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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC-2890 - Public Affairs and Related Services - Open Space Opinion Poll0 0 CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK P.O. BOX 1768, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658 -8915 TO: FINANCE DIRECTOR FROM: CITY CLERK DATE: January 7, 1992 (714) 6443005 SUBJECT: Contract No. C -2890 MOM / -% Z Description of Contract Agreement for Public Affairs and Related Services (Opinion Poll) Effective date of Contract December 10, 1991 Authorized by Minute Action, approved on December 9, 1991 Contract with Nelson Communications Group Address 125 E. Baker St., #180 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Amount of Contract (See " 4f 4e Wanda E. Raggio City Clerk WER:pm Attachment 3300 Newport Boulevard, Newport Beach CITY COUNCIL Agenda Item No. F3 (c) • CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER December 9, 1991 TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: City Manager SUBJECT: OPINION POLL C —.2 8f 0 • The City Council Circulation Buildout Ad Hoc Committee has recommended to the City Council an opinion poll to determine voter attitude about bond issues to acquire additional open space within the City (see Councilman Turner's memo attached). Consistent with this recommendation, you will find attached a proposal from Nelson Communications and J. Moore Methods to do the following: 1. Work with the Circulation Buildout Ad Hoc Committee to develop appropriate questions for the opinion poll. 2. Determine community cohesion and support for the survey results. 3. For the survey, determine funding mechanisms, issue development, and consumer profiles. • 4. Through the survey, determine how much and what kinds of taxes voters will support and how they perceive open space and development issues in the context of other City issues. 5. Interview approximately 400 individuals to determine voter attitude on the acquisition of additional open space. 039) 6. The surveys will take approximately 25 minutes per individual and will be conducted from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.on Saturday; and between 12:00 noon and 7:00 p.m. on Sunday. 7. Accomplish the results of the poll within six to eight weeks from authorization to commence. The specifics of the proposal are contained on Pages 3, 4, and 5 of the binder prepared by Nelson Communications. The survey would cost $20,000. Also attached is a copy of the proposed contract providing for the services contained in the proposal. The Budget Amendment for this service shows on the evening agenda under Item No. F14. ROBERT L. WYNN • RLW:kf Attachments C Clarence J. M E M O R A N D U M DATE: November 22, 1991 TO: Circulation Ad Hoc Build Out Committee PROM: Clarence J. Turner, Chairman To help ensure consistent understanding and clear communication between the members, I am reiterating how the Committee elected to proceed during our meeting of November 15, 1991. The Committee directed staff to obtain more detailed information regarding the cost, scope and other criteria necessary to conduct a voter attitude survey. All of this data will be presented to the City Council on December 9, 1991, for budgetary approval /discussion or both. The purpose of that voter attitude survey is to provide the Committee and the Council with guidance as to how the voters might feel about passing a bond issue for the acquisition of open space. It was also decided that the Committee would continue its outreach program. Staff reported that most of the visual aids had been completed and that all will be ready for presentation to the general public during the first and second week of December of 1991. Scheduling is in the process of being accomplished. Staff was also requested to prepare a Memorandum, for approval by the City Council, which will direct the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission to review the sites being considered for acquisition. The purpose of this review is to determine how those sites will be utilized in the event that they come under public ownership. I believe that the above 3 items reflect the main thrust of the committees direction given on November 15th. If any of you have a different understanding, please advise and I will attempt to make sure that there is consensus. However, as I see it, the above are the marching orders for all concerned until such time as we receive the voter attitude survey and the Council gives us further direction. cc: Robert Wynn, City Manager Bob Burnham, City Attorney Patricia Temple, Advanced Planner James Hewicker, Director of Planning Jean Watt, Council Member Phil Sansone, Mayor 1507 ANTIGUA WAY • NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92660 OFFICE PHONE: 751 -4420 MESSAGE PHONE: 631 -3947 c -Z�9a AGREEMENT FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND RELATED SERVICES This Agreement is entered into by and between Nelson Communications Group, a California corporation ( "NCG") and City of Newport Beach ( "City ") , and is in effect upon execution of this Agreement and contractual arrangement. ARTICLE I RECITALS 1.1 Nelson Communications Group. NCG has expertise in providing services related to strategic planning, public relations, public affairs, advertising and marketing, including quantitative and qualitative research methods. NCG offers these services to public or private interests in need of them as an independent contractor. 1.2 City of Newport Beach. City is a local government in Southern California which, among other things, seeks to identify, scientifically, public sensibilities and priorities with respect to certain open space and development issues. City is in need of the services that NCG provides. 