Oz is in the offing.

At its meeting Monday night, the Chesterton Town Council voted 5-0 to enter into a contract with the Duneland Business Initiative Group (DBIG), the organizer of the annual Wizard of Oz Festival, governing this year’s edition of the extravaganza.

The agreement is identical to last year’s with this exception, Town Attorney Chuck Lukmann noted: DBIG “is not going to have the Saturday night festivities.”

The dates of the 2012 Wizard of Oz Festival: Sept. 15 and 16.

Some provisions:

•DBIG will have exclusive use of Thomas Centennial Park and its bandstand and non-exclusive use of the public rights-of-way on Broadway from South Calumet Road to Fourth Street, Third Street from Broadway to West Indiana Street, Second Street from Broadway to West Indiana Ave., and South Calumet Road from the Norfolk Southern grade-crossing to West Indiana Ave.

•Setup will begin in the designated area at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14.

•Thomas Centennial Park—known as “Emerald City in the Park”—will be reserved for festivities from 2 to 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 14.

•No alcoholic beverages may be served.

•DBIG must provide proof of general liability in an amount not less than $1 million per occurrence with an aggregate of $2 million—for personal injury or death—as well as one in the amount of $100,000, for property damage.

•The town has the right to determine which, if any, vendors constitute a high risk or are in “bad taste.”

•DBIG must pay the town $25 per space rented to “defray significant expenses incurred by the town resulting solely from this festival.”

•DBIG must also pay Street Department employees time and a half for road closure duties, setup, sweeping, cleanup, and inspection.

•DBIG must arrange and pay the cost of refuse disposal.

In other business, Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg reported on the snow removal efforts on Friday and early Saturday morning—the second week in a row in which Duneland has been hit hard by snow on a Friday.

Street Department crews hit the roads around 3 p.m. on Friday, then at 11 p.m. were joined by plows manned by employees from other departments: six from the Utility, one each from the Parks and Building, and one driven by Town Engineer Mark O’Dell.

By around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Schnadenberg said, roughly 80 percent of the town had been cleared. “We love it when a plan comes together.”

Total estimated snowfall, Schnadenberg added: seven inches.

At Schnadenberg’s request, members voted 5-0 to approve an expenditure of $2,150 in CEDIT funds to install electric service and two outlets in the Central Services area of the new municipal complex.

Schnadenberg told the council that currently there are no outlets located near the Central Services vehicle-lift stations, so employees are forced to string extension cords.

“Running extension cords across the floor is not a good idea,” Schnadenberg said.

Members also voted 5-0 to advertise for bids for this year’s asphalt contract, with bids to be opened at their meeting on March 12.