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Item 4KM E M O R A N D U M October 9, 2008 To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council From: Greg Last, Director of Economic Development Subject: Item 4K - RESOLUTION NO. 08-054 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS, ESTABLISHING A COMMUNITY EVENT PARTICIPATION POLICY. Action Requested: Approval of Resolution 08-054 establishing a Community Event Participation Policy. Background Information: The questions. A number of community groups in Southlake organize and promote outstanding community events that draw visitors to Southlake. For example, the Chamber of Commerce hosts Oktoberfest, with estimated attendance for 2007 of 45,000. The Southlake Women’s Club has hosted Art In The Square for the past nine years and estimates that the event attendance in 2008 was 80,000. These events have not only promoted tourism in Southlake, but have also helped draw name recognition for the City. These are only two examples of events developed, managed and funded by local community groups. Events of this magnitude require a great deal of planning and volunteer effort. They also require City participation to be successful. Security, logistics, equipment and other needs are often requested of the City by host organizations. This leads to important public policy questions: Should the City participate in these kinds of events as a partner? What criteria should be used to determine which events will be considered for participation? What role should the City play? If the City does partner in the event, how should the participation be funded? What kind of decisions need to be made when considering participation and who should make them? The City as a partner. When considering the fundamental question of whether the City should participate in the event, Honorable Mayor and City Council Community Events Partnership Program Page 2 of 6 the first consideration is whether this participation aligns with the City’s overall strategy. The City Council identified “Partnerships and Volunteerism” as a focus area when adopting the strategic plan in 2005. Since then, an objective has been included on the City strategy map: “Actively promote opportunities for partnerships and volunteer involvement (individual and group).”A case can be made, therefore, that this kind of partnership would be properly aligned with the City’s strategy since a partnership of this kind brings together community groups and the City to offer high quality events that promote the City. Additionally, the strategy map includes a focus area of “Safety and security.” This, coupled with the objective of “Collaborate with select partners to implement service solutions”addresses the matter of the City’s fundamental obligation to ensure that residents and visitors of Southlake are safe and secure, whatever their activity. If we develop a successful partnership with these community groups, coordinate our efforts, and, perhaps, share the costs, the City has ultimately met this stated strategic objective. In summary, participation in these kinds of events is easily aligned with Council’s strategic focus areas and stated strategic objectives. Which events? The question of the criteria used to determine which events are “eligible” for City participation is a critical one. While there should be some flexibility when making the determination, a broad list of criteria has been identified in the policy to provide decision-makers a framework and for communicating the City’s intentions to interested organizations at the outset. Some of the criteria used to consider partnership opportunities for the City include: Scope & location of the event (will it draw visitors/tourists to Southlake?) Projected attendance (will the event have significant impact?) Experience (is this a new event?) Sponsor (is the organizing group a local group?) Secularity (does the event promote entertainment for a variety of participants?) Honorable Mayor and City Council Community Events Partnership Program Page 3 of 6 Non-political (is the event intended to advance a particular political agenda?) Sponsor (will the City receive sponsorship billing for its participation?) What is the appropriate City role? As previously discussed, City resources should only be used in pursuit of the City’s strategic focus areas and objectives. The intersection of the City’s strategy and the requesting organization’s strategy provides an opportunity to determine the appropriate and most effective opportunity for partnership. There are three areas where the City could actively participate in tourist-generating events. organizationally First, the City could participate . In this role, City representative(s) would take on the role of consultant, providing guidance on City regulations, and serving as a liaison to other City staff for the purposes of ensuring proper coordination. Designating a formal liaison could significantly reduce any potential confusion or miscommunication between the City and the organization, providing for a smooth process. financially Second, the City may participate . This could include providing grants to organizations or offering in-kind services. Direct financial assistance is potentially problematic due to public perception, lack of direct financial control, and an unclear definition of the City’s role. In-kind participation, however, provides the organization with needed support, while ensuring that the City is using its funds appropriately, for expenses that are clearly related to the City’s overall purpose (e.g., police protection). It is important to determine how financial participation would be handled as part of the City’s policy. The policy addresses the level of financial participation, and clearly outlines specifics. For example, whatever financial participation the City may agree to, allocations would only be made for one year, with no entitlement to future participation and all allocations would necessarily be subject to City budget limitations. Also, the City may approach its participation as a “matching fund” whereby the City only participates if the sponsoring organization brings a portion of the funding to the table. Honorable Mayor and City Council Community Events Partnership Program Page 4 of 6 promote Finally, the City may participate to the event. While