Weston denies room tax dollars for Monk Botanical Gardens after name change
But village leadership reversed its Monday decision on Wausau Pride, granting the event $1,500 dollars
The Monk Botanical Gardens controversy hasn’t ended with the board deciding to reverse its extremely unpopular decision to change its name. The controversy has followed it to Weston, where it cost the non-profit $10,000 in marketing dollars.
The village of Weston rejected a $10,000 room tax grant request from Monk Botanical Gardens to help fund the Blossom of Lights Festival this fall. That came after some heated exchanges between Darcie Howard, the gardens’ director, and the village’s Room Tax Commission.
The room tax commission also rejected a $1,500 grant around Wausau Pride, an event coming up on June 1. But, Village President Mark Maloney told The Wausonian Thursday that the village has reversed the decision and will be granting the $1,500 to the event after all.
But the controversy with Monk Botanical Gardens began even before the agenda item came up. One village board member in public comment accused the gardens of falsifying its application by putting Monk when it was really Wausau Botanic Gardens, and of operating a for-profit entity and not a non-profit.
And Maloney rebuked Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Tim White for attempting to defend Monk Botanical Gardens. Maloney also called out White when White said he didn’t support the name change. White was quoted as supportive in the initial press released announcing the name change:
Dave’s sentiment is also expanded on by Tim White, Executive Director of Visit Wausau,"We are thrilled to announce the rebranding of Monk Gardens to Wausau Botanic Gardens. This name change reflects the garden’s growth and transformation into a premier destination for botanical exploration. Wausau Botanic Gardens captures the essence of our expansive and diverse experiences that enchant visitors year-round. We believe this new identity will not only resonate with our visitors but also enhance our visibility and appeal as a must-visit location in the region.
We look forward to welcoming more guests to discover the natural beauty and serenity of Greater Wausau through this wonderful botanical experience."
When I asked White about it, he said this:
In making any big changes for any organization, I’ve been reminded how important the entire process is from start to finish. The community must be given an opportunity to be heard. It’s better to put that at the beginning instead of the end.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20. My hope is that both the garden board and the community will continue to engage in positive change that helps the garden to thrive for both the community and visitors.
But the most heat came when Director Darcie Howard attempted to advocate for the funding. Howard explained that they are in fact a non-profit and she explained the Monk name change: It’s confusing and garden staff have had people think there are monks there or that it was someone’s backyard.
Room Tax Commission member Dino Corvino questioned Howard why, when he sent her a question about the strategic plan prior to the meeting, she didn’t respond to him. When he criticized a board member’s recent comments defending the name change, Howard replied that the board member in question was the one who negotiated the deal with Robert Monk in the first place and “knows more than anyone in this room, including me, about the process.”
Corvino responded that he really wanted to vote in favor of the funding but that she was making that difficult with such comments. Corvino ultimately moved to reject the grant, which the commission did 6-0.
The Wausonian reached out to Howard to see how that might affect the festival:
The funding will not affect Blossom of Lights. We asked for marketing dollars from the tax commission from the hotel tax on visitors. That means a little less marketing dollars. This event has been building each year and we are confident we will have another successful year.
You can see the full exchange here:
A pride reversal
The commission also rejected a $1,500 grant for Wausau Pride — but that’s since been reversed, The Wausonian learned.
Maloney told The Wausonian Thursday that he reversed the decision in response to a letter from organizer Tiffany Rodriguez in support of Wausau Pride following the meeting. That means Wausau Pride will receive the $1,500.
Wausau Pride is happening on June 1 and will the third time running. Event Director Tiffany Rodriguez answered questions about the evening performer (Sapphira Cristal, who appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race TV show) and that they had to cancel the performance last year because the scheduled performer canceled the entire tour.
Weston Village Administrator Jami Gebert told The Wausonian that the next steps would be for the CVB to send out approval notices to Wausau Pride.
Thank you for reading The Wausonian. Please consider subscribing to The Wausonian because it supports our mission of bringing indepth journalism to Wausau. And if you want to see all we publish, consider a paid subscription today.
Already a paid subscriber? Refer your friends and earn a discount on your subscription when your referred friends subscribe! Check out your unique referral code in the link below: