Candy Dance tempo slows

Genoa is anticipating that Candy Dance will show a $20,000 shortfall this year.

Town Manager Sheryl Gonzales asked Tuesday that members table a discussion of the accounting until a later date.

According to the town's month end budget performance report, Candy Dance revenue as of Sept. 30 was $257,436 for the fiscal year starting on July 1.

While the town rented eight more booths than last year for a total of 295, they sold about $10,000 less in candy. The dinner dance was successful, with 720 tickets sold and another $4,000 raised at the two bars, which may represent the dance's net profit.

Parking, which represents one of the few firm numbers indicating attendance at the fair, was down nearly 600 vehicles, with 5,369 cars parked in official lots. A few more people rode the shuttles this year than last, with 616 visiting over the two days.

The total for events auxiliary to the booth rentals is down $25,000 since 2006, representing a 25 percent decline. However, the lion's share of the money raised by Candy Dance was in booth rentals.

Revenues from parking, candy and other cash items totaled $74,976, down a quarter from a high of $101,259 in 2006, when candy sales accounted for nearly $53,600 in revenue.

Meanwhile, Genoa Town Board members renewed their opposition to two fairs that coincide with Candy Dance.

Board members voted not to recommend Douglas County commissioners approve the Peddler's Fair and the Autumn Boutique at the White House because they said the applications didn't meet county code.

Gonzales told town board members that organizers Martha Williams and Phil Stoll are short both in restrooms and parking spaces under the county's new festival ordinance.

The applications the two women submitted to the county are identical to the ones the county approved last year, Gonzales said.

"It sounds like they make exceptions," Gonzales told the town board.

The town opposes the independent festivals because they operate at the same time as Candy Dance, the town's annual fundraiser.

Williams has operated the Peddler's Fair on Candy Dance weekend since 1996 on her property south of the Genoa Post Office. In her application she estimates that 2,000 people visit the fair. Stoll's festival is in the middle of town and has been going on for several years.

Williams has said that she runs her own craft fair because Candy Dance essentially shuts down the town, preventing her from operating her business.

Both permits are scheduled to appear before county commissioners at their Jan. 7, 2010, meeting.