1.3 Purpose of This Agreement. The purpose of this Agreement is to set forth the terms and conditions pursuant to which NCG shall provide City with certain services within NCG's expertise. ARTICLE II SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED 2.1 Specific Services. NCG shall perform those services described on pages 3 -5 of the Public opinion Survey Proposal dated December 2, 1991 (copy attached hereto as Exhibit "A") 2.2 Manner of Providing Services. While it is understood and agreed that NCG cannot undertake to verify information supplied to NCG by City or factual matters included in the materials prepared by NCG and approved by City, NCG agrees to ensure that the services performed and the work product provided by NCG is of high quality and consistent with the standard of practice for such services. All activities, advertisements and printed material generated by NCG shall be submitted to City for approval prior to any production or distribution. NCG may use the services of other entities and i 0 individuals as subcontractors for the performance of required services. Compensation of all subcontractors shall be the responsibility of NCG and in no event shall City be responsible for such compensation other than to pay NCG as specified in Article III. 2.3 Time for Performance of Services. NCG acknowledges that City needs information to be provided by NCG as soon as possible. City will use the information provided by NCG to determine if a measure is submitted to the voters in June, 1992, and such election must be called by the City Council no later than the middle of March, 1992. Accordingly, the information to be provided by NCG pursuant to this Agreement shall be of no value to the City if submitted subsequent to February 7, 1992. Accordingly, NCG shall complete all services prior to February 7, 1992 unless the date for performance is extended by mutual agreement of the parties. ARTICLE III COMPENSATION 3.1 Flat -Fee Arrangement. As compensation for the services provided pursuant to this Agreement, City agrees to pay NCG a flat fee of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00). This fee shall be inclusive of all costs associated with the project work. Such compensation shall be paid to NCG by City when invoiced by NCG. Invoices are due upon receipt. An up -front retainer of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) shall be required for commencement of the project work. 3.2 Service Charge for Late Payment. If payment of undisputed amounts is not received by NCG from City within thirty (30) days of receipt of the invoice, a service charge of 1.5 percent or the amount allowed by law, whichever is lower, will be applied to the undisputed and unpaid balance on a monthly basis following the date of receipt. ARTICLE IV RELATIONSHIP OF THE PARTIES 4.1 Independent Contractor. In the performance of the work, duties and obligations under this Agreement, it is mutually understood and agreed that the parties are at all times acting and performing as independent contractors. Further, nothing in this Agreement is intended nor shall be constructed to create between 2 • • the parties an employer/ employee relationship, a joint venture relationship, or a lease or landlord /tenant relationship. Therefore, the parties understand and agree that City is not responsible in any way, directly or indirectly, for any employment - related benefits for NCG. 4.2 Confidentiality. NCG agrees to keep confidential all information and all records which are not otherwise publicly available regarding City and its operations. 4.3 Dispute Resolution. Prior to the commencement of any legal action, each party to this Agreement agrees to meet and confer in good faith with the other party to resolve any problems or disputes that arise under this Agreement. In the event that legal action is necessitated, NCG and City agree that the jurisdiction and venue shall be Orange County, California. Further, NCG and City agree that this Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of California. Finally, the parties agree that the prevailing party in any legal action commenced to enforce this Agreement shall be entitled to recover its costs and reasonable attorneys' fees in addition to any other relief granted. 4.4 Ownership of Work Production. It is understood and agreed that the work product of NCG pursuant to this agreement shall, upon payment by City to NCG, herein, be the sole property of City. To the extent that such work product does not contain confidential information regarding City, it is understood and agreed that NCG may use it as an example of its work product for prospective customers of NCG's services. 4.5 Term and Termination. The term of this Agreement shall commence upon execution of this Agreement and contractual arrangement and shall end with the completion of the project. 4.6 Indemnification. Each party agrees to hold harmless and defend the other from and against all laws, liability or claim of any kind, including expenses and reasonable attorneys' fees, caused or alleged to have been caused by its actions or inactions or those of its shareholders, employees, agents or other individuals acting under their control, supervision or action. 4.7 Force Maleure. Neither party shall be liable to the other party for failure to perform its obligations hereunder if and to the extent that such failure results from causes beyond reasonable control, including, but not limited to, war, acts of government, 3 insurrection, strikes, labor troubles, inability to obtain vendors' parts or equipment if timely ordered, injunctions or other legal proceedings, riots, fires, floods, explosions, earthquakes, accidents or acts of God or the public enemy. By the signatures below, the parties indicate their agreement to the terms described herein. "NCG" Nelson Communications Group -Paul Freeman Managing Partner Dated: o , 'l 1 l I kr /nc9svc.agt /12 -6 -91 4 "CITY" City of Newport Beach :.Phil San one Mayor Dated: 1.2 — /0— %/ City of Newport Beach Public Opinion Survey December 2, 1991 Proposal Prepared by: NELSON COMMUNICATIONS 125 E. Baker St. #180 • Costa Mesa, Califomia 92626 (714) 957 -1010 EXHIBIT A i I r ;r Contents City of Newport Beach Paee Introduction 1 -2 Proposal Survey Development 3-4 Survey Administration 4 Survey Report 4 Timeline 5 Budget 5 Agency Overview Nelson Communications 6 -15 J. Moore Methods 16 -18 i 11 7 City of Newport Beach Introduction Nelson Communications is pleased to present this public opinion survey proposal to the City of Newport Beach. Together with J. Moore Methods, our selected pollster, we will bring to the City the full range of capabilities required to produce a project of maximum value for the City. Managed properly, the results of this project will be more than a mere snapshot of