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CC - (1) Approval of a Budget Amendment to Appropriate $90,000 to the 2017-18 Special Events Grant Program (Four-Fifths Vote Requirement); (2) Authorization of Award of $82,100 in Grants to 13 Event Applicants for the 2017-18 Special Event Grant Period; (3) Authorize the Chief Financial Officer to Approve up to $7,900 in Contingencies for these Events; (4) Designation of 11 Events as City-Sponsored Events, as Recommended by the 2017-18 Special Event Grant Program City Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee; and (5) Authorize the City Manager to Administratively Approve Applicable City Permits and Licenses Needed to Conduct the Events.
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Meeting Date: August 28, 2017
Contact Person/Dept: Jeff Muir/Finance Department
Phone Number: (310) 253-5865
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (08/23/17)
Department Approval: Jeff Muir, Chief Financial Officer (08/21/17)
_____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) approve a budget amendment to appropriate $90,000 to the 2017-18 Special Events Grant Program (Four-Fifths Vote Requirement); (2) award $82,100 in grants to 13 event applicants for the 2017-18 Special Event Grant Period; (3) authorize the Chief Financial Officer to approve up to $7,900 in contingencies for these Events; (4) designate 11 Events as City-Sponsored Events as recommended by the 2017-18 Special Event Grant Program City Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee (Subcommittee); and (5) 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 Events Permit, which shall continue to be issued by the Committee on Permits and Licenses).
BACKGROUND
On January 9, 2017 at the recommendation of the Finance Advisory Committee (FAC), the City Council adopted a Special Event Grant Program Policy (referred to hereafter as “Program”). The purpose of this Program is intended 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 community/charitable with a recreational, cultural and/or social benefit to Culver City residents or large-scale, signature events that regionally promote - and provide measurable economic benefits to - the City. Grant awards offered are intended to be used towards City permits, in-kind and/or direct staffing services as it relates to conducting the event.
To phase-in the Program, only events scheduled to take place between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018 were eligible to apply for the funding cycle. Initial courtesy notifications were issued on March 2, 2017 to prior event proposers to alert them of the forthcoming application period. A press release was distributed on March 27, 2017 through the City Manager’s Office that the application period had been opened. Department staff also conducted outreach with event proposers that had previously made contact. A “Special Events Grant Program” informational page was opened on through the City’s website to outline the Call for Application process schedule and along with other program details.
To be considered for grant funding, event proposers registered online to attend a mandatory 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 then finalized the process through an electronic application made available via the City’s website. The 2017-18 Special Event Grant Program application period closing date was extended through Friday, June 9, 2017. At the time of closing, 13 events representing nine organizations completed the 2017-18 Special Event Grant Program application process.
DISCUSSION
Program Overview
The Subcommittee convened in June and August 2017 to review and evaluate applications submitted for two areas: (1) Grant Award Funding and (2) City Sponsorship consideration.
For grant funding, the review included determining how best to apply grants with consideration that City staff evaluated and provided estimates totaling approximately $100,000 in City fees and charges across the 13 event applications received. Applications included detailed descriptions of each events, discussion of applicant’s prior event experience, marketing/outreach plans, detailed event budgets, prior event promotional material samples and event letters of support. Of the applications received, 11 of the events had previously received Council funding and sponsorship approval, which provided some historical context for amounts previously waived by the City.
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.
