HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.2 StPatricksDayCelebUpdate
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CITY CLERK
File # D[2JGJ[Q]-~[Q]
. AGENDA STATEMENT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: November 18,1997'
SUBJECT: 15th Annual St. Patrick's Day Celebration Update
Report by: Diane Lowart, Parks and Community Services Director
EXIllBITS ATTACHED: A. Excerpts from City Council Minutes, June 17, 1997
B. Proposal from Good Times Productions
C. Proposed St. Patrick's Day Budget
RECOMMENDA nON: ~~eceive report and provide Staff with direction as appropriate
FINANCIAL STATEMENT: The net additional cost for FY 1997-98 for a professional promoter
is $10,320
DESCRIPTION: Dublin's 15th Annual St. Patrick's Day Celebration will be held on
Saturday, March 14, 1998. After last year's celebration, a St. Patrick's Day Liaison Committee was
formed to improve communication and collaboration between the different organizations involved with
the production of this annual event. The committee is comprised of members from local non-profit
. organizations, Chamber of Commerce, Dublin Partners in Education, Shamrock Village Merchants,
Alameda County Fire and the following City Departments: Parks and Community Services, Police
Services and Public Works. The meetings are open to the public and anyone who has an interest in the
Celebration is invited to be involved with the committee which has been meeting once every six weeks to
plan for the 1998 celebration.
As directed by the City Council at the June 17, 1997 meeting (minutes attached in Exhibit A), Staff
informed the St. Patrick's Day Liaison Committee of the Council's desire to "work out the truck issue for
the parade, work with the Dublin High B~d Boosters to investigate bands and check into the issue of a
running race to see how this can be incorporated" in the Celebration. The Committee is attempting to
address these issues; a summary of the progress of the Committee follows.
PANCAKE BREAKFAST
The Alameda County Firefighters have agreed to continue to organize the St. Patrick's Day Community
Pancake Breakfast that was started two years ago by the Dougherty Regional Firefighters. The breakfast
will be held on Saturday, March 14, 1998 at Fire Station #1 from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Last year there
. were concerns that the fire house could not handle the large numbers of people who attend the event.
Representatives from the Fire Department have indicated that there will be more firefighters available to
serve at the breakfast than in the past which should help reduce the wait in line. Additionally, if
sponsorship monies become available a large tent will be set-up in the parking lot at the fire station to
provide more seating. All proceeds from the event will benefit a local burn foundation.
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COPIES TO: Liaison Committee; Parks & Community Services Commission
ITEM NO.
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5K FUN RUN \
The Women's Club of Dublin have indicated that they would like to organize a 5K Fun Run as part of the
festivities at this year's celebration. This event is tentatively scheduled to happen on Saturday morning,
prior to the parade. The Women's Club will be working with a professional race organizer and Suifffrom
Police Services and Public Works to determine the best route for the run. The Liaison Committee has.
suggested several routes including Camp Parks and the areas around Dublin High School or the Dublin
Civic Center. Proceeds from the Fun Run will benefit the Women's Club of Dublin.
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PARADE
The Dublin Lion's Club will again be organizing the St. Patrick's Day Parade. The parade, which will
follow the same route as in past years, is tentatively scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. but the time may be
changed to 10:00 a.m. depending upon the impact of the Fun Run. The objective of the Dublin Lion's
Club is to incorporate some expanded variety in the parade while retaining its "home town" feel. The
Lion's Club has taken several steps to accomplish this objective. In an effort to improve the flow of the
parade, the Lion's Club will be encouraging those large groups who typically walk the parade route to
utilize flat bed trucks. The Club has made tentative arrangements to have trucks donated for use the day
of the parade. Additionally they are pursuing sponsorships to help local organizations build floats for the
parade.
The Lion's would like to add additional entertainment to the parade such as marching bands and Celtic
entertainment, but do not have the funding necessary to pay the bands to perform. The DHS Band
Boosters are interested in helping to recruit local high school bands but have indicated that most bands
request a stipend in the range of $500 to defray travel costs. The other attraction for bands is a band
competition where cash awards are given; a competition is not feasible for this year. It is apparent that
additional funding will be necessary in order to attract bands; the source for the funding has not yet been .
determined.
There has also been discussion about setting up a reviewing stand for the parade in the Chuck E. Cheese
parking lot and utilizing bleachers from the Dublin Sports Grounds for spectators. Preliminary parade
information will be available in November or December and applications will be sent out in January.
COM:MUNITY CELEBRATION
Coordination of the St. Patrick's Day Celebration as well as the associated components (breakfast, parade,
fun run, etc.) is outgrowing the resources available to City Staff. Consequently Staff has investigated two
options: the first would be to contract with a professional promoter to assume the overall management of
the' event; the second would be to add an additional full-time employee to the Parks and Community
Services Department. Both options are discussed in further detail below.
Option 1 - Proposal from GoodTimes Promotions, Inc.
Staff has been in contact with a professional promoter to investigate the feasibility of utilizing their
services for overall event management. The promoter, GoodTimes Promotions, Inc., is a Dublin based
business who, for the last ten years, has planned, executed and promoted many top quality festivals and
events in the tri-valley. These include the Pleasanton Pasta and Jazz Festival, Rally in the Valley
(motorcycle show and sale) and, their most successful show, the Annual Manufacturer's RV Show and
Sale at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. Their most recent success was the 1997 Pleasanton Pasta and
Jazz Festival held in September on Main Street in Pleasanton which drew a crowd estimated at 40,000.
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Attached in Exhibit B is a preliminary proposal for services presented by GoodTimes Promotions, Inc.
As explained in the proposal, GoodTimes Promotions, Inc. would assume the overall management of ~e
event and provide the following services: .
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Overall event mana2ement to include:
Creation and implementation of advertising campaign
Secure corporate sponsors
Secure entertainment for all stages
Work with City Staff to create layout of event
Work with Police Department to ensure safety of event
Recruit and collect all fees from vendors
Recruit and manage non-profit groups and volunteers
Negotiate all contracts (with City Staff approval) for equipment/service rentals
Complete mana2ement of set-up and breakdown of event to include:
. Vendor check-in
. Vendor placement
. Stage placement
. Entertainment management
. Children's area management
. Supervision of all staff and volunteers
. Handle any problems or emergencies
GoodTimes Promotions, Inc. has also reviewed the previous years events and is recommending the
following changes for continued growth and success of the event.
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. Expand event to two days
. Expand layout to include Shamrock Village Shopping Center, Regional Street (between Amador
Valley Boulevard and Dublin Boulevard) and Almond Plaza Shopping Center
. Provide a Shuttle service from large parking lots
. Use non-profit groups as labor, paid by the hour
. Recruit professional food/dessert vendors
. Beer and wine sales/tasting in a secured area
. Concentrate on advertising event in Bay Area
. Raise booth fees to standard fee in industry
. Secure more corporate sponsors to offset cost of event
The proposed fee for event management is $27,500 plus 30% of all booth sales. As proposed, the City
would continue to finance the celebration, and all of the revenue collected by GoodTimes Promotions,
Inc. (sponsorships, booth sales, drink sales, etc.) would come back to the City.
Attached in Exhibit C is the proposed budget that was provided by GoodTimes Promotions. As shown,
the revenue for the event is estimated to increase by $35,940. This increase is attributable to raising
vendor fees to the industry standard and with the revenue anticipated from beverage sales. Also, instead
of having non-profit groups sell food at the event, it is recommended that local restaurants and
commercial food vendors be used who will pay premium fees to be at the event. The promoter would use
volunteers from the non-profit groups to serve beverages, act as crossing guards and parking lot
attendants, sell children's activity tickets, and patrol the beverage area. The non-profit organizations
would be paid an hourly wage for the number of hours their volunteers provided at the event.
