The Economic Development & Cultural Affairs Committee voted to approve a sponsorship package for Main Street Live and then spent more than an hour debating how to use limited marketing dollars to promote the concerts.

The committee approved a sponsorship package that defines a title sponsor for the entire Main Street Live season and per-event silver sponsors. Under the adopted package, a title sponsor would receive category exclusivity, signage and logo placement across event materials, a speaking slot at concerts and a dedicated exhibitor area; a silver sponsor would receive logo placement and basic exhibitor privileges at individual concerts. Committee members agreed on a draft price for a title sponsor of $2,500 and a silver-per-event level of $600, which Felicia—who presented the sponsorship draft to the committee—described as the committee’s working framework for soliciting outside funding and in-kind support.

Why it matters: Committee members said outside sponsorships are necessary to cover talent and production costs for a growing Main Street Live schedule and to limit the town’s direct spending. The sponsorship package provides a standardized offer the committee and Cultural Affairs staff can use when reaching out to potential business partners.

The meeting then moved to whether the committee should set aside a separate line of town-funded paid advertising for each concert. A motion to allocate a small per-concert paid-ad amount (recorded in the meeting transcript as “$2.50 per concert” totaling “$12.50” for the season) drew extensive debate about the likely impact of such a modest spend. Members and staff described paid advertising minimums, the town’s organic communications channels, and alternatives such as targeted email newsletters, Eventbrite listings, and band- or sponsor-led promotion.

After discussion and a roll-call vote, the motion to allocate the per-concert marketing funds failed. The committee then agreed on a series of follow-up steps: (1) circulate the approved sponsorship package to Cultural Affairs and the EDC for outreach; (2) have town communications share its formal strategy and available metrics with the committee; and (3) pursue targeted, low-cost tactics (Eventbrite and band reposts) and a planned micro-influencer recognition program to increase event visibility without committing larger paid-ad buys.

Quotes and attributions are taken from committee discussion. Denise White, who introduced herself early in the meeting, said she would help with promotion in her role as owner of Social Society Event Marketing. Felicia, who presented the sponsorship draft, said the invoices and performer paperwork were ‘‘ready to go’’ but that the committee still needed sponsors for some dates.

What’s next: The sponsorship package will be circulated to Cultural Affairs so outreach can begin. Committee members also asked staff to supply the town communications plan and email-newsletter metrics so members can make a more informed decision about future paid advertising.

Notes: The transcript contains inconsistent numeric references to the per-concert marketing amount ($250 versus $2.50 in different places); this article reports the allocation exactly as it appears in the meeting record and documents the committee’s subsequent request for clearer communications metrics to guide future spending.