Based on its review, the Subcommittee is recommending $90,000 in 2017/18 Special Event Grant Awards ($82,100 in Grants and $7,900 contingency) for the following 13 events and City sponsorship designation for the following 11 events :
|
EVENT |
GRANT AWARD |
SPONSORSHIP |
|
Culver City Car Show |
$ 4,700 |
Yes |
|
Fourth of July Fireworks |
42,000 |
Yes |
|
Affair of the Arts (Fall 2017) |
2,000 |
Yes |
|
Affair of the Arts (Spring 2018) |
2,000 |
Yes |
|
Taste of the Nation |
1,400 |
Yes |
|
Artwalk |
1,500 |
Yes |
|
Screenland 5K |
22,100 |
Yes |
|
Asian World Film Festival |
1,100 |
Yes |
|
A Child's Dream - Annual Holiday Event |
1,000 |
No |
|
A Child's Dream - Back to School Event |
1,000 |
No |
|
TEDx Culver City: "Breaking Barriers" Talk |
1,100 |
Yes |
|
Washington West Business Artwalk (Fall 2017) |
1,100 |
Yes |
|
Washington West Business Artwalk (Spring 2018) |
1,100 |
Yes |
|
Contingency Funds |
7,900 |
|
|
GRAND TOTAL |
$ 90,000 |
11 |
Subcommittee Grant Award/Sponsorship Recommendations
1. Culver City Car Show: The Culver City Car Show is an annual charitable event organized by the Culver City Exchange Club that attracts car enthusiasts throughout the region. The event entails the competitive display of classic cars in a family friendly environment with food, live music and car-related entertainment. The annual theme highlights the unique intersection with Southern California's car culture and Culver City's prominent role as the "Heart of Screenland." All charitable proceeds from this event go to fund local youth charities such as the Culver Youth Health Center, the YMCA, and annual college scholarships for Culver City High School students.
The 2018 event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 12, 2018 from 10AM - 6PM at Veterans Memorial Park with an expected attendance of over 10,000 exhibitors, vendors and participants throughout the day.
The Subcommittee recommends the City Council approve up to $4,700 in grant assistance for the 2017 Culver City Car Show (Car Show) and designate it as a City-sponsored event.
2. Fourth of July Fireworks: July 4, 2018 will mark the 52nd year of the annual Culver City Exchange Club Fireworks Display. The 2018 family-friendly festivities are again planned to be held at the West Los Angeles College from 3PM - 9:30PM. All events will occur on the campus including food trucks, live music, a kids' zone and the fireworks. The fireworks, however, are visible throughout the city. The City’s role is primarily traffic control for the safe entry and exit of pedestrians and vehicles, including the re-routing of bus services in the area to assist with this aim.
The Subcommittee recommends the City Council approve up to $42,000 in grant assistance for the 2017 Culver City Exchange Club Fireworks Display, including $24,000 in cash outlays, and designate it as a City-sponsored event.
3. Affair of the Arts (Fall 2017): The Affair of the Arts is a biannual, multi-day, art and music Festival with over 50 vendor booths selling paintings, hand-blown glass, photographs, jewelry, ceramic pottery, desserts and beverages.
The event is hosted by the Whole Nine, an art gallery and arts and crafts business located in Downtown Culver City. The proposed Fall 2017 event is scheduled to take place on Friday, November 3, 2017 from 5PM - 8PM, Saturday, November 4, 2017 from 10AM - 5PM and Sunday, November 5, 2017 from 10AM - 5PM in Town Plaza.
The Subcommittee recommends the City Council approve up to $2,000 in grant assistance for the Fall 2017 Affair of the Arts event and designate it as a City-sponsored event.
4. Affair of the Arts (Spring 2018): The Affair of the Arts is a biannual, multi-day, art and music Festival with over 50 vendor booths selling paintings, hand-blown glass, photographs, jewelry, ceramic pottery, desserts and beverages.
The event is hosted by the Whole Nine, an art gallery and arts and crafts business located in Downtown Culver City. The proposed Spring 2018 event is scheduled to take place on Friday, April 27, 2018 from 5PM - 8PM, Saturday, April 28, 2018 from 10AM - 5PM and Sunday, April 29, 2018 from 10AM - 5PM in Town Plaza.
The Subcommittee recommends the City Council approve up to $2,000 in grant assistance for the Spring 2018 Affair of the Arts event and designate it as a City-sponsored event.
5. Taste of the Nation: Los Angeles Taste of the Nation for No Kid Hungry is a food and beverage event featuring over 50 chefs, restaurants, breweries, wineries and mixologists from the region coming together to donate their time, talent and passion to end childhood hunger in America. The event is scheduled to take place on June 3, 2018 from 12:30PM - 4PM, at Media Park.
The Subcommittee recommends the City Council approve up to $1,400 in grant assistance for the Taste of The Nation event and designate it as a City-sponsored event.
