City of Culver City, California
Redevelopment Agency Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the Culver City Redevelopment Agency (“The Agency”) approve
$22,500 towards the contract to The Consulting Team, LLC for a total amount not to
exceed $50,000 for meeting facilitation services.
BACKGROUND:
At its meeting on November 27, 2006, City Council approved a contract with The
Consulting Team LLC, for Dr. Marilyn Manning to conduct meetings involving the
City Council, the City Manager, the City’s Executive Management Team, and the
City’s Commissions. The attached City Council staff report has details of this
project.
The funding for this contract is from the following sources:
Transportation Department: $ 5,000.00
Redevelopment Agency: $22,500.00
Appropriated General Fund Reserve: $22,500.00
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Additional information about The Consulting Team, LLC.
2. City Council staff Report of November 11, 2006.
MOTION:
That the Agency:
1. Authorize the expenditure of $22,500.00 from the Agency’s “Other Contractual
Services” account 59190400.619800 for this Contract.
Meeting Date: 02/05/07 Item Number: C4
AGENDA ITEM: Award of a Contract to The Consulting Team for Meeting
Facilitation Services and Authorization of Agency Allocation of the Funding
Contact Person/Dept.: Alice Prasad &
Todd Tipton
Phone Number: (310) 253-5704
(310) 253-5783
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [ ] General Fund: Yes [ ] No [X]
Public Hearing: [ ] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: Master Notification List (02/01/07)
Department Approval:
Todd Tipton (01/24/07)
Executive Director Approval:
Jerry Fulwood 1/30/07
City Controller Approval:
Marlee Chang 1/30/07
MEETING DATE: 2/5/2007
AGENDA ITEM: Award of a Contract to The Consulting Team for Meeting
Facilitation Services and Authorization of Agency Allocation
of the funding
ATTACHMENTS
Pages
1. Additional information about the Consulting Team
Inc.
1-4
2. Council Staff Report dated November 27, 2006 5-8
City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council award a contract to The Consulting Team, LLC
for an amount not to exceed $50,000 for meeting facilitation services and authorize a
related allocation of appropriated General Fund reserve.
BACKGROUND:
During the recent budget study sessions, the City Council recognized the pivotal
position the City of Culver City currently finds itself. The City Council has built upon
a firm foundation put in place by prior City Councils to continue the great progress
achieved by the City over the past 10 to 15 years. Some examples of this progress
include:
Successful renaissance of the City’s downtown, which has been transformed
into a vibrant business and entertainment/recreational core. Culver City has
received national recognition for its innovative restaurants;
Culver City remains the proud home of Sony Pictures Entertainment, The
Actors Gang at the Kirk Douglas Theater and will soon become the home of a
major campus of Symantec.
The Hayden Tract is blooming into a vibrant small-business/high-technology
area;
East Culver City is now home to numerous art galleries;
The City continues to be a model of responsive government, providing a wide
array of quality services to its citizens through the dedication of its employees.
Meeting Date: 11/27/2006 Item Number: A-5
AGENDA ITEM: Award of a Contract to The Consulting Team for Meeting
Facilitation Services and Authorization of a Related Allocation of Appropriated
General Fund Reserve.
Contact Person/Dept.: Steve
Cunningham, Bill LaPointe, John Richo,
and Serena Wright
Phone Number: (310) 253-6000
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: Master Notification List (11/22/06)
Department Approval:
Martin R. Cole (11/21/2006)
City Manager Approval:
Jerry B. Fulwood (11/22/2006)
City Controller Approval:
Marlee Chang (11/22/2006)
5City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
The results of this progress is a environment with low commercial and residential
vacancy rates, rising property values, and a place where persons of diverse
backgrounds, heritages, and creeds come together as one community.
Developments, many of which were forced upon the City by outside forces, have led
the City to re-evaluate its fiscal operations through the development of a Financial
Master Plan (to be considered by the City Council in January, 2007). The City, and
its component unit Redevelopment Agency, are facing critical issues of how to
maintain a healthy fiscal state while facing issues such as:
The ultimate dissolution of the redevelopment agency beginning in the next
decade;
Rising employment related costs, including retirement and medical premiums;
Increasing number of deferred maintenance items related to infrastructure
needs (maintaining and repairing important items such as city owned
buildings, streets, sidewalks, the sanitary sewer and storm drainage system);
Major federal and state mandates to enforce clean water standards (NPDES)
without an identified funding source
While celebrating its successes and facing these challenges, the City Council has
also recognized a central core issue: How best can the City capitalize on the current
forward momentum while preparing for the challenges facing the City both now and
in the future?
