Council set to prioritize 2013 community events

SUISUN CITY — City Council members are expected Tuesday to prioritize a list of community events for 2013.

The Suisun City Community Services Foundation was formed last year to raise money to cover the cost of events. That came after the state eliminated local redevelopment agencies, which in Suisun City’s case, funded special events.

In 2012, the city’s Independence Day celebration, Saturday night movies and Christmas at the Waterfront were paid for with money raised by an ad-hoc committee and foundation board members. This year’s Fourth of July festivities will be paid for with money raised last year through the sale of safe-and-sane fireworks.

Before the council are the 2013 Christmas on the Watefront, eight outdoor movies on Saturday nights, eight Friday evening concerts, eight Sunday afternoon jazz shows and the Shorefest. All will be paid for with money raised by the Suisun City Community Services Foundation.

The city has not hosted Shorefest since 2010. The event serves as a kickoff to the town’s summer events.

Also hoping to return to the waterfront are the Friday night concerts and Sunday afternoon jazz shows. Both last took place in 2011.

All, with the exception of Shorefest, are budgeted for more money than in 2011 or 2012. Christmas on the Waterfront, slated for Dec. 7, cost about $18,453 in 2012. This year’s cost estimate is $19,135.

The Saturday night movies are estimated to cost about $4,090, up from the 2012 cost of $3,063. Eight Sunday jazz afternoons will run about an extra $500 from the 2011 cost of $7,312 – to $7,750.

The biggest anticipated jump is the cost for eight Friday night music shows at $24,125, up from $22,049 in 2011.

Shorefest is estimated to cost about $2,300 less than the last time. The proposed budget for entertainment and sound is cut by more than half. The event’s advertising budget is also slated to take a hit.

Hosting all the events would cost about $64,100.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the City Council chamber, 701 Civic Center Blvd.

Prior to the regular meeting, council members will meet in a 5:45 p.m. closed session to discuss existing and anticipated litigation as well as personnel matters. The existing litigation involves former Suisun City police officer David Fong, who sued the city in 2011 alleging that he was the victim of disability discrimination because of his attention-deficit disorder.

Reach Amy Maginnis-Honey at 427-6957 or amaginnis@dailyrepublic.net. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/amaginnisdr.

Amy Maginnis-Honey

Amy Maginnis-Honey joined the staff of the Daily Republic in 1980. She’ll tell you she was only 3 at the time. Over the past three decades she’s done a variety of jobs in the newsroom. Today, she covers arts and entertainment and writes for the Living and news pages.

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