6. Artwalk: In February 2016, the Culver City Arts District Business Improvement District (CCAD) was officially formed. As part of their work plan, CCAD would like to produce an Artwalk Event on October 8, 2017 from 2PM - 6PM to celebrate the diverse artistic, creative, design, culinary, and specialty businesses within the area. The event would be similar to the Summer Solstice event produced in June 2014 with self-guided gallery tours, interactive experiences and musical performances.
The Subcommittee recommends the City Council approve up to $1,500 in grant assistance for the Artwalk event and designate it as a City-sponsored event.
7. Screenland5K: Screenland 5K, Inc. is a non-profit public charity 501 (c) (3) raising funds for local charities and for an extraordinary experience for volunteers, runners, spectators and partners. The purpose of the Culver City Screenland 5K is to ‘develop community’ in a healthful and recreational context where participants can interact in a fun, entertaining and safe way while celebrating Academy Awards Sunday in the “Heart of Screenland.”
The 2nd Screenland 5K event is being planned from 9AM - 11AM on Academy Sunday 2018 (March 4th) with participation from Culver Studios. The race course will go down and back on Culver Blvd. to Overland Blvd., with turnaround points at Overland Blvd. and National Blvd.
The Subcommittee recommends the City Council approve up to $22,100 in grant assistance for the Screenland 5k event and designate it as a City-sponsored event.
8. Asian World Film Festival: The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF), now in its third year, brings the best of a broad selection of Asian World cinema to Los Angeles in order to draw greater recognition to the region's wealth of Filmmakers and strengthen ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries. The Festival is unique in its concept, as it predominantly screens films from the Asian Continent which have been submitted to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Golden Globes for Best Foreign Language Film.
The 2017 Festival is planned to take place at the Arclight Cinema in Downtown Culver City, the Festival's venue for the past two years. AWFF will showcase approximately 60 screenings over the course of the festival which will take place Wednesday, October 25 - Thursday, November 2, 2017, from 9AM - midnight. Select films will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and stars. The Festival will also host a Red Carpet Opening Night Gala to honor exceptional Asian talent and filmmakers and a Closing Night Gala Awards Presentation.
The Subcommittee recommends the City Council approve up to $1,500 in grant assistance for the Asian World Film Festival event and designate it as a City-sponsored event.
9. A Child’s Dream - Annual Holiday Event: The mission of A Child’s Dream - CA is to help meet the essential needs of children through practical means. December 16, 2017 will mark the 10th Annual Holiday Outreach event where toys along with hygiene products, nutritional snacks, dry and canned goods are distributed to low income children (K-12) and families for the holidays. The goal for 2017 and beyond is to present new bikes to children who have shown substantial growth in their academics. By partnering with the Culver City Fire Department who delivers toys thru Spark of Love (since 2009) and California Highway Patrol, the organization has been able to receive donated toys and distributed 600 bags of canned and dry goods to families.
The Subcommittee is recommending a grant of up to $1,000 which will assist in relieving financial resources previously used for Teen Center rental fees, which can in turn be redirected for further outreach efforts.
10. A Child’s Dream - Back to School Event: A Child’s Dream - CA aims to meet the essential needs of children through practical means. Annually, the organization holds a Back to School Event, to distribute backpacks, filled with school supplies, personal hygiene products, shoes, and socks. The organization partners with Newbury Barber College (Chatsworth) to provide the children with hairstyles and cuts as well as My Stuff Bags Foundation (Westlake Village), an organization dedicated to providing supplies and resources to children that are in transitional living situations. Families are also provided with healthy living and free child care information, healthy snacks, and gently used clothing.
The Subcommittee is recommending a grant of up to $1,000 which will assist in relieving financial resources previously used for Teen Center rental fees, which can in turn be redirected for further outreach efforts.
11. TEDx Culver City - “Breaking Barriers” Talk: TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. In the spirit of Ideas Worth Spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. TEDx Culver City plans to next feature fascinating speakers to share their viewpoints on the theme of “Breaking Barriers,” wherein the organization will explore various aspects of this theme through talks about personal motivation, storytelling, and the limits of technology. The purpose behind the choice of this theme is to connect, celebrate, and share the stories of those who have crossed hurdles and gotten remarkable things accomplished.
