It’s time to bury the hatchet.
And not in anybody’s skull.
As readers of this blog well know, since our July 7, 2008 post, we have been unabashedly outspoken critics of Taste of Park Ridge NFP (“Taste Inc.”), the private corporation which, back in 2005, was given a no-bid exclusive “deal” to run the City’s signature event, Taste of Park Ridge (“TOPR”). Our beef has been simple and straightforward: why is the City getting stiffed on the reimbursement of expenses and the profit sharing that was intended in the original 2005 TOPR “deal”?
Since that first post we discovered that TOPR had been run from 2005 to 2009 by a for-profit corporation masquerading as a non-profit one (i.e, and “NFP”) – which the City (a/k/a, the taxpayers) was subsidizing to the tune of $10-20,000, or more, worth of City services (police, fire and public works), even as Taste Inc. built up a bank account approaching six figures. The fact that politicians like then-Maine Twp. Supervisor Bob “the Dude” Dudycz and then-mayor Howard Frimark were instrumental in Taste Inc. made the situation even more problematic, as did the inexplicable lack of oversight by both the 14-member, pre-2006 referendum Council, and the 7-member, post-2006 referendum Council.
We called out the Taste Inc. folks and our City officials – the former for ripping off the taxpayers, the latter for letting the former get away with it. We also called for transparency from Taste Inc., reimbursement of the City by Taste Inc. for TOPR expenses, profit-sharing between the City and Taste Inc., and a competitive RFP/bidding process to ensure that the taxpayers were getting the best bang for their buck, both economically and entertainment-wise.
Needless to say, that didn’t endear us to those Taste Inc. folks and many of those public officials imitating the see/hear/speak-no-evil monkeys. C’est la vie.
Last year (for TOPR 2012), however, Mayor Dave Schmidt finally overcame all the wailing and gnashing of teeth to get the Council to take its duty to the taxpayers seriously. They demanded that Taste Inc. do all those things it should have been doing since 2005. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate. So while Taste Inc. reimbursed the City for its expenses, there wasn’t any profit sharing to be had.
But as anybody who was around last weekend can attest, the weather for TOPR 2013 couldn’t have been better. And the crowds that came out for the expanded (to 4 days) TOPR should end up making this year’s event a contender for most successful TOPR. Evah!
For Taste Inc. and for the City. Which is all we ever wanted in the first place.
So in the spirit of “all’s well that ends well,” we think it’s time for all of us who were justifiably critical of how TOPR was being operated to wipe the slate clean, and to give the Taste Inc. folks – Dave Iglow, Dean Patras, John Warnimont, Barb Tyksinski, Mel Thillens, Franklin Ramirez, et al. – a big Watchdog bark-out. Hopefully, all of us learned something worthwhile from the “refining” process TOPR went through these past few years.
And hopefully TOPR 2013 will prove to have been successful enough to put some needed dollars in the City treasury this year…and in years to come.
To read or post comments, click on title.
7 comments so far
My first reaction of your post is ‘did TOPR put you on their payroll or are they paying you a consulting fee’?
While I am happy that the Tastee was a success and that the City will be reimbursed it costs, do you really believe that the profit sharing will be accurate?
On a tax return, salaries and expenses are deductions that reduce the profits. Expenses are easily padded. Shouldn’t we wait and see what those expenses are before we get ‘bury the hatchet’?
In God we trust, we audit the rest.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We’d like to think we can’t be bought – and so far, at least, nobody has offered enough to prove us wrong.
As we understand the City’s contract with Taste Inc., there is an audit provision which entitles the City to look at the things you note.
Trust but verify, because we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
Sounds like a step in the right direction. Next step: getting more quality (and non-chain) restauranteurs into town that are worthy of a “taste.”
You have boosted your own credibility with this bark-out. Good one. Thanks. (BTW, I’m a faithful PubDog fan with no tie to Taste except to All On The Road’s killer shrimp remoulade.)
What’s the problem with a quality chain restaurant? Successful chains, especially the sit-down types I believe you are alluding to, get to be chains by pleasing most of the diners most of the time. More good restaurants of any kind help create critical mass and habituate residents to looking for dining choices here in Park Ridge as well as bringing in neighboring diners. Since people don’t want to walk ten feet to a restaurant, an easy first step would be to permit valet parking around the Six-Corners area of Uptown where we have at least some dining options now. I believe the Mayor’s Economic Development Task Force recommended this option…
EDITOR’S NOTE: We note that Edison Park (“the party park, libation station” according to one colorful METRA conductor) has built a dining and drinking reputation on no “chain” restaurants. So maybe that’s the model somebody has in mind.
@2:28 While corporate chains have their place especially when it comes to convenience and predictability, I feel like most generally can’t hold a candle to a good independent restaurant in terms of quality, innovation and just general heart and soul. I’d rather give my hard earned dollars to a mom and pop enterprise that takes pride and joy in the various aspects of the dining experience than to a chain that’s focused only on the bottom line.
As PWD says there are places like that in Edison Park, as well as all over Chicago and other suburbs. I find it odd and disappointing that, in comparsion, Park Ridge has very few such options. When our family dines out, 9 out of 10 times it’s somewhere other than our own hometown.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We’d rather give our hard-earned dollars to whatever restaurant provides the best combination of food and service at the most reasonable price. Those are the ones that actually tend to stay in business – go figure.
And what the hell gives you the idea that people don’t wanna walk 10 feet? Especially if they live in the neighborhood?
How silly.
6:25 PM: Research. Lots of it. People in the ‘burbs are unwilling to walk more than, say, half a block to shopping or dining. YOu can probably find the various studies online in less time than it would take you to walk to Affresco…
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