The Racine Common Council voted unanimously Monday night to propose extending 5K Events’ management contract for Festival Hall, Memorial Hall, and Rotary Park through December 31, 2027.
During the discussion leading up to the vote, it was publicly revealed that City Administrator Jim Sullivan approached Hotel Verdant owner Michael Godfry about taking over the facility, a disclosure that drew a sharp rebuke from at least one alder.
The vote came after nearly two and a half hours of open testimony from city staff, heated alder debate, and no public comment, a point Alder Sandy Weidner raised at the outset. Because public comment was not noticed on the agenda, residents and 5K Events owner Patrick Flynn were barred from speaking.
Not a single alder moved to go into closed session, keeping the entire proceeding public.
“I’ve been listening back and forth, and it sounds like we all want the same thing,” said Alder Malik Frazier, who represents the 1st District where Festival Hall is located, before the vote. “I just hope and pray that we can come to some sort of resolution.”
Sullivan Confirms He Asked Godfry to Submit a Proposal
Sullivan told the council during the meeting that after Flynn sent a draft press release in late April threatening to leave management of Festival Hall at the start of the summer season, Godfry approached Sullivan and mentioned the contract was still unresolved. Sullivan said he told Godfry to “put some numbers down” so the city could evaluate its options.
“The only reason there’s any possible outcome other than [renewing with 5K] is because of the threats and behavior of Patrick Flynn and 5K,” Sullivan said.
Alder Grace Allen told Sullivan directly that the approach was inappropriate regardless of the circumstances.
“I just don’t think any part of that conversation was appropriate with another entity out loud in public,” Allen said. “A conversation like that would have been appropriate after we decided what was going to happen with our established relationship. It’s almost like finding out about a divorce through social media.”
Sullivan’s disclosure directly contradicts the public impression left by Mayor Cory Mason, who told Racine County Eye last week that he lacked the authority to switch operators unilaterally and declined to address whether he had solicited Godfry’s proposals.
Godfry himself had previously declined twice to tell Racine County Eye at whose request he submitted two draft proposals to the city.
What the Subsidy Actually Is and What Flynn Actually Wants
Finance Director Kathleen Fischer walked the council through the city’s full financial commitment to the civic center campus: a $200,000 operational subsidy, a $150,000 management fee paid directly to 5K Events, and $130,000 in capital funds, a combined $480,000 annual investment by the city.
Fischer noted that the $200,000 operational subsidy was included in 5K Events’ reported operating income, while the comparable figures for previous operator Venue Works did not include an equivalent subsidy, making Flynn’s social media comparisons between the two operators a misleading apples-to-oranges analysis.
After the meeting, Flynn pushed back on how the subsidy has been characterized throughout the dispute.
“The $200,000 that they give us is a deficit guarantee; it’s not a budget,” Flynn told Racine County Eye. “Every dime that comes into that park is money that we brought in as an organization, and we give back to the city. We don’t profit from this in any way, shape, or form. We may never even tap into it.”
On utilities, a central sticking point in negotiations, Flynn said the city has misrepresented his ask.
“The city pays utilities regardless,” Flynn said. “We just want them to pay it directly rather than going through our budget. No matter what happens, they still pay the utilities.”
City Attorney Scott Letteney and Fischer told the council that utilities have historically been paid through the operator’s contract budget, not directly by the city, and that absorbing utilities directly would effectively increase the city’s annual outlay by roughly $150,000.
A Presentation Flynn Could Not Respond To
Before the council took up the contract vote, Sullivan presented written complaints about 5K Events from two downtown business partners: the Racine County Economic Development Corporation (RCEDC) and the operators of Harbor Spot, a restaurant near the marina.
Sullivan said RCEDC, which holds its annual meeting at Festival Hall, reported a negative experience at the event and that its leadership told Parks Director Matt Koepnick they would not return if 5K Events remained the operator. The Harbor Spot complaint centered on Flynn’s dealings with other marina-area business owners.
Because public comment was not noticed on the agenda, Flynn had no opportunity to respond during the meeting. He addressed the RCEDC complaint afterward.
“They came in on Monday, two days after prom, and we were still cleaning; the floor was empty, nothing was set up,” Flynn told Racine County Eye. “They failed to come in the night before and make sure everything was in place. Two hours before the event was going to open, they wanted us to redo the entire AV system and all the curtains.”
