Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout17 - Fiscal Year 2015 -2016 Special Event Support Funding RecommendationsCTY OF F NEWPORT BEACH City Council Staff Report July 28, 2015 Agenda Item No. 17 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Dave Kiff, City Manager — (949) 644 -3002, dkiff @newportbeachca.gov PREPARED BY: Tara Finnigan, Assistant to the City Manager / Public Information Manager PHONE: (949) 644 -3035 TITLE: Fiscal Year 2015 -2016 Special Event Support Funding Recommendations ABSTRACT: The City of Newport Beach Special Event Support Program provides financial assistance to Newport Beach based community events. After further review and discussion, staff is submitting amended recommendations for the City Council's consideration that would support 13 Community & Charitable events for a total of $59,900 and five Signature events for a total of $235,000. RECOMMENDATION: a) Approve the amended Special Event Support recommendations for Fiscal Year 2015 -2016; b) Authorize staff to execute grant agreements with each Signature Event organizer; c) Approve the transfer of $35,000 from 0110 -8250 to 0340 -8250; d) Approve waiving the Special Event Permit Fees and any City site rental fees for the Art in the Park event and the Bunnies & Books Kids Festival; e) Approve changes to the FY 2016 -2017 Special Event Program as detailed in this staff report; f) Approve a one -time waiver of the eligibility requirements and a $15,000 Signature Event grant for the Newport Beach Wine & Food Festival; g) Authorize staff to proceed with providing up to $20,000 in City support for the Balboa Island Centennial, to be drawn from the City Council's approved budget allocations (no net budget change); and h) Authorize staff to proceed with providing up to $7,500 in City support for the Balboa Village Merchants Association, to be drawn from the approved budget allocations for Economic Development (no net budget change). 17 -1 FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: The adopted FY 2015 -2016 General Fund budget includes $200,000 (0340 -8250, City Manager's Office /Economic Development) in support for Signature Events and $100,000 (0110 -8250, City Council) for the Community and Charitable event support. As proposed, the total recommended support for Community and Charitable events is $59,900, $40,100 less than budgeted. The recommended support for Signature Events is $235,000, $35,000 over the budgeted amount. If approved by the Council, $35,000 would be transferred from account number 0110 -8250 to 0340 -8250. DISCUSSION: Background Since 2010, the City has followed an administrative process for allocating special event support. The process is designed to provide transparency and equity in how the funding is allocated, comply with the Municipal Code, and help contain City costs, while continuing to support local events that provide charitable fundraising opportunities, encourage community engagement, and /or foster economic development. Following recommendations from a working group comprised of Council Members Petros and Peotter, in April 2015, the City Council approved changes to the process that better defined the types of events the City would support, set total funding levels in the adopted fiscal year General Fund budget, and established new eligibility, qualification, and evaluation criteria (Attachment B) for the program. Event organizers can now apply for a grant under one of two categories. 1. Community and Charitable Events — Events that serve or benefit locally based organizations and causes and /or provide recreational, cultural, social benefits to Newport Beach residents. Newport Beach - based organizations and events that serve the Newport Beach community specifically, receive priority in funding. Grants will be in the form of a credit toward City fees. If an awardee incurs costs (fees) higher than the grant award, they will owe the City the difference. If the awardee's costs are lower than was projected during the grant award process, the City will keep the difference. 2. Signature Events — Large -scale events, based in Newport Beach that promote Newport Beach regionally, attract visitors and provide measurable, economic benefits to the City of Newport Beach. Signature event grant recipients will be required to enter into a City Sponsorship Agreement and agree with the City's terms and conditions. All agreements will include right to audit language and include measurable objectives and performance measures for evaluating the event's marketing and economic impact. Grant Application Process The City opened the application submission period on May 11 and advertised the program in the Daily Pilot, promoted it on the City's website and social media channels, emailed past applicants and others that had expressed an interest in the program, and issued a news release. The