does the public have in how this chapter is organized, managed and directed with public money?

I agree, we have a city public relations department and a director of development that I never even heard of before, Robin Shabes.
So why do we need a Main Street anyway?

So many mysteries to all of this. Could it be that situation of "too many cooks spoil the broth"? But where is the broth to spoil?
All cooks, no broth it really seems like, lol.

[verenablock]

WT Reader Wrote:So why do we need a Main Street anyway?

Main Street is program that exists at the national and state level. The Illinois Main Street program is in place to help downtown areas keep their historic feel, and get the people of the community involved. It's an organization run by the people of the community, not the city, and thus there should be no political ties or pressures on it. When it works, it works well. Libertyville has more than 1,000 members in their Main Street program. They have a lovely downtown area, and host a lot of nice events for the community.

You can read more about Waukegan Main Street here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://waukeganmainstreet.org/">http://waukeganmainstreet.org/</a><!-- m -->

As for Jim Donovan (PhD!), he has quite the impressive biography here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/james-jd-donovan/4/b78/a57">http://www.linkedin.com/pub/james-jd-donovan/4/b78/a57</a><!-- m -->

[Mouse]

verenablock Wrote:

Mouse Wrote:This statement reads like some corporate inspired "pass the buck" response. So is this to mean that the director (possibly the only professional in the organization) is prevented from involvement in any fundraising efforts? Isn't the mayors luncheon or the mardi gras thing a fundraiser? If so does this mean the director does not work on creating or implementing those events.

Actually, I am going to agree with you here. I think a huge part of the position of the Executive Director should be to garner donations. Additionally, I think the board - being pillars of the community - should be the ones to introduce any new Executive Director to Waukegan, and take them around to the various businesses who are/have been supporters, as well as those businesses who have yet to contribute to community development. This is particularly important, I think, when you hire someone with no non-profit experience.

I would also agree that the Mayor's Luncheon, Mardi Gras, and all other events should be promoted as fundraisers. Perhaps then they might make more than a few hundred dollars per event.

Again, there was no real reason for Main Street to run completely out of money. During the last luncheon - the annual meeting Oct. 9th - there was ample opportunity to tell the supporters that Main Street was in desperate need of funds. No doubt at least a thousand dollars could have been raised, there had to have been at least 80 people there (it was quite a nice lunch at the Yacht Club). Instead, we had to sit through the Mr. Donovan imploring us to applaud to vote in the board of directors, and a lot of patting himself on the back for doing such a fine job with the organization.

Good point about the lunch at the yacht club. I wonder how much of the budget those luncheons use up. They used to put their yearly financial report on the website but I don't see it there now.

[Mouse]

There is evidence that Ms. Miller was not a very productive director while she was there. For instance the Main Street website does not list the new resale store on Genesee St. Wait, maybe that was the responsibility of some other person?

[verenablock]

Mouse Wrote:There is evidence that Ms. Miller was not a very productive director while she was there. For instance the Main Street website does not list the new resale store on Genesee St. Wait, maybe that was the responsibility of some other person?

That is my responsibility (at least until Dec. 1st, which is the date that I told them that I would no longer update the website).

I will add it right away, you are correct it should have been added some time ago.... I do, however, have the logo and website link on the front page animation.

You are also correct in that she was not very productive.... She did not come from a non-profit background, and had no real training in heading up such an organization.

[verenablock]

Mouse Wrote:I wonder how much of the budget those luncheons use up. They used to put their yearly financial report on the website but I don't see it there now.

The luncheons, and other events, are generally covered by the admission price of the event. The only money made from these events comes from the occasional raffles. There was a raffle at the Mayor's Luncheon, it netted ~$900.

I was not given a digital copy of the financial report, so it is not posted... However, there should be copies at any Main Street event, and you can get one by stopping at the new office, though there probably won't be anyone there.

I do have a paper copy.... Net Profit 2007 was -$16,279 and 2008 was $4,368.

As of 12/31/08, there were funds in the checking/savings account of $12,844, and in the designated funds account of $19,425. I believe the designated fund account is for the SLAP program. I was told at the end of October that the designated funds account still had plenty of funds, but that the savings/checking account was below $1,000; not enough to cover payroll taxes due mid-November. Funds certainly could have been diverted from one to the other, but robbing Peter to pay Paul isn't going to do anything in the long term.

Whether or not the city actually cut a check for $20,000 as stated in the News Sun article remains to be seen.

[Silence Dogood]

See below letter sent out by Jim Donovan today. Appears Main Street was never in trouble.

Quote:Waukegan Main Street

Friends and Members of Main Street:

You've likely seen the story on the front page of Wednesday's News-Sun about Main Street. If you haven't, I'll let you know that the headline screams "Main Street Out of Cash."

Well, as Mark Twain put it: "News of my death is greatly exaggerated."

The body of the story is more balanced than the headline and points out now we are as well-situated as ever for November. We were never out of money nor were we ever in a position of being unable to make payroll. Not even close. Certainly things were tighter than usual for a couple months while waiting for a grant check to arrive. But we were never in trouble because people took action. First of all, we still have SLAP funds and one donor said we could use its SLAP donation for operating expenses. Second, board members stepped up to make contributions and two even promised to lend Main Street cash in case we needed it. We didn't need it. And with the arrival of the first payment of the City's grant for the year, we're fine and back to normal.

Two last points. The first is that I've heard a rumor that somehow the City is to blame for what's happened. This is absolutely not true. Everyone in the Main Street office knew that the City was facing the challenges of this economy and would make its donation later than usual. We communicated this to everyone involved and made accommodations to deal with it. By no means does the current controversy reflect on the City.

The second is that I don't want to leave anyone with the impression that Main Street is so flush with cash that it don't need donations. Every penny that comes to Main Street goes to the work of improving Downtown and serving Waukegan. Every dollar you donate to Main Street means more resources to make a difference for our citizens and our businesses. We--you and me as well as all the members, friends, donors, board members and staff--are the strength of Main Street. And finally, I invite you to prove that last statement this Sunday. People are gathering in Jack Benny Plaza at 10 am on Sunday to decorate Downtown. It's our Downtown, and we can decorate it just like we decorate our own homes. Let's do it!

Sincerely,

Dr. James Donovan
Board President,
Waukegan Main Street

A more appropriate Mark Twain quote for Dr. Donovan would be: "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

[Harold]

Continual foolishness. You are the voters; you are the problem! Is there anybody out there, not afraid of there own anonymous shadow? Reveal yourselves and find your voice! Harold Beadling