Council Should Lay Over PMI Resolution

by Tony Palmeri

February 22, 2005

Yesterday the Oshkosh Northwestern reported that, "On Tuesday, Oshkosh’s Common Council will consider a resolution officially selecting Promotion Management Inc. as Leach Amphitheater’s concessions and entertainment manager."

Today in the Northwestern appears an op-ed piece by rejected applicants Jay P. Supple, John F. Supple III and Randy Hopper. They argue that the management selection steering committee was swayed by a preference for a promoter specializing in attracting "top touring acts," a preference that represents "a fundamental misconception of the purpose behind this facility: a venue created by the community, serviced by the community and with access for the community."

In the interest of fairness and balance, I hope the Northwestern allows Ken Wachter of PMI to submit an op-ed, along with a representative of another rejected applicant, Compass Facility Management, Inc. of Ames, Iowa.

As with everything else associated with the amphitheater so far, the city's actions as regards the selection of PMI raises a wealth of questions. To wit:

• Have all members of the Oshkosh Common Council been provided with the bids that were submitted by PMI, Supple-Hopper, and Compass?
• Did the Oshkosh Parks Department submit a proposal for managing the concessions? If not, why?
• Why wasn't the Mayor or another member of the Common Council on the small panel that eventually recommended PMI?
• The newspaper yesterday said that the "city’s request for proposals guarantees any vendor provide $30,000 or 10 percent of total, annual venue revenues – whichever is larger -- to cover amphitheater maintenance costs." Why so little? With so much city money invested in this project, does it not make sense to demand more from any vendor seeking to manage promotion of acts and concessions?
• PMI's Ken Wachter told the newspaper that “We think we need to meet with the Waterfest people and see what they’ve got planned." PMI will also bring a "group sales" department to Oshkosh. Yet Supple-Hopper claim, "In addition to meetings with the Grand Opera House in terms of creating a ticket outlet, we have already held numerous meetings with Mike Dempsey and John Casper to determine the complexities of Waterfest; met with the Oshkosh Symphony to discuss preliminary programming opportunities; and met with Jay Stoflet from the Jaycees Brews & Blues, and Jim Putnam with the Fox Jazzfest." If Supple-Hopper have in fact laid this groundwork, why is that less important than PMI's "background and experience in the programming component" (as stated by Mr. Stephany)?

I urge the Common Council to lay over the resolution until these and other questions get answered. Most crucially, the taxpayers deserve to see some numbers on how much revenue the city can gain if the Parks Department runs the concessions as opposed to turning that responsibility over to a private entity.