The proposed TEDx Talk is scheduled to take place November 14, 2017 from 7PM - 9PM at the Framestore at 8616 National Blvd., and will feature live speakers, live music, snacks, and refreshments.
The Subcommittee recommends the City Council approve up to $1,100 in grant assistance for TEDx Culver City, “Breaking Barriers” Talks and designate it as a City-sponsored event.
12. Washington West Business ArtWalk (Fall 2017): The Washington West Business District (WWBD) is a unique collection of artisan restaurants, creative businesses, and specialty retail and services on the west side of Culver City. The District is generally centered along West Washington Blvd. between Inglewood Avenue and Beethoven Street close to Marina Del Rey, with diverse restaurants and businesses offer a relaxed urban environment.
The WWBD is seeking to incorporate more special events to continue to draw more interest as a great place to “eat, play and discover.” The district is proposing as part of its calendar biannual ArtWalk events. While the district has held Taste of Washington events in the past (2015 and 2016), these events will be in lieu of to highlight both creative and food industries located in the area.
The Subcommittee recommends the City Council approve up to $1,100 in grant assistance for the Fall 2017 Washington West Business ArtWalk and designate it as a City-sponsored event.
13. Washington West Business ArtWalk (Spring 2017): The Washington West Business District (WWBD) is a unique collection of artisan restaurants, creative businesses, and specialty retail and services on the west side of Culver City. The District is generally centered along West Washington Blvd. between Inglewood Avenue and Beethoven Street close to Marina Del Rey, with diverse restaurants and businesses offer a relaxed urban environment.
The WWBD is seeking to incorporate more special events to continue to draw more interest as a great place to “eat, play and discover.” The district is proposing as part of its calendar biannual ArtWalk events. While the district has held Taste of Washington events in the past (2015 and 2016), these events will be in lieu of to highlight both creative and food industries located in the area.
The Subcommittee recommends the City Council approve up to $1,100 in grant assistance for the Spring 2017 Washington West Business ArtWalk and designate it as a City-sponsored event.
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.
Administrative Approval of City Permits and Licenses
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. For example, the Culver City Exchange Club plans on conducting a beer and wine garden in Veterans Memorial Park during the Car Show Event, which requires a separate permit; and several of the event organizers intend to use City-owned property and/or equipment for their Events (i.e. Car Show, Taste of the Nation, Screenland 5K and Asian World Film Festival), which will require a license agreement. 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. Such administrative authority would not include the Special Events Permit, which would continue to be issued by the Committee on Permits and Licenses.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
In past years, although waivers and funds had been granted for special events, among the benefits of the Special Events Grants Program is consistency in approach to evaluation of fees/charges as well as transparency for the City. The assessment of fees from applications received to-date as provided by staff representing various City Departments was used to determine a base year appropriation amount required for The Program. Additionally, processes will be in place for tracking of actual approved program expenditures for improved reporting.
The impact to the General Fund is anticipated to be $82,100 for the 13 recommended events that met the deadline for the first year application cycle. However, in anticipation variance between estimates and actual costs along with off-cycle event requests, the recommendation of the City Council Special Events Grant Program Ad Hoc Subcommittee is to appropriate $7,900 in contingency funding, for a total of $90,000 for Fiscal Year 2017-18. Staff recommends the Chief Financial Officer have the authority to approve the usage of the contingency funding if deemed necessary.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2017/18 Special Event Grant Application and Program Guidelines
2. 2017/18 Special Event Grant Program: Summary of Fees/Recommendations by Event
RECOMMENDED MOTION
That the City Council:
1. Approve a budget amendment in the amount of $90,000 for the 2017-18 Special Event Grant Program;
2. Authorize Award of $82,100 in Grants to 13 Event Applicants for the 2017-18 Special Event Grant Period; and
3. Authorize the Chief Financial Officer to Approve up to $7,900 in Contingencies.
4. Designate 11 Events as City-Sponsored Events as Recommended by the City Council Ad Hoc Special Event Grant Program Subcommittee; and
5. 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 Events Permit, which shall continue to be issued by the Committee on Permits and Licenses).