Photo by Jean-Luc ST-Hilaire via stock.xchng
Twin Lakes is moving ahead with a Movies in the Parks program, though all the details of how it will work have not been worked out.
The Village Board voted unanimously Monday to approve the program and award a contract not to exceed $10,000 for the purchase of a projector and related equipment.
Trustee Jeremy Knoll first presented the idea to the board at the Committee of the Whole meeting earlier this month. It arose out of discussions at the Park Commission level.
On Monday, Knoll presented information he had gathered since then on various questions board members had about the proposal.
Perhaps chief among them was price of the equipment. Knoll said he had obtained a new quote for the projector and a slightly smaller screen that would be about half of the $10,000 estimate he had obtained before the last meeting. He’d also discovered that the county parks system hosts a similar program with an admission fee. Other board members raised the possibility of sharing equipment with the county.
Licensing fees for movies would likely cost from between $350 to $750 per movie, Knoll said.
Renting the equipment was discussed, but rejected as too expensive or time-consuming. Some of the cost for the program might be recouped through sponsorships, Knoll said.
Trustee Kevin Fitzgerald pointed out that while the cost of the program may seem high at first, that it is not really compared to expenditures the village has made for other park facilities that are used by certain groups.
“Not everyone plays tennis,” Knoll said. “Not everyone plays baseball. Not everyone plays on the playground equipment.”
Knoll is expected to continue to report on the progress of the program at future meetings.