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The proposed expenditures for the event are also estimated to increase. The increase of $46,260 is mainly
attributable to the promoter's fee and commission ($33,830), an increase in the entertainment budget and
the inclusion of funds for advertising. The promoter suggests that the event suffers from a lack of
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advertising and recommends that publicity for the event be expanded throughout the Bay Area -using '.
television, radio and newsprint media. This is the first year that BART will be available for transportation
to the Celebration which may attract more visitors to Dublin. Some of the advertising money would be
used to advertise the event on BART trains and in the stations;- Many other festivals that are acceSSIble by
BART have found this to be an excellent advertising tool. With regard to the entertainment budget, one .
of the goals for this year's event was to expand the number of Irish and Celtic performers. The promoter
has also recommended allocating mor~ money to attract this type of entertainment to perform at the event.
The net additional cost to the City over and above what was included in the Fiscal Year 1996-97 Budget is
$10,320.
GoodTimes Promotions, Inc. believes that the St. Patrick's Day Celebration has tremendous potential to
become one of the noted festivals in the Bay Area This is due to the fact that there are relatively few
festivals during the month of March and there is an obvious theme for the festival - Dublin and St.
Patrick's Day! The proposed budget for this year requires the City to take a larger loss on the event than
in the past. However this loss is an investment in the future of the celebration. Planning ana sponsorship
retention for the 1999 event would begin in April 1998. The success of this year's event will be the key to
obtaining large corporate sponsors in the future. GoodTimes estimates that the event would begin to turn
a profit within two years.
Option 2 - Additional Staffing
The second option to address the increased Staff requirements associated with the St. Patrick's Day
Celebration as well as other Departmental functions, would be to add an additional Recreation
Coordinator to the Parks and Community Services Department. This position would not only assume the
overall management of the St. Patrick's Day Celebration but would also be responsible for the expansion
of the new summer concert program and the coordination of the Heritage Fall Festival. Additionally, this .
position would spearhead a sponsorship program for all City special events and would assist with the
production of the brochure and with other promotional materials (flyers, posters, handouts, etc.). The
estimated cost for full year funding of this position is $55,392.
Given the lead time needed to recruit and hire a permanent employee, this option would not be feasible in
addressing the needs of the 1998 celebration.
CONCLUSION
The St. Patrick's Day Liaison Committee discussed the concept of utilizing a professional promoter and
the Committee was generally open to the idea provided that the involvement of the community in the
celebration was still retained in one form or another. The Parks and Community Services Commission
will be discussing this concept at their November 17, 1997 meeting; Staff will verbally report the
Commission's reaction to the concept at the City Council meeting.
_ . If it is the desire of the City Council to pursue the services of GoodTimes Promotions, Staff will negotiate
a contract which outlines the responsibilities of each party. The contract as well as the necessary budget
changes will be brought back to the City Council for consideration at the next meeting.
It should be noted that with less than five months to plan the 1998 St. Patrick's Day Celebration, time is
of the essence in making any decisions related Celebration.
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ST. PATRICK'S DAY CELEBRATION
8:24 p.m. 7.1 (950-40) '.
Parks & Comn1unity Services Director Lowart prepared and presented a report
summarizing and providing a critique of the 1997 St. Patrick's Day parade and
celebration. An evaluation meeting was held in April and present at the meeting were.
members from the Dublin Lions Club, the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, the
Shamrock Village Merchants Association and the City's Parks & Community Services '
Department. The report also included ideas for possible incorporation and expansion
of future celebrations.
Ms. Lowart stated the committee will meet again in August and the Council will be
kept apprised of efforts made by the committee. The Parks & Community Services
Commission also expressed a desire to have a member on the committee.
. Cm. Burton noted on one of the pages that the Chamber is not mentioned as being
involved in the follow up meeting, and asked if this was an oversight.
Ms. Lowart stated yes they 'were in attendance at both meetings. TI1ey are a part of the
liaison committee.
Cm. Burton felt phone calls are usually a problem with any citywide event. People
,vant to caIl and get information. Could we make something to have all the
advertising on the city's voicemail system? If we could think in these terms, it would
be a good idea. Everyone would get the same information. .
em. Lockhart questioned if Staff had received any feedback from ACFD related to the
pancake breakfast. TI1is was one of the nicest parts of the celebration. There are so
many children that get a lot out of this.
