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NOKOMIS — The Greater Nokomis Chamber of Commerce met in a joint session with the Nokomis City Planning Commission and the Downtown Nokomis Association on Thursday, August 22 in the Nokomis City Council meeting room.
Before formal Chamber business began, a proposal was presented to those in attendance from all three organizations by the Planning Commission for the three organizations to merge into one entity with the same mission in mind: economic development in the community, further improvements to downtown Nokomis, and growing tourism to the community.
In the proposal, it was recommended that there be consideration by the merged body to hire an economic development director on a part-time basis to start off.
After some significant discussion and a lot of questions being answered, all three organizations are amicable to the merger, but wanted to get back to their organizations for one final meeting before formally signing off on the merger. No action was taken at the meeting.
The next stage after the merger is the logistics of what needs to be required to legally make this merger happen. This may require outreach to other communities who have been down this path before for some guidance. If needed, the group may need to secure the services of an attorney to ensure it’s done properly, including bylaws and governance of the consolidated group.
One of the main reasons for the proposed consolidation is a serious attempt to secure grant opportunities, some of which would help with the cost of having an economic development director to assist with the needs that city has.
An unspecified agency will be coming to town sometime this fall to perform a mapping process to help line out the goals for the city, give guidance on the steps necessary on getting where we want to be as a community at all levels.
Prior minutes, up-to-date financial report approved
The meeting minutes from the July 11 meeting was approved after a motion from Kurt Aumann and second from Jake Leonard.
Treasurer Ed Chausse presented the latest financial report which showed an available balance of funds in the amount of $1,900.60 and certificate of deposit balances totaling $44,938. Leonard motions for the report’s approval with a second from Tom Spears. Motion passes.
Committee reports: Upcoming events in Nokomis and final update on Nokomis Homecoming
In committee reports, it was announced that the Nokomis fall city-wide rummage sales will be on Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5. Barring any last-minute changes, JoAnn Marquess from the St. Louis Parish Center is the point of contact for signups. A hard deadline for submissions was not known at the meeting, and all participants should make sure to secure their permit from City Hall.
A report was presented on the car show from Nokomis Homecoming. After expenses, the Chamber would net a profit of $157.58. It was lower than projected, but due to the extreme heat that weekend, the attendance at the show (and Homecoming overall) was low. Chausse stated that he hopes the Nokomis FFA chapter will host the tractor show next year in hopes to increase attendance for the car show.
An update was presented on the Snowkomis celebration, which will be held on December 13-14. The Chamber will once again be hosting the vendor show at The Vault (the former Jim’s IGA) and was looking into additional space for vendors, as there was more interest than the space available last year. There was some discussion on having a tent or multiple tents for vendors. That may be something to look into going forward.
There was some discussion on setting a date for Movie In The Park, which already has secured sponsorship and audio-visual equipment supplied by Kurt Aumann. The current logistical quandry is the licensing for the screening and an event to add the screening to.
There was an initial plan to do it at the Canines and Cars event at Fred B. Johnson Park on September 14, but it appears that the time remaining until the event will not be sufficient enough to get everything ready.
Aumann will contact the Eisentraut family, owners of the movie theaters in Pana, Hillsboro, and Taylorville, about some potential solutions.
Trever Loafman mentioned that the Downtown Nokomis Association has popcorn machines that could be put to use at the event.
The Trunk or Treat event will be on October 26 and it was decided that it could be a good event to tack the Movie at the Park as a part of the event.
Next Chamber meeting
The next Chamber meeting will be on Thursday, September 12 at 6 p.m. in the council room at Nokomis City Hall.
In attendance were President Dr. Scott Doerr, Secretary Michele Orsborn, Treasurer Ed Chausse, Director Kurt Aumann, Jake Leonard, Tom Spears, Kirk Pavolka, Trever Loafman, Misi Loafman, Jack Tosetti, Mayor Dylan Goldsmith, and Lance Lehnen.
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