Flynn said 5K Events accommodated the request but that the RCEDC had hired its own AV specialist who he said was responsible for the technical failures during the event.
“They paid an AV specialist to be there, and he failed them, but they blamed it on us,” Flynn said.
Racine County Eye has submitted an open records request for all correspondence between the city and 5K Events since June 2025, as well as any proposals submitted by Godfry or Hotel Verdant. The RCEDC and Harbor Spot complaints were presented to the council Monday but have not yet been produced in response to that request.
Timeline and Broken Deadlines
Letteney walked the council through a detailed paper trail showing negotiations began in earnest only after Flynn sent the draft press release April 25 threatening to exit the contract.
Flynn told Racine County Eye after the meeting that the press release was never intended as a public threat, but as a private warning to push the city to the negotiating table.
“I sent a hypothetical letter to the mayor and said, ‘If we don’t get a contract signed, this is the press release that would have to go out,’” Flynn said. “I told him not to share that. I don’t want to be in a position to put this letter out; I wanted to set in their mind a vision of what was going to happen.”
The city’s original contract proposal was not delivered to Flynn until March 19, nearly three months after the December 31, 2025 contract expiration, and at a meeting Flynn did not attend because he said he had not received proper notice.
Letteney acknowledged the city was required under the original contract to give 180 days notice before expiration, meaning that notice should have gone out by July 1, 2025, and that it did not.
“I think there’s enough blame to go around,” Letteney told alders who pressed on who was responsible for the lapse.
Allen pressed the point further, asking what safeguards could be put in place to prevent the same situation from recurring. Mason noted the proposed extension includes automatic month-to-month language if neither party terminates, a provision Alder Nathan Pabon and others said should be standard in future contracts.
The Vote and What It Means
The council’s action Monday is a proposal, not a signed contract. Under the terms approved, the contract extension is based on the city’s March 17 draft agreement and runs through December 31, 2027. Flynn has until June 9 to respond.
If accepted, the contract would go through the finance and personnel committee before returning to the full council for final approval, carrying the timeline into July.
The amendment to extend through 2027, rather than October 31 as originally proposed, passed 12-1, with Alder Jens Jorgensen casting the sole no vote. The June 9 deadline amendment and the main motion as amended both passed unanimously.
Jorgensen, who voted yes on the final motion, had argued throughout the debate that extending the contract two years without addressing the operator’s unresolved concerns amounted to poor governance.
“There’s no way I can be in favor of trying to drag something they said they signed under duress out two years and address none of their points,” Jorgensen said before the final vote. “It’s irresponsible and very bad government.”
Weidner, who made the amendment to extend through 2027, argued that the longer timeline gives both parties breathing room to resolve remaining disputes, including signage and the subsidy structure, through the budget process and a potential ordinance amendment.
“There’s a lot of hurt feelings out there, there’s a lot of misconceptions,” Weidner said. “I think time will heal those wounds.”
Mason, who does not vote unless there is a tie, said he agreed with Weidner and encouraged the full council to support the extension through 2027.
“I think giving certainty to it today and having it run through the end of 2027 would be in the best interest of the city and everyone who wants to enjoy Festival Park this summer and beyond,” he said.
Flynn: Two Sticking Points Remain
Speaking to Racine County Eye after the meeting, Flynn said he is prepared to accept the proposal with two conditions: relief from the sign ordinance requirement that every banner and commercial sign receive common council approval, and removal of the provision making him personally liable for any operating losses at year’s end.
“Every sign, every banner, if I put a no smoking sign, I’ve got to get approval from the Common Council,” Flynn said. “That has to be rewritten and has to be crystal clear.”
On the loss liability item, Flynn said the arrangement in Racine is fundamentally different from his operation in Kenosha, where 5K Events pays utilities and covers losses but also keeps a portion of the profits.
“Here we pay all the bills, and we don’t keep a penny of the profits,” he said. “If you want us to absorb losses, then let us share in the profits.”
Mason noted Monday that the sign ordinance applies to all downtown businesses and cannot simply be waived through a contract, but acknowledged a council member could propose an ordinance amendment. Weidner said after the vote she intends to do exactly that.
Flynn said he believes both issues can be resolved.
“Everybody agrees that we need to move forward,” he said. “I think we’ll get there; it’s just a question of how we get there in two weeks.”