opinions regarding interest in and willingness to pay for public acquisition of open space. In addition, the project will, presuming the results point to an eventual local bond measure, help to establish the groundwork for and direction of a successful campaign. Indeed, the very process of developing the survey can be instrumental in building a broad -based support team. This often has been the case in comparable projects, notably and most recently, the Laguna Laurel project. The project team proposed for this project is the same project team that managed the Laguna Laurel project, from polling to negotiations to the successful bond campaign. Nelson Communications and J. Moore Methods are two companies that, together, have substantial and extensive experience and expertise in the areas of opinion research, community relations and local campaign management. We understand the mechanics and value of well conceived and properly executed quantitative research and analysis. We have an unrivaled. track record of success in working well to orchestrate complex projects of a time - sensitive nature involving disparate, at times contentious interests. d Finally, we would welcome the opportunity to work on this project. Notwithstanding what the polling may reveal, the combination of able City and conservation leaders, on the one hand, and a property owner with a demonstrable interest in community sensibilities, on the other, suggests that the ingredients are present for a worthwhile project. 71 LJ' d 0 0 77 ■ Secure and advance community cohesion and acceptance of and support for the survey results; and, ■ Lay the foundation for a broadly based and active campaign organization. Nelson Communications will work with the committee in brainstorming; obtaining individual committee members' sign -off on specific survey question copy; serving as staff in the laborious process of accommodating diverse input in fine - tuning the language of the questions; and positioning the survey project with various audiences, as directed. The development of the survey will emphasize funding mechanisms, issues development and constituency profiles. We want to determine just how much and what kind of taxes voters will support, how they perceive open space and development issues in the context of other city issues, and who are the most likely supporters, opponents and those voters able to be persuaded when presented with the right mix of messages. We also will want favorable /unfavorable /unknown indicators for major organizations and city leaders. Proposal Survey Development Nelson Communications and J. Moore Methods will work directly with a committee designated by the City of Newport Beach in the development of an appropriately tailored public opinion survey project. Insofar as this committee is representative of relevant stakeholders and opinion leaders, such a committee can: ■ Lend insight and expertise in the development of the questions; ■ Establish credibility for the research program, e.g., with so many i�diverse groups, the survey can't be � biased; ■ Secure and advance community cohesion and acceptance of and support for the survey results; and, ■ Lay the foundation for a broadly based and active campaign organization. Nelson Communications will work with the committee in brainstorming; obtaining individual committee members' sign -off on specific survey question copy; serving as staff in the laborious process of accommodating diverse input in fine - tuning the language of the questions; and positioning the survey project with various audiences, as directed. The development of the survey will emphasize funding mechanisms, issues development and constituency profiles. We want to determine just how much and what kind of taxes voters will support, how they perceive open space and development issues in the context of other city issues, and who are the most likely supporters, opponents and those voters able to be persuaded when presented with the right mix of messages. We also will want favorable /unfavorable /unknown indicators for major organizations and city leaders. 9,: 9 d d r' i LJ d d d d w • This is important, particularly in the context of designing a campaign, should poll results lead to such an eventuality. We anticipate that we will need to have a sample size of 400 high - propensity voters. This will produce a 95 percent confidence level and a +/- 5 percent sampling error. Naturally we will ensure that the sample we employ is demographically representative. And we will ensure that we are able to isolate how general results vary as a function of gender, party, age, owner /renter, ethnicity, income, length of residency, and other factors. Survey Administration We anticipate that the survey will take approximately 25 minutes to administer, by telephone. We conduct surveys between 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., if it is Monday through Thursday; on Saturdays, surveys are conducted between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.; on Sundays, surveys are conducted between 12:00 noon and 7:00 p.m. Once the survey is in the field, it should not take more than four days at most to complete all 400 surveys. Preliminary results then can be provided within three days, with the cross -tab report in fourteen days. ( "Cross- tabs" show how results change as a function of various demographic factors, such as those outlined earlier.) Standard survey administration operating procedures ensure that the sample is in fact demographically valid. Survey Report We will provide the survey results in two forms. The fast will be the aggregated totals, which will be available within three days of all surveys having been administered. The second will be the detailed cross -tabs, explained above, which will be available inside two weeks. Timeline Worldng with a diverse committee, development of a questionnaire can take considerable time. However, we understand the objective to be completion of the survey instrument by mid- January. Once the survey is ready to go to the field, administration, tabulation, analysis and report preparation can all be accomplished in 30 days. Bueet The proposed budget for the design, administration and report of the survey is a fixed fee of $20,000. This is inclusive of all costs.