By Brandi Makuski

It almost became the Easter Egg Roll that wasn’t.

The city’s annual egg roll — a secular, community event designed for kids through age 8 — is a draw for thousands of children who hurry for their fill of the 15,000 candy-filled plastic eggs. Up until last week, the event had been quietly called off due to lack of funding.

A staple in the city’s springtime events, funding for the Easter Egg Roll had been drawn from the city’s special events fund for at least 30 years. But due to a 2017 change in state law, that funding can now only be used for events promoting tourism.

According to Parks Director Tom Schrader, the new law also required the city to create a new tourism commission, and unless an event puts “heads in hotel beds”, the special events fund is off limits.

Schrader said the city has known about the change since last November, but finding a sponsor to pay the $1,800 for candy and eggs was nearly impossible.

“The city started working with the Optimist [Club], and they’d be the ones to find a sponsor and lay out the eggs and everything,” Schrader said. “But they’ve had a hard time finding a sponsor this year, and that’s understandable; for years [the city] struggled to find sponsors for this event.”

City Treasurer Corey Ladick said had the request had been made, the funding could have come from the city’s contingency fund with a three-quarters approval vote from the City Council, but noted contingency is designed for one-time events.

“In my opinion, it is probably more appropriate to fund something like this through donations,” Ladick said.

Mayor Mike Wiza said he only became aware of the problem at around noon on March 17, when a City Times reporter called his office to inquire. By 3 PM on Friday, Wiza said he was able to make some phone calls and secure funding for the event.

“I was doing interviews for a new public works director; in between interviews I called someone, and they agreed to front the $1800 anonymously,” Wiza said.

Wiza would only say the donor was “a community member who doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

Schrader said the 31st annual Easter Egg Roll is now scheduled for April 15 with a start time of 10:30 AM. The location is yet to be determined.

Check back for updates.