deadline for applications was Monday, June 8 at 4 p.m. Twenty -seven applications were received under the Community & Charitable event category and six were received under the Signature Event category. The applications are available for the City Council's and the public's review at the City Clerk's Office at Newport Beach City Hall. Application Review and Evaluation A staff committee comprised of Sean Levin and Raquel Valdez from Recreation and Senior Services and Tara Finnigan and Mary Locey from the City Manager's Office reviewed and evaluated each of the 33 applications received. The applications were evaluated based upon how well each fit the program's eligibility, qualification and evaluation criteria. Determining Recommended Funding Community and Charitable event grants are to be awarded at set, not -to- exceed levels that correlate to the amount of City fees the applicant is expected pay. To assign funding recommendations, staff used 17 -2 historical data from previous years' events or estimated what an event would pay in City fees. The committee incorporated the information from the application evaluation and assigned funding recommendations accordingly. Signature events grants are to be awarded at set, not -to- exceed levels based upon an evaluation of the event budget, an estimate of related City fees, and the estimated economic benefits to the City of having the event based in Newport Beach. Staff took these elements into consideration and assigned funding recommendations. Recommendations Staff submitted a list of funding recommendations for the City Council's consideration at its July 14 meeting. That evening, Council voted in favor of continuing its discussion on the item, but allowed the members of the public to comment on the staff recommendations. Since the time that the July 14 agenda was posted, staff received comments and questions about the recommendations. As this was the first year under the new process, the staff committee felt it was prudent to be as consistent as possible in evaluating the applications received against the established criteria. That, unfortunately, led to disqualification of 10 applications. Staff will endeavor to set very clear expectations in future years and provide an opportunity for all applicants to ask for clarification on any of the City's program criteria, well in advance of the application deadline. Another area that staff warranted further review involved the events submitted by or on behalf of two of the city's merchant associations — Balboa Island and Balboa Village. Balboa Island Balboa Island will celebrate its 100th anniversary in September 2016. Balboa Island Marketing Inc., through its marketing consultant, Newport Beach and Company, submitted its centennial celebration plans for Special Event Support Program funding. Because those plans are still being finalized (the exact dates and times of certain activities were not provided on the application), the application was deemed incomplete. Staff also believes the complete program will extend beyond the scope of this grant process as it will encompass more than special events. This is, however, a very significant anniversary for Balboa Island and the City has, in recent history, financially supported similar celebrations including the citywide centennial activities in 2006 and Corona del Mar's centennial festivities in 2004. While Balboa Island's centennial planning may not be to the point where the applicant was successful in this grant process, staff appreciates the importance of this anniversary to many in the community and believes it warrants City support. Therefore, staff seeks the Council's approval for providing City support — separate from this grant process — for the Balboa Island Centennial and authorizing the City Manager to provide up to $20,000 toward the centennial activities. Funding is available in the City Council's FY 16 approved budget. Balboa Village For several years, the City has worked closely with residents and business owners in and around Balboa Village on efforts to revitalize the area. The 2012 Balboa Village Master Plan included a short list of economic development tools and strategies designed to help enhance the viability of this commercial and tourist district. The development of a Special Events Initiative to provide activities to draw visitors and local families to the area during the off -peak season was among the plan's recommendations. With the support of the Balboa Village Advisory Committee (BVAC) and the City, the Balboa Village Merchants Association (BVMA) has executed new events and worked to enhance the decor and ambience of the village. Staff understands the merchants' desire to continue to expand their list of events since refreshing the village street scene is a longer -term effort. Staff also sees the economic development benefits of these