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City of Oak Creek · Milwaukee County · meeting of Jul 21, 2026 · Minutes
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Tourism Commission Meeting Minutes
7/ 21/ 26
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TourismCommissionMeeting
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
10a.m.
Attendees: CommissionerChristopher Adams, Alderman Jim Ruetz, CommissionerMichael
Grab andCommissionerMajlisSeisay
Also in Attendance: Marcia Wayer, Marketing and Public Relations Director, City of Oak Creek; Alex
Hayes, Tourism & EventsCoordinator, City of OakCreek
1. Welcome/ Call to order – Alderman Jim Ruetzcalled the meeting to order at 10a.m.
2. Approval of Minutes from 05/ 19/26.
CommissionerChristopher Adamsmoved to approve the minutes from 05/ 19/26. Commissioner
Michael Grab seconded. All voted in favor.
3. Informational: Reviewof 2026 Events
Alexprovidedanoverviewof the 2026 events, notingthat severalarebeingreevaluatedbased
on attendance, weather impacts, andother factors affecting engagement. Marcia addedthat the
reassessmentis intended to improve tourism engagementandlong-term event retention in Oak
Creek. Alexalsohighlightedpositiveattendancedatafrom severalsuccessfuleventsand
discussedopportunities to continue building on that momentum. Marcia andAlex sharedideas
for next year's events, focusing on potential changesto event formats to increaseattendance
andattract more visitors to Oak Creek.
4. Informational: 2027 Events Initial Discussion
Marcia presents potential ideasfor this coming year and what changesare going to be madewith
existing events, and which events can be reevaluated. Alex goes into detail about the Summer
SolsticeMusic Festivalon what went well andsharessomeideasthat can improve attendance and
attraction to the City of Oak Creek. Theidea is to makeit a multi-site event around the City and
to collaborate with inner city vendorsto promote analternative to local musicfestivals. Alexshares
that inpartneringwithvendorsandbeergardenswithintheCity it couldmeeteveryone’sindividual
goals.
Tourism Commission Meeting Minutes
7/ 21/ 26
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5. Informational: DDPMPStrategyDiscussionTier1: 0-2 years
Marciaprovidedupdateson the developmentproject, notingthat sheandAlexwill meet with a
third- party organizationthat assistscommunities with development planning. Theproject will then
be brought before the Tourism Commission to discuss next steps. The goal is to identify
opportunities that canbe pursuedwithin the next 24 months anddetermine which ideasalignwith
Oak Creek’s goals and potential funding opportunities. Marcia highlighted successful market
events that havegenerated momentum for the city andemphasizedthe importance of identifying
OakCreek’suniqueofferingsandcreatingadedicatedspaceto hostevents. CommissionerGrab
noted that the development could provide opportunities to host a variety of events beyond City-
sponsoredactivities. Marciaalsoemphasizedthe importanceof attractingvisitorsfrom both the
local andregional marketsanddiscussedhow the proposeddevelopment andavailablespacecould
supportthat goal. CommissionersGrabandSeisaysharedexamplesfrom other countiesthat have
successfully increased attendance and engagement through various approaches, including
restaurantofferingsandcommunityeventsin supportof the developmentproject.
Adjournment - CommissionerMichael Grab madea motion to adjourn the meeting.
CommissionerChristopherAdamssecondedthe motion. All votedin favorandthe meetingwas
adjournedat 11:04 a.m.
ATTEST:
MarciaWayer, Directorof Marketing & PublicRelations Date
Source: City of Oak Creek website. First collected Oct 16, 2026.