Wildwood Council Members Debate Abashing Aspects of Barbecue Bash

Deciding to host the St. Louis Home Fires Barbecue Bash annual competition in Wildwood for the third year in a row prompted multiple debates and opinions for the past two months or more among city representatives and residents.

The decision was finally made Monday night at the city council meeting, even though the event was not a planned topic on the council's agenda.

Along with deciding to continue as the host city, the majority of council members present voted to allocate up to $25,000 toward the event. It was not a unanimous decision, though.

The bash is a public event, started by Ballwin-based Frank Schmer of St. Louis Home Fires, which attracts 30,000 to 35,000 people in one weekend.  Some people attend simply to compete with other barbecue enthusiasts; most participants come to sample the great food, hear local bands and perhaps frequent nearby stores and businesses.

The heart of the recent debate is whether a municipality should be partially paying for an event that is run by a private entity. And if so, to what extent taxpayer dollars should go toward such an endeavor.

Differing views about this topic among Wildwood city council members recently spurred them to realize they probably should formalize a new policy regarding all requests to use the city's Town Center area for events other than those sponsored purely by the city.  Examples of city-sponsored events are the annual movie nights and back-to-school celebrations.

However, council members haven't been able to finalize the usage policy and simultaneously found themselves needing to decide on this higher-ticket event, the annual bash.  The bash is one of nearly that Wildwood's Planning/Economic Development/Parks (PEP) committee members were contemplating covering within a $50,000 budget for this year. 

At the Jan. 10 city council meeting, council members discussed the bash and voted to send the agenda item back to PEP committee members for further detailing.  PEP representatives had established an extra meeting on Jan. 27 to devote ample time to the topic.

However during Monday's meeting, Councilwoman Holly Parks (Ward 2) moved to reconsider the budget for the bash, which led to a 8 to 6 vote in favor of reconsidering it that night and foregoing the meeting set up for PEP committee members.  Two councilmen, Nick Roppolo and David Sewell, were absent Monday.

Mayor Tim Woerther then led the group through a lengthy discussion of many viewpoints.

"One event, the bash, was being given $15,000 out of our $50,000 budget set aside for all events," said councilwoman Tammy Shea (Ward 3) and member of the PEP committee.  "I think we should encourage business development on business property. 

"I'm friendly to the idea of the bash. But in light of the amount of money collected at the bash, I can't support the city's funding of this level because it is public funding for a private event."

Shea reminded meeting attendees that the city ended up devoting a surprising $46,000 in 2009, the first time Wildwood hosted the event.  Severe weather and management issues related to a record crowd were the two unexpected factors.  "Then we allocated only $26,000 for the 2010 bash, but still ended up paying $46,000 again," she said.

Shea said she had prepared a presentation for Thursday's meeting regarding economic development.  "Selling beers to each other is not economic development," she said.

Councilman Jim Kranz (Ward 7) said government groups working with private enterprises helps the community.

"We have private booths at the city's Farmers' Market, which is done at Town Center, too.  Those business owners make a profit.  There is no difference in that and what happens for the bash," he said.

Comparatively, Kranz said the city used to host an annual, one-day Wildwood Celebration event that only drew 5,000 people, but cost $60,000.

"Investing $25,000 to draw 30,000 to 35,000 people in two days seems reasonable," he said.  "What's been occurring with the bash recently seems like politics and delay tactics."

PEP Committee Chair Michele Bauer (Ward 8) said they were not looking for a delay, and were just following the city's process.

Bauer said the overall event budget and final calendar of events had not been approved, and that she was concerned about taking one item and moving it out of committee before the entire package was decided.

Councilman Ed Marshall (Ward 2) made the point that any event-related money is actually within the city's budget, and therefore is within the council's purview, not in any one given committee's authority.

Councilman Ron James (Ward 6) said he supported hosting the bash because Wildwood residents wanted the event and thought it helped to promote the city in positive ways.  He said believed it was important for the city to pay for items related to public safety and health only, and that whether the organizer of the bash made a profit from the event should not worry anyone related to the city staff or council.

The city's approved budget already earmarks $10,000 to cover overtime costs for the St. Louis County-Wildwood Precinct officers to work events.  Their costs for the bash will be coming from that separate budget.

Some discussions reflected who should pay for the $6,000 cost of event signage.

"I think some people are confused between having 'Wildwood events' versus having events in Wildwood," said Shea.  "We're here to serve Wildwood residents in the highest capacity.  We're blurring the line when public funds are used for organizations or businesses."

"In fact, we're paying a man to run his own event," she said.

She also suggested that the stance of some council members on this matter was swayed by the profits made by their volunteer groups, such as the Lions and Rotary clubs.

"Nobody is saying we don't want the event," said councilwoman Patricia Thibeault (Ward 1).  "I just think a lot of people don't know their tax dollars are paying for it."

Shea said she thought the city's in-kind donations also should be counted when considering the city's total financial commitment toward the bash.

"Given that tonight we just voted to spend $30,000 of the city's money to demolish an abandoned house, I think spending this amount of money to support an event that a lot of people say they enjoy is very worthwhile," said Kranz.

The bash is scheduled for Sept. 24-25.