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Why two St. Charles organizations might merge

Two St. Charles organizations are attempting to merge into a single marketing and economic development group called One St. Charles.

The Downtown St. Charles Partnership and the Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau act as the community's promotional arms, each with its own way of driving commerce to the area, City Administrator Mark Koenen said. Though both receive city funding, he said, they were previously housed in separate locations with little collaboration.

The first step toward developing a closer relationship was to move them into city hall, Koenen said. Conversations about full consolidation have been taking place "fairly intensely" for a year or so.

"It seemed to make sense that if we could combine them into a common organization, that it would drive some efficiency," he said. "This is about growing St. Charles with business activity to grow our local economy."

The Downtown Partnership aims to preserve the character and enhance the economic viability of the city's downtown, whereas the Convention and Visitors Bureau promotes the area as a destination for getaways, conferences and major events. If the merger comes to fruition, One St. Charles would leverage the strengths of both, while honing in on one marketing brand, Koenen said.

A Downtown Partnership event with a successful track record, such as Jazz Weekend, could be used to attract tourists to stay overnight. Or a convention at the Q Center could be paired with promotional offerings from downtown businesses.

"We just thought there could be some efficiencies as far as branding and marketing goes to make sure we're singing from the same songbook," said Jenna Sawicki, executive director of the Downtown Partnership.

A plan for what that merger might look like was presented this week to the government operations committee. A single board would oversee One St. Charles, which is expected to keep all existing employees of both groups, Sawicki said. That would require reorganizing the staffing structure, starting with creating one director position, which is slated for Sawicki.

Downtown special service area tax dollars have historically helped fund the Downtown Partnership, while hotel/motel tax revenues have gone toward the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Using those revenue sources, One St. Charles has requested $749,600 in city funding for the next fiscal year - about $5,782 less than the combined contribution for 2018-19.

Aldermen on Tuesday asked One St. Charles leaders to "sharpen their pencils" and reduce their request to ensure the organization's efficiencies are reflected in the bottom line, Koenen said. Though its feedback was largely favorable toward the concept, the committee also wanted to see event attendance, sponsorship dollars, input from businesses and other specific metrics for both organizations that could be used to evaluate the progress of One St. Charles.

"We should be able to drive a stronger return for the investment the city provides them with funding," Koenen said.

Additional information is expected to be provided to aldermen at a future meeting. Logistics of the potential merger would be determined before the fiscal year begins May 1, Koenen said.

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