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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC- 5 Staff Report Special Event recommendationsCONSENT CALENDAR TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM: BILL NAKASONE, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS VIA: RICK COLE, CITY MANAGER JOE HSU, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES DATE: JUNE 9, 2003 SUBJECT: SPECIAL EVENTS – STAFF RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council approve the following staff recommended changes to “Special Events”. The ten (10) staff generated recommendations for “Special Events” are as follows; 1. The creation of an annual master calendar 2. The consolidation of numerous events into fewer events based on a seasonal format. 3. The deletion of certain special events. 4. The transference of certain stand alone special events into ceremonial recognition at City Council meetings. 5. The identification of Memorial Park as the centralized venue for the majority of events to minimize logistical considerations. 6. The implementation of changes to existing work methods (which includes an appropriation to Recreation & Family Services in the amount of $12,000 per year). 7. Absolving ourselves of the “stage rental” and “booth rental” business. 8. The creation of a special events tracking system to identify incurred costs by departments. 9. Improve marketing and audience targeting for special events 10. Explore building a regional “signature event” BACKGROUND In April of 2003, the City Council and staff had a “courageous conversation” concerning ‘Special Events”. Staff cited (7) problematic areas relative to special events; 1. Too many events 2. Lack of planning 3. Lack of centralized budgetary control 4. Astronomical cost ($354,534 per year)and labor intensive for city staff. 5. The volume of special events was negatively impacting the primary work plan focus of each department 6. Incorrect work methods / labor allocation of city staff 7. The events fell short of goals (too many small events that were sparsely attended) Staff did provide “conceptual” recommendations that were well received by the Council. The City Council then provided the direction to staff to further elaborate on the “conceptual” recommendations and to define them in very clear and quantitative terms. Cabinet staff met on several subsequent occasions to finalize the recommendations set forth in this report. Recommendation #1 – The Creation of a Master Calendar of Major Events – FY 2003-2004 July 4, 2003 – July 4 Parade (starting next year would become principal day to honor veterans) Month of August 2003 – Concerts in the Park September 20, 2003 – City Links (River Clean Up Project that would dramatically reduce costs and staff time involved in supporting multiple projects) Month of October 2003 – Golden Days January 2004 – Hands Across Azusa April 2004 – Clean & Green Month May 2004 – Fiesta Zacatecas (Replacing Cinco de Mayo, on the same day as the Mariachi Festival) Recommendation #2 – Consolidation of Events – FY 2003-2004 See above master calendar. Staff recommends continuing monthly volunteer projects, with clean-up projects and tree planting alternating. Recommendation #3 – Deletion of Events for FY 2003-2004 Dia de Musica (duplicative of Concerts in the Park – the garage band element would continue as a low- key Recreation function at Memorial Park aimed at the mainly adolescent target audience) Halloween (Haunted House would continue, but the organized ‘trick or treat’ alternative would be dropped) Soapbox Derby (dropped in favor of Winter Fiesta being spearheaded by APU) Cinco de Mayo Recommendation #4 – Turn Stand Alone Special Events into Ceremonial Acknowledgement at Council Meetings Arbor Day Veterans Day (Walk of Fame ceremony would be incorporated into Ceremonial Hour in the same way that the Blue Star program was conducted) Memorial Day (Walk of Fame ceremony would be incorporated into Ceremonial Hour in the same way that the Blue Star program was conducted) Holiday Tree Lighting Cesar Chavez Day September 11th Recommendation #5 – The Identification of Memorial Park as the Centralized Venue for Special Events Staff determined that some of the major cost components associated with special events revolved around the following activities; traffic barricading, traffic control, street closure, sign posting, stage set up, & stage transport. By scheduling the majority of events at Memorial Park, many of these logistical concerns could either be dramatically reduced or eliminated. Events that take place in Downtown, parade routes that cross Foothill Blvd, and the transporting of stage apparatus out of the City Yard all contributed to a high expenditure level relative to the excessive amount of labor hours associated with these tasks. While highly visible, the Civic Center is not designed to comfortably hold large groups of people. By centralizing events at Memorial Park (and storing the stages at Memorial Park) we can eliminate traffic control, street closures, sign posting, and traffic barricading and reinforce the identity of Memorial Park and its facilities as our “central park.” Recommendation #6 – Changing Our Work Methods – Transfer Stage & Booth Set Up / Dismount Responsibility from Public Works to Recreation & Family Services. Fund Recreation & Family Services a Supplemental Budget Appropriation of $12,000 per year to cover 1,500 hours of Special Event Set Up Time Under the current operation, Public Works staff is responsible for stage / booth set up and dismounting for special events. This consumes 1,500 hours per year of regular time. Public Works staff is paid at an hourly rate of $16.00 (part timers) and $32.00 (full timers) for this task. By transferring this responsibility to Recreation & Famiily Services part time staff at an hourly rate of $8.00, we would save approximately $25,000 - $30,000 per year on stage / booth labor costs. Recommendation #7 – Absolve Ourselves of the “Stage / Booth Rental Business” to Outside Entities The City has historically “loaned out” both the existing stage system and booths to outside “non city” entities. More often than not, this is loaned out at no cost to the applicant. This poses two major problems for the City. First, the City provides labor and equipment to transport this apparatus to and from the event. Second, it is often returned with damage. The current stage system has far surpassed the end of its useful life. For reasons of safety, staff recommends that the current stage system be scrapped and no longer used for any events (both City related and non City related). When the new stage system does arrive this summer, we recommend that it not be loaned out to any “non city” entity and that it be used exclusively for “City of Azusa” events only. Recommendation #8 – Create an expense tracking system for special events costs incurred by departments See attachment #2 entitled “Special Events – Event Consolidation Expense for FY 2003-2004” for a detailed breakdown of the following; the staff recommended city wide events for FY 2003-2004, the individual expense for each event, and the reimbursement amount for each participating department. Recommendation #9 – Improve marketing and audience targeting. Currently we market each event separately, primarily using blanket publicity methods. By more clearly defining our target audience for each event, we can customize our outreach for greater impact. We can also do a better job of cross-marketing events that target similar audiences. Key to this is assembling a data base of attendees and potential attendees. One way to efficiently compile the data is to create an “Azusa Advantage” card to offer tangible benefits to card holders in exchange for them providing information on their contact information and interests – the same way corporations use corporate loyalty cards (Vons Club, KCAL card etc.) Recommendation #10 – Explore building a regional “signature event”. Although Azusa celebrates with many worthwhile local events, there is no major regional draw to raise revenue, bring in visitors and market the community. For over half a century, Golden Days has been a very successful “local” event that celebrates Azusa tradition.. While many regional events have simply evolved into regional draws (Oxnard Strawberry Festival, Laguna Festival of the Arts, Sierra Madre Wisteria Festival), others have been created or repackaged with that clear goal in mind (Gilroy Garlic Festival, West Hollywood Halloween Carnival, Lancaster’s California Poppy Festival.) A potential change in the Golden Days format or the creation/repackaging of another regionally-focused event would require extensive consultation and collaboration. Staff does not expect this transformation to take place this fiscal year but perhaps this could be something worth considering for FY 2004-2005. FISCAL IMPACT The cumulative cost for “Special Events” was identified at $354,534. By implementing Recommendation #3 (deleting certain special events) and Recommendation #4 (Turn stand alone Special Events into Ceremonial Acknowledgement at City Council Meetings), the City of Azusa could save $139,303. per year (see attachment #1 – Deleted Events and Events Transferred to City Council Meetings – for a detailed breakdown of cost savings). This would reduce the net cost of special events down to $215,231 as illustrated below; Original Cost of Special Events $354,534. Less deleted events & transferred events -$139,303. Net special event cost $215,231 This residual balance amount of $215,231 would be used to fund the following consolidated events recommended by staff; Hands Across Azusa Dump that Junk Mariachi Concerts / Zacatecas 4th of July Parade Concerts in the Park City Links Golden Days / 5 K Run Holiday Tree Lighting River Clean Up The $215,231 earmarked for these events could be further reduced in cost due to recommendation #6 (transferring special event stage set up to Recreation & Family Services). By shifting stage / booth set up responsibility to Recreation, $6,000 could be reduced from Public Works labor expense for Golden Days. Likewise, Public Works could reduce the cost associated with Monthly Tree Planting by improved work methods and further reduce the expense for this event by $6,446. Additionally, the concerts in the Park are currently funded by Light and Water and the associated expense of $43,709 could therefore be excluded off the expense list. Consolidation of City Links with the River Clean Up Project would save an additional $15,315. The net total breakdown is listed below; Original FY 2003-2004 Special Event Budget amount = $215,231 Less Concerts in the Park – L&W funding = - $43,709. Less PW Labor Reduction on Golden Days = -$6,000. Less PW Labor Reduction on Tree Planting = -$6,446. Less Savings on City Links – combine with River = -$15,315. NET TOTAL PROPOSED FY 2003-2004 BUDGET = $143,761. The cumulative savings for all of the recommended changes to special events takes the original budget amount of $354,534 and reduces it down to $143,761. This represents a savings of $210,773. See attachment #2 (Special Events – Event Consolidation Expense for FY 2003-2004) for a detailed breakdown of cost. This attachment clearly delineates the chosen events for FY 2003-2004, the cost for each specific event, and the amount that each participating department will be reimbursed for services rendered.