Ms. Lowart stated their first choice would also be to have ACFD do this.
CITY COUNCIL MlNUTES
VOLU1\1E 16
REGULAR MEETING
June 17, 1997
PAGE: 256
EXHIBIT A
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Cm. Barnes commented about the problem with getting big trucks to allow kids to do.
floats. If the City could assist, this would make the parade.
The Council discussed the walking groups.
Mayor Houston felt a lot of the youth groups and their inability to keep up slows down
the parade. This is a long way for some of the kids. When he was Principal for a day,
all the kids at Frederiksen told him they would prefer to ride in a truck if given a
choice.
Paul Moffatt, 11742 Solana Drive, representing the Lions Club stated they. are very
appreciative of the cooperation given related to the parade. They can use heIp from
the other service clubs if possible. They feel they may have several sources to tap into
for the use of trucks. A lot of children tend to spread out in the parade. To consolidate
them in some way would be a good idea. They look forward to a bigger and better
parade next year.
Brian McKenna with ACFD assured the Council that they will continue to put on the
breakfast next year.
Cm. Barnes felt the great involvement of a lot of the community has been shown. One.
group could not do it, it takes everyone. We can all be winners.
Cm. Lockhart stated she would like to see businesses impacted by the parade sponsor
floats. They may say here's $50, just put my name somewhere on the float. This may'
be a way for them to participate. We do get some grumbling from businesses that are
literally shut down. She thought in the past we offered some type of exposure for the
car dealers to display a couple of cars. If there is a way to work with the businesses,
this might help them.
Mayor Houston commented on goal #3 and felt we definitely need to increase'
sponsorship of the parade. He is interested in the ~ of bands and having the
parade step up a couple of notches. The Lions have indicated this is costly. What
about other valley high school bands? We should look at the mechanism on how we
can get other bands here. There are competitions, points for being in certain parades,
etc. We need more music. .Maybe the City could look at some of these issues. '
M.s. Lowart stated the budget is based on the same as the past with no additional.
financial support from the City.
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CITY COUNcn.. :MINUTES
VOLUME 16
REGULAR M.:EETING
June 17 1997
. 3 l\1r. l\10ffatt agreed there are a lot of great bands; unfortunately they want from $1100
to 510,000 to be in the parade. They participate to compete with other bands. We are
talking big bucks. Dublin High for many years wanted $1100 to march in the parade'.
\Ve were very fortunate last year to have had 3 bands. The Lions Club does a lot for,
the high school and they felt maybe they could reciprocate. Sponsorships by local
businesses could be an answer. He would rather downplay the concept of the City
sponsoring it.
Cm. Barnes felt a good many of these bands the problem is they will come if it can be a
class competition. The judges are what cost. The big money comes in with getting
qualified experienced judges. She misses a color guard to start the parade.
.Mr. Moffatt stated the 91st Division over at Camp Parks has a really great bagpipe
band. We should look for volunteers. rhe Lions Club feels it is a hometown parade.
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Mayor Houston stated he wasn't willing to accept the fact that we looked several years
ago and it was expensive. Kim Wheeler with the Band Boosters has said there are
ways to pull together bands and we need to look closer at this. More music would
help draw more people into our community and this helps in a number of ways.
Several people are interested in a running race.
Ms. Lowart explained that the logistics of trying to organize a race on the same day
with limited Public Works and Police personnel would be quite a chore.
Mayor Houston discussed organizing volunteers. We should try to get more people
into the City and make this a big fime celebration. We need to step this up a couple of
notches. He stated he recently attended the Crawdad Festival up in Isleton. This is a
town of about 900 people and they draw over 200,000 people during this 3-day
festival.
Ms. Lowart stated if you look at who participates in our celebration, almost every
service club currently participates.
l\-1ayor Houston felt this is why Pleasanton pays people, thereby drawing groups from
Dublin. He stated he felt a great resistance, but he was unwilling to accept this. A 5K
race would be over in 20 to 30 minutes, and a 10K race would be about an additional
hour, so it would need to start about 8:00 a.m. He would like to see Staff investigate
this.
