Future donation toward downtown improvement project possible
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
A request to retroactively provide a city-funded sponsorship for the recent Jack Hanna event was denied last week by the Whitewater Common Council.
After deliberating on the issue April 15, council members decided not to provide the requested $3,100 in city sponsorship funds because the money had not been earmarked within the 2014 municipal budget.
Local organization Downtown Whitewater Inc. spearheaded the effort to bring Jack Hanna back to the city for an event aimed at raising funds to help revitalize the city’s business district. This was Hanna’s second visit to the city. He previously made a stop in the city in 2010.
City Manager Cameron Clapper, who serves as an ex-officio member of Downtown Whitewater, said the intent was to provide the funding request to the council at their meeting April 3, in advance of Hanna’s visit April 6. He cited “miscommunication” as a reason the item was not placed on the last agenda.
Downtown Whitewater set a sponsorship goal of $20,000 to cover the costs of the Hanna event. But Clapper said the organization fell short of the goal, obtaining $13,800 in sponsorships.
“A city contribution of $3,100 would cut the sponsorship gap of $6,200 in half and would allow a larger portion of ticket sales revenue to go toward designated programs,” Clapper said to the council as he explained his rationale for the city sponsorship.
While the council did not approve Clapper’s recommendation, any net revenue from the Hanna event is expected to go toward a series of beautification efforts downtown, including façade improvements and streetscape work.
Although a formal city sponsorship will not be part of the recent Hanna event, several council members hinted at the possibility of offering a donation in the future toward a specific improvement project in the downtown shopping district.
Clapper said the Hanna event was successful. He credited a number of factors to a large turn out, including a different venue – the Hamilton Room within the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus.
“Tickets for the first show sold out with a total of 550 tickets being sold,” Clapper said. “The second show, while not sold out, brought in about 450 ticket sales.”