activities and believes the BVMA's efforts warrant additional, but separate, consideration. Therefore, staff is 17 -3 recommending that the BVMA work on a potential "package" of events or activities for the village for the BVAC to review. If the BVAC approves of the event package, the City could provide an additional $7,500 in support of these activities. (Funds are available in the City Manager's Office / Economic Development Division FY 16 budget.) Other Disqualifications, Exceptions or Removals from Consideration The Mariners Independence Day Parade and Celebration application was removed from consideration because the City is already a long- standing co- sponsor of the event. Two other applications — one for Art in the Park and the other for the Bunnies & Books for Kids Festival — are for events sponsored by City support groups. Staff is recommending that the City Council approve waiving the associated City permit and /or site rental fees since these events' proceeds come back to the City for its own programs. With the agreement of the event organizers, the Balboa Island Wine Walk and the Balboa Island Wine Fest applications were removed from further consideration. It should be noted that the application for Speak Up Newport's Monthly meetings was disqualified because staff believes its request is better suited for the Community Grants program recently approved by the City Council as a change to Policy A -12. The Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival is not run by a nonprofit or community organization, but by a somewhat recently created for - profit entity. The event's founder is a Newport Beach resident and staff believes the festival has potential to one day be a regional visitor draw for the city. Therefore, staff is asking for a one -time exception to the eligibility requirements and recommending funding $15,000 in City support. (This amount is already included in the $235,000 total recommended for Signature event support.) A summary of the amended recommendations is included as Attachment A. Signature Event Grant Agreements Signature event grant recipients are required to enter into a grant agreement with the City that include mutually agreed upon performance measures for evaluating the event's marketing and economic impact. The event organizer will be required to submit a post -event report indicating how the event did or did not meet the agreed upon performance measures. Staff is proposing to work with Council Members Petros and Peotter, along with the event organizers, on the performance measures associated with each grant agreement. Recommended Changes to the Process for Next Year Staff has received favorable comments from some of the event organizers about the recent changes to the grant program. There are, however, some elements of the program that staff recommends amending for future years. 1. Currently, Community & Charitable event grants are based upon an estimate of the event's City Special Event Permit fees. Once the process was underway, staff discovered that a couple of organizations that would have applied under this category had to apply under the Signature Event category because their events do not require a City Special Event Permit. Moving forward, staff is recommending that the City has the ability to assign funding support to an event (one that does not require a Special Event Permit) at a level between $100 and $15,000 that takes into account the size and scope of the event and how well it otherwise meets the program's evaluation criteria. 2. The Signature Events category needs to be more thoroughly defined because some event organizers weren't sure which grant category best fit their event. The current definition reads, "Large -scale events, based in Newport Beach, that promote Newport Beach regionally, attract visitors, and provide measurable, economic benefits to the City of Newport Beach." Staff is proposing adding the following: 17 -4 At a minimum, a Signature event must demonstrate that it does or can attract visitors from throughout Southern California (Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino) and ideally, the Southwestern United States. • It must have at least 3,000 participants. • The event organizers have a strategic, measurable marketing plan and can immediately produce the plan and metrics from past years (if applicable) upon the City's request. • Event organizers must clearly demonstrate how the event will provide substantive and measurable economic benefits to the City of Newport Beach by supporting tourism, generating room nights, supporting local business, and providing measurable marketing exposure. 