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Cm. Lockhart stated for years the Soroptimists did a 5K and 1 OK run. They had a 23
member club and they managed it themselves.
CITY COUNCIL:MINUTES
VOLUME 16
REGULAR MEETING
June 17, 1997
~ ~1~yor HOUS[Ol: felt if Dublin, Califor~lia can~t celeb:'ate SL Patrick's Day, who can? .
1111S can be a bIg league type celebratIon or we can Just say we can't go the extra sie
\Ve need to look at all the options. .
Cm. Lockhart stated she watched the Livermore parade and they ~lad judges who did a
reviewing stand. Every entry that went by, they had a paragraph on them. There were
a number of groups frOlTI outside Liverluore in the parade. There were a lot of groups
from FrelTIOnt. Maybe we could check with them as to how they get entries. Channel
30 was there taping the whole thing. Maybe we could set up SOlTIe portable bleachers.
She felt businesses would like to get their nalTIes out there for a minimal expense.
Followi11g receipt of the report, the Council directed Staff to work out the. truck issue
for the parade, work with the DHS Band Boosters to investigate bands and check inio
the issue of a running race to see how this can be incorporated.
CIn. BUlton suggeste,d an update be provided after the next liaison nleeting. Staff '\-vas
directed to notice the ll1eeting as the City Council indicated a desire to attend the
liaison Iueeting.
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CITY COUNClL MIJ\'UTES
VOLUME 16
REGULAR MEETING
June 17, 1997
PAGE 259
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City of Dublin's
15th Annual St.
Patrick's Day
Celebration
EXHIBIT B
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THANK YOU
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Thank you for the opportunity to present to you a proposal for the production
and promotion of the City of Dublin's 1998 St. Patrick's Day Celebration.
This proposal is a draft of the event and a description of services available to
you from GoodTimes Promotions, Inc.
I have gained a great deal of knowledge meeting with city staff, Diane Lowart
and Paul McCreary in regards to your event. I have a clear picture of previous
years events, and what kind of event the City would like to host in the future.
I am confident that our company can promote and produce a first class
regional festival in the City of Dublin. We pride ourselves on meeting the
needs of those we serve, and look fOIWard to working with your City's staff
to meet your event promotion needs.
BACKGROUND
GoodTimes Promotions, Inc., plans, executes and promotes many top quality
festivals and events locally for the last 10 years. You may have heard positive
remarks or attended one of our festivals, such as the Pleasanton Pasta and
Jazz Festival, Rally in the Valley (motorcycle show and sale) or our three
annual R V sales. GoodTimes Promotions, Inc., has built a positive reputation
in the promotion's business by the dedication of its staff to provide a
diversified array of services and events.
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The owner of GoodTimes Promotions, Inc., has over 10 years experience in
the promotions of sales events and festivals. The event we are most proud of
is our most successful show the Annual Manufacturer's RV Show and
Sale at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. This show is the largest of its type
in the western United States. Twenty-eight dealers reported sales this year in
excess of $30 million in just 11 days! Our most recent success is the 1997
_ Pleasanton Pasta and Jazz Festival held in September on Main Street in
Pleasanton. This event drew a crowd estimated at 40,000.
It is our hope, that you will take a few minutes to review this presentation
regarding how we can help your City conduct a successful regional festival.
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Enclosed in this presentation you will find an Overview of Services provided,
Recommendations and Cost of Services. If you have questions regarding this
presentation, please call me at my office-GoodTimes, Promotions, Inc., at
(510) 803-4050.
I look forward to speaking with you further regarding how we can plan a
successful festival for the City of Dublin.
Kelly Robinson
Events Coordinator
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OVERVIEW OF SERVICES PROVIDED
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GoodTimes Promotions, Inc., will provide for the City of Dublin the following
servIces.
