ST. CHARLES – The St. Charles City Council on March 20 approved a funding request of $27,000 from the Pride of the Fox organization for its Festival of the Fox in June.

City officials said the amount is consistent with the level of funding the city has provided the festival annually for the last few years. Festival organizers said the money will help pay for the event’s popular dragon boat races and water ski show, whose costs have risen.

The funding comes from St. Charles’ hotel/motel tax, which the city also uses to support other local events, including Scarecrow Fest and the St. Patrick’s Parade.

Also on March 20, the City Council appointed Peter Vargulich to the Plan Commission. Vargulich has been a St. Charles resident for more than 23 years.

His background includes landscape architecture and site development for office buildings, corporate campuses, business and industrial parks, expressways, urban renewal projects, shopping centers, resorts – including Pheasant Run in St. Charles – extended care facilities, housing developments, solid waste facilities, mixed-use projects, luxury apartments, open space and recreational facilities, and streetscapes, Vargulich said.