3. A number of applications were incomplete and were disqualified from further consideration in this year's process because the applicant did not submit a complete event budget and /or the organizer factored in a City support level that would have made the event's viability dependent upon City support. (The program eligibility criteria state that an event must not be dependent on receiving City support.) Staff recommends more thoroughly defining the City's expectations, i.e., "Applications must include a complete copy of the event budget that clearly states the anticipated revenues and expenditures. Potential City support should not be listed as a revenue line item." 4. A couple of applications sought support for more than one event. Staff recommends limiting it to one event per application. We do not recommend, however, limiting the number of applications an organization can submit. Should the City Council agree with these recommendations, they will be incorporated into the Special Event Support Program beginning in 2016. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Not a Project CEQA Language - -Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ( "CEQK) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. NOTICING: The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item). ATTACHMENTS: Description Attachment A - Funding Recommendations Attachment B - Support Overview (Spring 2015) 17 -5 ATTACHMENT A Special Event Grant Funding Recommendations FY 2015 -2016 Revised for 728115 FY 14-15 Est. Funding FY 15-16 Est. City Event Organization t App'd Comments Recommended Fees qp"f ". Support Levels Support Community & Charitable Event Applicants-serve or benefit locally based organizations and causes and /or provide recreational, cultural, social benefits to residents. Art in the Park Newport Beach Arts Foundation Oct. 10, 2015 $510 City support group None Asian Pacific Cultural Foundation Asian Pacific Festival May 14 -15, 2016 Disqualified Incomplete budget $1,202 Balboa Island Art Walk Balboa Island Art Walk May 15, 2016 $2,000 Disqualified Incomplete budget $1,372 Balboa Island Parade Balboa Island Improvement Association June 6, 2016 $3.500 Tier 2 $5,000 $5,562 Balboa Island Wine Fast Balboa Island Marketing Inc. / NB &Co. 11/6/2016 & 3/412016 $1,000 Applicant withdrawn $2,287 Balboa Island Wine Walk CIVIC, Inc. 11/8/2015 & 5/22/2016 Applicant withdrawn Balboa Village Concert in the Park BVMA- Balboa Village Merchants Association FebruarV 20, 2016 Disqualified Event dependent on City funding $5,000 Balboa Village Carnival BVMA - Balboa Village Merchants Association October 10, 2015 Disqualified Event dependent on City funding $3,000 Balboa Village Fast (N2E Kick Off BVMA - Balboa Villa a Merchants Association Aril 24, 2016 $2,000 Tier 1 $2,500 $1,246 Balboa Village New Years Day Talent Caleb Menagerie Entertainment January 1, 2016 Disqualified Individual venture $444 Bunnies & Books for Kids Festival Newport Beach Public Library Foundation May 14, 2016 City support group None CdM Christmas Walk Corona del Mar Chamber Dec. 6, 2015 $3,500 Tier 2 $3,500 $2,906 CdM Scenic 5K Corona del Mar Chamber June 4, 2016 $15,000 Tier 3 1 $15,0001 $15,000 CROP Interfaith Hunger Walk CROP Interfaith Hunger Walk Oct. 18, 2015 Disqualified Incomplete budget $444 Field of Honor Exchange Club of Newport Harbor May 20 -22, 2016 $1,000 Tier 1 $1,000 $922 Green on the Green Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce September 19, 2015 Tier 1 $2,500 $2,000 Harbor Heritage Run Newport Harbor High School PTA Oct. 17, 2015 Tier 3 $10,000 $9,554 Inde endence Day Parade & Celebration Manners Elementary School Foundation July 4, 2015 City co-sponsored event None Kiwanis Pacific Coast Triathlon /Duathlon Pelican Coast Events Inc. Sept. 12 -13, 2015 Disqualified Commerical venture March for Babies. March of Dimes A n124, 2016 Disqualified Incorrect burger submitted $15,659 Newport Classic Surf Contest Newport Harbor High School Surf Team Aril 23 -24, 2016 $1,000 Tier 1 $1,000 $901 Newport El Classic Car Show Newport Elementary School Foundation Oct. 10, 2015 $1,000 Tier $1,000 $922 Newport Harbor Home & Garden Tour Newport Harbor Educational Foundation May 12, 2016 Tier 1 $450 $444 Newport-Mesa Spirit Run Newport-Mesa S int Run, Inc. March 13, 2016 $14,000 Tier 3 $14,000 $15,000 Race for the Cure OC Affiliate of Susan G. Komen Sept. 27, 2015 Tier 2 $3,500 $20,000 17 -6 Special Event Grant Funding Recommendations FY 2015 -2016 Revised for 7128115 Signature Event Applicants- Large -scale events, based in Newport Beach, that promote Newport Beach regionally, attract visitors, and provide measurable, economic benefits to the City. Balboa Island Centennial Celebration Balboa Island Marketing Inc. / NBBCo. Sept. 2015 -Jun. 2016 Disqualified Incomplete application $5,000 Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce Dec. 16 -20, 2015 $50,000 Per a reement Under 3-year agreement with City $ 50,000 None Newport Beach Film Festival Newport Beach Film Festival Apr. 21 -28, 2016 $150,000 Tier 3 $ 150,000 $6,723 Newport Beach