Overall Event Management duties would include:
· Creation and implementations of Advertising Campaign
. Secure Corporate Sponsors
. Secure Entertainment for all stages
· Work with City Public Works to create layout of event
· Work with Police Department to ensure safety of event
. Recruit and collect all fees from vendors
· Recruit and manage non-profit groups and volunteers
. Negotiate all contracts (with City Staff approval) for equipment/service rentals
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Complete Management of set-up and breakdown of event to include:
. Vendor check-in
. Vendor placement
. Stage placement
. Entertainment Management
. Children's Area Management
. Supervision of all staff and volunteers
. Handle any problems or emergencies
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RECOMMENDATIONS
After reviewing the previous years events I would recommend the following
changes for continued growth and success of the event.
. Extended event to 2 days
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. Provide a Shuttle service from large parking lots (maybe high school lot)
. Use non-profits as labor, paid by the hour instead of food vendors
. Recruit professional food/dessert vendors
. Concentrate on advertising event in Bay Area
. Raise booth fees to standard fee in industry
.. . Expand layout to include Regional Street and Almond Plaza Shopping Center
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. Secure more Corporate Sponsors to offset cost of event
COST OF SERVICES
GoodTimes Promotions Inc., respectfully submits this bid for event management
service in the amount of $27,500 for management services and 30% of all booth
sales.
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St. Patrick's Day Celebration. Proposed Budget
REVENUE 96/97 Actual 97/98 Budget 97/98 Proposed
Art & Craft Vendor Booth Sales
Commercial Vendor Booth Sales
Restaurant Vendor Booth Sales
Non-Profit Fundraising Space Sales
Extra Booth Rentals
Beverage Sales
Children's Attractions
T-Shirt Sales
Sponsorships
TOTAL REVENUE
$1,932.00
$1,174.00
$838.00
$150.00
$707.00
$0.00
$1,993.95
$320.00
$1,900.00
$9,014.95
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$2,860.00
$1,705.00
$930.00
$50.00
$715.00
$0.00
$1,650.00
$0.00
$2,500.00
$10,410.00
$10,000.00
$7,500.00
$3,600.00
$50.00
$0.00
$20,000.00
$1,500.00
$1,200.00
$2,500.00
$46,350.00
EXPENDITURES 96/97 Actual 97/98 Budget 97/98 Proposed
Part- Time Salaries
Pre-Event Planning Staff $1,504.00 $1,575.00 $0.00
Event Staff $778.26 $1,220.00 $0.00
Operating Supplies
T-Shirts $457.26 $720.00 $720.00
Signage $211.31 $150.00 $500.00
IcelWater $0.00 $0.00 $705.00
Soda $0.00 $0.00 $1,585.00 .
Wine $0.00 $0.00 $2,515.00
Beer $0.00 $0.00 $1,530.00
Miscellaneous Event Supplies $788.38 $355.00 $710.00
Advertising
TV, Radio, BART, Newspaper $0.00 $0.00 $5,000.00
Printing & Binding
Posters, Flyers, Miscellaneous $442.00 $425.00 $500.00
Stage Signs $87.40 $90.00 $0.00
Rentals & Leases
Tents, Canopies, Stages, Etc. $6,799.50 $6,500.00 $4,850.00
Radios $105.00 $100.00 $0.00
Vehicle Rental $99.00 $100.00 $0.00
Contract Services
Entertainment $1,600.00 $1,400.00 $3,500.00
Sound Technician & Equipment $300.00 $350.00 $500.00
Attractions $400.00 $0.00 $0.00
Carnival Game Operators $788.00 $1,000.00 $0.00
Ovemight Security $0.00 $0.00 $900.00
Beverage Pourers, Guards $0.00 $0.00 $2,900.00
Promoter Management Fee $0.00 $0.00 $27,500.00
Booth Sales Commission (30%) $0.00 $0.00 $6,330.00
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $14,360.11 $13,985.00 $60,245.00
NET GAIN (LOSS) TO THE CITY ($5,345.16) ($3,575.00) ($13,895.00) e,
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EXHIBIT C