the City has limited marketing resources at this time, there is a public information/communication strategy which could supplement the marketing efforts of the sponsoring organization to ensure broad awareness of the event. Whatever role the City might choose to pursue, a formal agreement will be required to ensure that expectations of both parties are clearly described and agreed upon. City participation. If it is determined that the City of Southlake will partner with a sponsoring organization, how will the City’s participation be funded? The best source of funding for City participation is the hotel occupancy tax budget. This tax is authorized under the Texas Tax Code, Chapter 351. The City of Southlake adopted Ordinance No. 769 in February 2000, levying a 7% tax on room receipts. The revenue generated from this tax is used to promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry. This source of funding could be used for direct or indirect (e.g., reimbursement to the General Fund for officer salaries) funding of City participation initiatives, subject to confirmation of expense eligibility. City participation is capped at $10,000 per event for budgetary purposes, as well as to ensure that a variety of organizations can benefit from the program. Making the decisions. The fundamental decision about the City’s willingness to participate in these events will be the allocation of funds through the budget process. Once funds are set aside for this purpose, the determination of which events and what kind of participation should be made as part of a formal application process. The City policy describes the application process and the steps that should be taken for formal approval by the City Council. Financial Considerations: Funds ($50,000) have been included in the FY 2009 Hotel Occupancy Tax budget for this purpose. Citizen Input/ Board Review: N/A Honorable Mayor and City Council Community Events Partnership Program Page 5 of 6 Legal Review: Resolution and policy has been reviewed by the City Attorney. Alternatives: City Council may decide to approve, deny or modify this policy. Supporting Documents: Resolution 08-054 Community Event Participation Policy Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the resolution Community Event Participation Policy Process Flow Yes Yes Council Staff Yes StaffDraft CS Matching Reco- Approves Finalize Analysis Agreement Request mmends Agreement Received Scope of event o Organizational o Attendance o Participation Track Record No o Financial o Organizing o Implement Participation sponsor Promotional o May Request Secularity o Participation It goes to Political event? o Promotional Council Requested o participation Sponsor credit o Yes No Council Agrees to fund No Request Denied City of Southlake, Texas RESOLUTION NO. 08-054 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS, ESTABLISHING A COMMUNITY EVENT PARTICIPATION POLICY. WHEREAS, the City Manager shall be responsible to the Council for the proper administration of all affairs of the City including the preparation of general policies; and WHEREAS, according to the City of Southlake (the “City”) Charter section 4.14(6) the City Manager is responsible for administration of the City budget after adoption by the City Council; and WHEREAS, the City of Southlake assesses and collects a municipal hotel occupancy tax in accordance with Chapter 351 of the Texas Tax Code; and WHEREAS, the City Manager recognizes the need to add new policies to define City practice regarding use of hotel occupancy tax revenues with third party community events, and to provide a process whereby third parties wishing to sponsor a community event in the City may request City participation, and; WHEREAS , the Community Event Participation Policy accomplishes the purposes described above in a manner that accommodates the legitimate interests of the City, now THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS THAT: Section 1. The City of Southlake hereby approves the Community Event Participation Policy, specifying general policies relating to City participation in community events. Section 2. This resolution shall become effective after its passage and adoption by the City Council. PASSED AND APPROVED THIS _____ DAY OF ___________________________, 2008. ________________________________ Andy Wambsganss, Mayor ATTEST: ____________________________________ Lori Payne, City Secretary Community Event Participation Policy 1.Statement of Purpose: The purpose of this Policy is to establish guidelines for processing requests for City participation in Community Events. A.Strategic Plan Alignment: This Policy is being considered due to its support of the City’s overall Strategic Plan and alignment with the Council’s strategic focus areas and stated strategic objectives. 1.Partnerships and Volunteerism: The City Council identified “Partnerships and Volunteerism” as a focus area when adopting the strategic plan in 2005. Since then, an objective has been included on the City strategy map: “Actively promote opportunities for partnerships and volunteer involvement (individual and group).” A case can be made, therefore, that this kind of partnership would be properly aligned with the City’s strategy since a partnership of this kind brings together community groups and the City to offer high quality events that promote the City. 2.Safety and Security: The strategy map includes a focus area of “Safety and security.” This, coupled with the objective of “Collaborate with select partners to implement service solutions” addresses the matter of the City’s fundamental obligation to ensure that residents and visitors of Southlake are safe and secure, whatever their activity. If we develop a successful partnership with these community groups, coordinate our efforts, and, perhaps, share the costs, the City has ultimately met this stated strategic objective. B.Compliance with the Hotel Occupancy Tax State Laws: Funds utilized under this policy shall comply in all instances with the requirements of Chapter 351 of the Texas Tax Code as it pertains to the eligibility and expenditure of hotel occupancy tax funds. 2.Policy Administration: This Policy will be administered through the Department of Economic Development. 