DISCUSSION
In an environment of limited resources, it is particularly important all members of the
City’s diverse team work together to provide advice to and implement the policy
decisions of the City Council. At this unique crossroads in the City’s history, where it
is facing great successes, formidable challenges, and a voter-approved change in
governmental structure, staff recommends the City Council consider the approval of
a contract with a top-notch facilitator to conduct meetings involving the City Council,
the City Manager, the City’s Executive Management Team, and the City’s
Commissions.
Staff began an extensive process of evaluating potential facilitators by soliciting
statewide input from other California cities through the League of California Cities. A
list was developed of potential facilitators derived from the responses received. A
subset of the Executive Management Team distilled the list and chose to interview
four finalists. After reviewing the finalists’ qualifications (and in some cases seeing
the candidates “in action”) and comparing the qualifications to the diverse needs of
6City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
Culver City, the City Manager selected The Consulting Team and its Chief Executive
Officer, Dr. Marilyn Manning, for recommendation to the City Council for award of
contract.
Dr. Manning has extensive experience in working with groups of myriad sizes,
interests, and goals. She has facilitated meetings with groups from both the private
and public sectors. Based upon direct observation, staff believes Dr. Manning’s
style, coupled with her extensive experience, make her the best choice to meet
Culver City’s meeting facilitation needs.
Proposed Process
Staff proposes to hold several facilitated meetings involving the following groups:
The City Council
The City Manager
The City’s Four Core Commissions
The Executive Management Team
It is proposed the City Council would meet with the City Manager, the City Manager
and Commissions, and with the City Manager and Executive Management. The
process would culminate in a facilitated meeting involving all four groups. Once the
initial facilitated meetings have concluded, there will be a need to have future follow-
up meetings with the facilitator to ensure the path forged by the City Council
continues to be followed.
Should the City Council approve this proposal, preliminary meetings between the
facilitator and individual Councilmembers and the City Manager could begin in late
December/early January. From these meetings a firm schedule would be developed
for the secondary meetings. It is expected this process would be complete in March,
2007 (in time to incorporate the results into the Fiscal Year 2007/2008 budget
process).
Goals of this Process
The overall goal of these facilitated meetings will be to create an environment where
each participant can candidly address the various issues facing the City and propose
methods these challenges can be best resolved. The meetings will also result in the
creation of overall goals and objectives by the City Council for the various
commissions, the City Manager, and the City as a whole. Ultimately, this process is
meant to be a “living” exercise that can be used as an ongoing tool which can be
7City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
updated as needed. The Comprehensive Financial Plan will be also crafted
accordingly to achieve these goals.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
Because of the high importance of the exercise to the City’s short and long term
operations, it is recommended the City engage the services of Dr. Manning directly.
Based upon her Non-Profit and Government Fee Schedule (included in the
attachment), it is recommended the City Council award a contract to the Consulting
Team for a not-to-exceed amount of $50,000.00.
It is proposed this contract would be funded in the following manner:
Transportation Department: $ 5,000.00
Redevelopment Agency: $22,500.00
Appropriated General Fund Reserve $22,500.00
Should the Council concur with this funding recommendation, an item will be placed
on the December 4, 2006 Agency agenda to confirm the funding from the
Redevelopment Agency. The amount proposed from the Transportation Department
can be used for already appropriated sources.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Additional information about The Consulting Team, LLC.
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1. Authorize the allocation of $22,500.00 from the appropriated General Fund
Reserve for this Contract;
2. Authorize a Contract with the Consulting Team, LLC in an amount not-to-
exceed $50,000;
3. Authorize the City Attorney to prepare and/or approve on the basis of form
any necessary documents related to this contract; and,
4. Authorize the City Manager to execute the contract on behalf of the City.|1013|