Restaurant Week NB Restaurant Association BID Jan. 18 -31, 2016 $16,000 Tier 1 $ 10,000 None Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival NewBe Productions LLC Oct 2 -4, 2015 $15,000 Tier 1 $ 15,000 $19,804 Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race NOSA A r. 22 -24, 2016 $10,000 Tier 1 $ 10,000 None Funding Levels Community Events Tier 1 = $100 to $2,500 Tier 2 = $2,501 to $7,500 Tier 3 = $7,501 to $15,000 Signature Events City co- sponsored event or City support group Tier 1 = $15,000 to $25,000 Disqualified Tier 2 = $25,001 to $50,000 Application withdrawn Tier 3 = $50,001 to $150,000 Estimated event fees for new event Signature Events Total $235,000 •rr 17 -7 ATTACHMENT B �evEW�R�. ° ae City of Newport Beach us Special Event Support Program Call for Applications for Events Executed Between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016. Overview The City of Newport Beach (City) recognizes the social and economic benefits associated with special events. Its Special Event Support Program provides financial support to two categories of Newport Beach -based events: • Community and Charitable - Serve or benefit locally based organizations and causes and /or provide recreational, cultural, social benefits to Newport Beach residents. Newport Beach -based organizations and events that serve the Newport Beach community specifically, receive priority in funding. Signature Events — Large -scale events, based in Newport Beach, that promote Newport Beach regionally, attract visitors, and provide measurable, economic benefits to the City of Newport Beach. Tunes of Special Event Support A. Community and Charitable — Grants will be available at set, not -to- exceed levels that correlate to the amount of City fees the applicant is expected pay. Successful applicants will be awarded grants in the form of credits toward their City fees. (The City will no longer provide cash to grant awardees.) Grants awarded are not intended to cover all of an event organizers' costs associated with City oversight. If an awardee incurs costs (fees) higher than the grant award, they will owe the City the difference. If the awardee's costs are lower than was projected during the grant award process, the City will keep the difference. B. Signature Events — Grants will be available at set, not -to- exceed levels based upon an evaluation of the event budget, the estimate of City fees, and the estimated economic benefits to the City of having the event based in Newport Beach. The City's financial support should represent no more than 25 percent of the overall event budget. The City may enter multi -year agreements with grant awardees. All agreements, whether for one year or multi years, will include right to audit language and include measurable objectives and performance measures for evaluating the event's marketing and economic impact. FY 16 Special Event Support Program Overview Page 1 17 -8 II. Eligibility Criteria To be eligible to receive City support, applicants must demonstrate that: A. All of the Community and Charitable event takes place within Newport Beach. All or a majority of the Signature event (51 percent of related activities) takes place within Newport Beach. B. The event is scheduled to take place between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016 and the exact date(s), time(s) and location within Newport Beach have been determined. C. The event is not financially dependent on receiving City of Newport Beach support. D. The event is sponsored, hosted and organized by a Newport Beach or Orange County - based non - profit organization* or a Newport Beach community or neighborhood organization *. E. The applicant has no outstanding debt due to the City of Newport Beach. F. The event does not need to be free of charge, but should be accessible to the community/ public. *The City of Newport Beach will give preference to volunteer -based organizations. Ineligibility The City will not provide financial support to: • Events that benefit for - profit enterprises • Events that serve a political purpose or are sponsored by political organizations • Event organizers and organizations that have not fulfilled previous City sponsorship or special event obligations or have an outstanding debt to the City of Newport Beach • Individuals • Invitation -only events - those not open to the general public III. Qualification Criteria To qualify to be considered to receive City special event support, all applications must comply with the following: A. Are submitted online, on time and are 100 percent complete. Late, incomplete, or applications that do not fully comply with the instructions will not be considered. B. Must include a copy of the complete event budget. C. Must demonstrate strong financial management over the event, including cost effectiveness. FY 16 Special Event Support Program Overview Page 2 17 -9 IV. Evaluation Criteria A. Community & Charitable Events Applications will be reviewed and evaluated based on the following criteria: 1. The event serves, involves, and / or promotes Newport Beach, its residents, schools, and /or businesses. 