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CC - CONSENT ITEM: (1) Award of $36,700 in Grants and Designation of Nine Events as City-Sponsored through the FY 2022/2023 Special Events Grant Program as Recommended by the Special Events Grant Program City Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee; (2) Authorization of up to $23,300 in Contingency for Special Event Liability Insurance and Off-Cycle Event Support; and (3) Authorization to the City Manager to Administratively Approve Applicable City Permits and Licenses Needed to Conduct the Events.
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Meeting Date: May 23, 2022
Contact Person/Dept.: Armando Abrego/PRCS
Phone Number: (310) 253-6682
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (05/18/2022)
Department Approval: Armando Abrego, PRCS Director (05/11/2022)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) award $36,700 in grants and designate nine events as City-sponsored through the FY 2022/2023 Special Events Grant Program, as recommended by the Special Events Grant Program City Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee; (2) authorize up to $23,300 in contingency for special event liability insurance and off-cycle event support; and (3) authorize the City Manager to administratively approve applicable City permits and licenses needed to conduct the events, provided such permits and licenses are consistent with the scope of the event as set forth in the grant application (such authority shall not apply to the required Special Event Permit, which shall continue to be issued in the usual course of business).
BACKGROUND
In January 2017, at the recommendation of the Finance Advisory Committee (FAC), the City Council adopted a Special Event Grant Program Policy (Attachment 1; referred to hereafter as “Program”). The purpose of this Program is to provide a system of greater fiscal transparency and improve budget reliability, while allowing event proposers access to a centralized process for initiating requests with the City for funding and sponsorship. Through the Program, eligible special events can either be classified as Community/Charitable Events that have a recreational, cultural and/or social benefit to Culver City residents or Signature Events that are large scale events that regionally promote and provide measurable economic benefits to the City. Grant awards are intended to be used toward City permits and direct staffing services needed for conducting the event.
Temporary Suspension of the Program
After the adoption of the Program, the grant application cycle was held once annually, and applications were accepted from numerous organizations during the grant application period. In 2020, the Program was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Upon the lifting of certain COVID-19 related restrictions, the City Council began considering off-cycle special event support requests as outlined in the Special Events Grant Program Policy. “Off-cycle” Special Events Grant Program support requests are all those requests that do not occur during the annual application period. Between August 23, 2021, and April 25, 2022, the City Council awarded approximately $40,000 in off-cycle grants and designated 10 events as City Sponsored.
Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Special Events Grant Program Call for Applications
On February 10, 2022, the City distributed a press release announcing the Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Special Events Grant Program Call for Applications and the mandatory online Pre-Application Meeting. The announcement was shared through various social media channels. Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS) Department staff also conducted outreach with event applicants that had previously contacted the City. Events requiring funding between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 were eligible to apply for the Program’s annual funding cycle.
The virtual mandatory meeting was held on Thursday, February 17, 2022, from 7 PM to 8:30 PM. The Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Special Events Grant Program application period opened on Monday, February 21, 2022. The deadline to apply was 11:59 PM on Sunday, March 6, 2022. To be considered for grant funding, applicants registered online to attend the Pre-Application Meeting with various City staff, to assist in determining appropriate fees and charges required to host the event in the City. Following this meeting, applicants finalized the process through an electronic application available via the City’s website. At the time of application evaluation, 10 events completed the Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Special Event Grant Program application process. However, upon further examination, it was determined that the application submitted by the Yoga Angels Foundation did not contain sufficient information regarding their proposed event, a Wellness and Entertainment Festival, to be considered during this round of applications. The event applicants may submit an off-cycle Special Events Grant Program application once they have more information regarding their event.
DISCUSSION
Program Overview
The Special Events Grant Program Policy 2017-R006 outlines two event types: (1) Community/Charitable Events and (2) Signature Events. Community/Charitable Events serve or benefit locally based organizations and causes and/or provide recreational, cultural and/or social benefits to Culver City residents. Signature Events are large-scale events that promote Culver City regionally, attract visitors, provide measurable economic benefits to the City and enhance the quality of life within Culver City with recreational, cultural, social and/or educational activities of interest to the community.
In order to track the types of events supported and the level of support provided over time, Section 5.D of the Special Events Grant Program Policy 2017-R006 outlines the below event criteria and funding:
• Community/Charitable Event Grants:
o Tier 1 (C1): $100 - $2,500
o Tier 2 (C2): $2,501 - $7,500
o Tier 3 (C3): $7,501 - $15,000 +
• Signature Event Grants:
o Tier 1 (S1): $1,000 - $10,000
o Tier 2 (S2): $10,001 - $25,000
o Tier 3 (S3): $2,5001+
To become City-sponsored, events need to be specifically designated by the City Council and meet the criteria set forth in Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) Section17.330.040.B.7.b.ii. This includes confirming that the City is (a) participating in an official capacity in the planning, preparation or promotion of the event or activity; and (b) contributing 25% of the total estimated costs of the civic event or activity or at least $1,000, whichever is less. This contribution may take the form of funds, labor, staff time, materials, a waiver of fees, or any combination thereof.
Grant awards are enlisted as maximum amounts that are offered in the form of fee credits to be used to cover fees associated with executing a special event in Culver City, including but not limited to permits, equipment use, facility rental. Credits may be further used towards administrative and/or staff associated costs, subsequent to application towards permits/fees. Additionally, events may use grants towards banner installation costs.
Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Special Events Grant Program Ad Hoc Subcommittee Recommendations
On April 27, 2022, the members of the Special Events Grant Program Ad Hoc Subcommittee, Vice Mayor Vera and Council Member McMorrin, met with staff to review and evaluate the applications. The Subcommittee is recommending $36,700 in grants and City-sponsorship designation for the following nine events:
*Note: The Screenland 5K typically occurs on the same day as the Academy Awards Ceremony. This date may be adjusted accordingly.
More detail regarding these events may be found in Attachment 2, which provides a summary of each application. It should be noted that the recommended events may not yet have all of the required approvals needed from third parties (i.e. private property owners) to conduct their respective events. In addition, there is the possibility that, as the event planning process moves forward, circumstances could change and not all of the events may ultimately be held. If that is the case, the grant recipient would forfeit their grant award.
All awardees must pay all applicable taxes/assessments (including district assessments) and meet all other obligations as specified in the event agreement, including but not limited to, obtaining appropriate business licensing, event permitting, and operating in compliance with all City-established schedules as a condition of the grant.
Contingency for Special Event Liability Insurance and Off-Cycle Event Support
At the April 27, 2022 meeting, the members of the Special Events Grant Program Ad Hoc Subcommittee, requested that staff include a contingency amount for special event liability insurance and off-cycle event support for the Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Program cycle. The contingency amount is based on staff estimates, as detailed below.
Special Event Liability Insurance: Under certain circumstances, the City of Culver City must take out a supplemental special event liability insurance policy. In past years, this expense has been paid from various City accounts and was not tracked as part of the Special Events Grant Program. It is the Ad Hoc Subcommittee’s wish that these expenses become transparent and are tracked as part of the Program.
Typically, Signature Events are required to be covered by these one-time policies. The cost of the policy estimated by an independent insurance company and the insurance is provided by companies that specialize in this type of liability insurance. Factors that are taken into account when calculating the cost of the policy may include, but are not limited to, whether the event is being held on public or private property, estimated total attendance, estimated daily attendance, and/or if alcohol will be served at the event. If each of the five Signature Events recommended for support and one potential off-cycle request for a Signature Event have an average special event liability insurance cost of $750, the amount of contingency necessary for this expense is $4,500.
Off-Cycle Event Support: Including a contingency amount for off-cycle event support is recommended by the members of the Special Events Grant Program Ad Hoc Subcommittee. This recommendation has been made taking into consideration that (1) the number of events that the City Council wishes to support through the Special Events Grant Program may or may not rebound to pre-COVID levels; and (2) since the Program was temporarily suspended there may be a lag between the availability of the Program and full participation in it by qualified organizations/events. Although one of the primary goals of the Program is to limit the number of off-cycle event support requests, it may be prudent to make allowances for them in light of recent circumstances.
For Fiscal Year 2022/2023, the members of the Special Events Grant Program Ad Hoc Subcommittee are recommending awarding $36,700 in grants and designating nine events as City-Sponsored, including five Signature Events and four Community/Charitable Events. In 2019, the City Council awarded $89,000 in grants and designated 23 events as City-sponsored. It appears that six of these events were Signature Events and 16 were Community/Charitable Events. Staff supposes that there is a possibility that the City Council may receive at least one more request for support for a Signature Event, with maximum potential award amount of $10,000, and four more for Community/Charitable Events, with an average award amount of $2,200 each. This would bring the contingency amount for off-cycle event support to $18,800.
In summary, the estimated contingency amount is $4,500 for supplemental special event liability insurance and $18,800 for off-cycle event support, for a total amount of $23,300.
In-Kind Staff Costs
In past staff reports on the Special Events Grant Program, in-kind staff costs (aka soft costs) for administrative or marketing purposes were given a monetary value. However, these costs are not tracked as an addition to the grant, so they have been excluded from this year’s report. There are staff liaisons who work with each of the groups whose events are supported by the Program. These liaisons are typically management-level staff. The duties related to the Special Events Grant Program are subsumed as part of their regular duties. Currently, staff costs are only taken into consideration when nominal amounts are added to requests that need a small increase in order to meet the $1,000 threshold for City-sponsorship (as required by the Special Events Grant Program Policy).
Administrative Approval of City Permits and Licenses
As in past years, in order to streamline the planning and coordination of events, staff recommends the City Council authorize the City Manager to administratively approve related permits and licenses needed to conduct the events, provided such permits and licenses are consistent with the scope of the event as set forth in the grant application. Such administrative authority would not include the Special Events Permit, which would continue to be issued in the usual course of business.
Additionally, some of the event organizers intend to use City-owned property and/or equipment for their events which will require a license agreement. Other events have identified within their special event applications the need for alcohol use permits in conjunction with their request for designation as City-sponsored events. Given that the award of grant funds to the event organizers is an implicit approval of these events in concept, and in order to eliminate the need to return to City Council for approval of the related permits and licenses, staff recommends the City Council delegate this function to the City Manager.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Currently, the Proposed Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Budget includes only $25,000 for the Special Event Grant Program (10116100.517560). Should the City Council wish to award $36,700 in grants and authorize up to $23,300 in contingency for special event liability insurance and off-cycle event support, the amount needed in this account will be $60,000. If this amount is approved, staff recommends that an adjustment of $35,000 be added to the Proposed Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Budget Adjustments List.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2022-05-23 - ATT 1 Special Events Grant Program Policy - Resolution 2017-R006
2. 2022-05-23 - ATT 2 Summary of Fiscal Year 2022-23 Special Events Grant Program Applications
RECOMMENDED MOTIONS
That the City Council:
1. Award $36,700 in grants and designate nine events as City-sponsored through the Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Special Events Grant Program;
2. Authorize up to $23,300 in contingency for special event liability insurance and off-cycle event support; and,
3. Authorize the City Manager to administratively approve applicable
City permits and licenses needed to conduct the events, provided such permits and licenses are consistent with the scope of the event as set forth in the grant application (such authority shall not apply to the required Special Event Permit, which shall continue to be issued in the usual course of business).