2. The event directly or indirectly benefits the Newport Beach community by supporting its schools, cause - related or non - profit organizations; offering educational, cultural or arts experiences; or providing recreational or social activities. 3. The event benefits a Newport Beach or Orange County -based non - profit organization or Newport Beach community or neighborhood organization. B. Signature Events Applications will be reviewed and evaluated based on the following criteria: 1. The event delivers substantive and measurable economic benefits to the City.* 2. The event organizers utilize strategic and measurable marketing practices in planning and implementing the event.* 3. The event enhances the quality of life within Newport Beach with cultural, social or educational activities of interest to the community. 4. The event attracts visitors to Newport Beach. 5. The event promotes Newport Beach as a highly desirable place to live, visit, work and recreate. 6. The event directly or indirectly benefits or promotes Newport Beach businesses. *Successful applicants must enter into an agreement with the City that will include mutually agreed upon performance measures for the event. Event organizers will be required to submit a post -event report indicating how the event met or did not meet the agreed upon performance measures. V. Other Requirements: Successful applicants — under both Community and Charitable and Signature events - will be expected to follow the City's separate, Special Event Permit Process and submit all necessary forms, insurance and fees as required. Applications that do not meet the requirements and are not submitted within the specified deadlines risk forfeiting their City Special Event support. FY 16 Special Event Support Program Overview Page 3 17 -10 Signature Event Recipients Only: o Signature event grant recipients will be required to enter into an agreement with the City and consent to the City's terms and conditions. (Applicants can view an example of a grant agreement at www. newportbeachca .gov /specialevents.) o The agreement will include mutually agreed upon performance measures for the event. Event organizers will be required to demonstrate how the event met, or did not meet, the agreed upon performance measures in a required, post -event report. o Signature event grant recipients must agree to provide the event's financial statements and allow the City to conduct its own review of them, if requested. VI. Funding Levels Event Support is categorized into the following three - tiered system: A. Community Event Grants* Tier 1 - $100 - $2,500 Tier 2 - $2,501- $7,500 Tier 3 - $7,501- $15,000 *Based upon City Special Event Permit Fee and estimated or average related City fees. B. Signature Event Grants* Tier 1 - $15,000- $25,000 Tier 2 - $25,001 - $50,000 Tier 3 - $50,001 - $150,000 *Grants provided based on analysis of related City event fees and economic benefits City will derive from the event. The purpose of the grants is to provide funding support for qualified events and to assist with the City fees associated with executing an event in Newport Beach. The purpose is not to fund the entirety of an event and grant awards may not cover all of an event's associated City fees. FY 16 Special Event Support Program Overview Page 4 17 -11 VII. Applying for a Grant A. Applications are available online at www. newportbeachca .gov /specialeventgrants B. This call for applications is for special events that will be held in Newport Beach between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016. C. The deadline for applications is Monday, June 8, 2015 at 4 p.m. VIII. Additional Information The City typically receives more applications and / or requests for event sponsorship amounts in excess of what it can provide. There is no guarantee that the City will be able to provide all, part, or any of the financial support requested by each applicant. Thus, applicants should not make commitments on the expectation of receiving City support. Recurring events do not automatically receive funding. All applications received by the deadline will be evaluated, ranked and funding recommendations made based upon the ranking of the application and the amount of funding available for supporting Community and Signature events in the City's FY 16 budget. The recommendations are made based upon how well the application submitted this award cycle meets the established criteria (in competition with other applications). The City Council can approve, amend, or deny any recommendation. FY 16 Special Event Support Program Overview Page 5 17 -12