3.Definitions: The following definitions shall be utilized in this Policy. A.City: Shall mean the City of Southlake, Texas. B.Community Event: Shall mean an event held within the Southlake City limits having broad appeal and interest by attendees both from the City and outside the City and meeting the evaluation criteria defined herein. C.Coordinator: Shall mean the Marketing and Tourism Coordinator in the Department of Economic Development. D.Director: Shall mean the Director of Economic Development. Community Event Participation Policy - 2008-10-09 DRAFT - Page 1 of 6 E.Eligible Applicants: Shall mean community organizations active in our region on an ongoing basis. F.In-Kind Participation: Shall include the utilization of City staff, providing of City equipment, utilization of City facilities or similar participation as approved by the Director. Examples might include: police protection, emergency medical services, street closure set-up, banner displays, website exposure, cooperative marketing, etc. G.Participation Agreement: Shall mean a Community Event Participation Services Agreement between the City and the applicant organizing and responsible for the event. H.Policy: Shall mean the Community Event Participation Policy adopted by City Council. I.Tourism Team: Shall mean the City staff team working collectively to implement tourism programs in the City. The members of this team may vary by type of event to be evaluated or reviewed. It may also at times include third party participants who can contribute a unique aspect to the team. 4.Submittal Requirements: The following shall be applicable to establishing an adequate submittal for participation by the City. A.Eligible Applicants: Applications will only be accepted from Eligible Applicants as defined herein. B.Application: An applicant must submit a fully executed application identified in Appendix ‘A’ herein. This application may be amended periodically by staff if needed to better administer this Policy. The completed application shall be submitted to the Coordinator for review. C.Submittal Deadlines: Applications must be submitted three (3) months prior to the date of the event. 5.Application Review: Upon receipt of the application, the following shall apply to the review and evaluation of the application. A.Evaluation Criteria: The following criteria shall be utilized by the Coordinator when reviewing the application and in consideration of any recommendation for participation. 1.Applicant’s Community Involvement: Is the applicant active in the community? Are they local and frequently engaged in community activities? If the applicant is not involved locally, is the event unique enough to support? Community Event Participation Policy - 2008-10-09 DRAFT - Page 2 of 6 2.City Recognition: Will the City be recognized as a “co-sponsor”? What additional exposure or recognition will the City receive? 3.Experience of Applicant: Does the applicant have a history of successfully holding the event? Has the applicant worked successfully with the City on this or other similar events in the past? Is the applicant able to demonstrate the organization’s ability to perform the duties necessary to fund and implement the proposed event? 4.Marketing Efforts: Does the applicant have a marketing program to enhance the likelihood of success of the event? 5.Matching Fund: It is the intent of this Policy to require that the applicant provide a 50/50 match of the contributions by the City, e.g. if staff hours for an event was equal to $5,000, the applicant would be required to make a payment of $2,500 to the City. 6.Neutrality: Is the event non-partisan politically? Are all religions and ethnical backgrounds allowed to attend and participate? Does the event make no effort to promote or facilitate the promotion of a particular position or political candidate? 7.Tourism Impact: What are the beneficial tourism impacts of the proposed event? Factors might include: anticipated draw, likelihood of overnight hotel room reservations, visitor expenditures in the City, etc. B.Staff Review: The Coordinator will engage the Tourism Team to jointly discuss the merits and challenges of the application. The Director, upon a recommendation from the Coordinator, shall determine the acceptability of the application and response to the applicant. 1.Recommendation for Council Action: If the Director deems that the event as proposed by the applicant meets the purpose and intent of the Policy, an action item will be placed before the City Council for their approval of a Participation Agreement outlining all aspects of the participation request. a.Participation Agreement: Prior to placement of the participation request before the City Council, the applicant must work with the Coordinator to prepare an adequate Participation Agreement for Council consideration. 2.Denial of Application: If the Director does not find that the application for City participation in the proposed event meets the Council adopted Policy, the applicant shall be informed of the decision and the reasons for the finding. a.Appeal to City Council: The applicant may appeal the decision of the Director to City Council. All decisions by the City Council shall be final. Community Event Participation Policy - 2008-10-09 DRAFT - Page 3 of 6 C.Participation Limitations: Following are specific limitations to City participation under the guidelines of this Policy. 1.In-Kind Participation Only: The extent of City participation shall be limited to “in-kind” participation as defined herein. No cash contributions shall be provided. 2.Funding: No application for City participation shall be approved when funds are not available for the event. a.Funding Cap: No single event shall receive a City contribution in excess of ten thousand ($10,000) dollars. 3.Staffing: No application for City participation shall be approved when staff required to support the event are not available for the event. 6.Post Event Evaluation: The applicant shall be required to participate in a post-event debriefing meeting to identify opportunities, challenges, and recommended improvements for any future events. Community Event Participation Policy - 2008-10-09 DRAFT - Page 4 of 6 Appendix A Application for Community Event Participation Name of Event: Applicant: Primary Contact Name: Title: Phone: Fax: Cell: Email Address: Web: Paid Organizer Name: Title: Phone: Fax: Cell: Email Address: Web: Requested In-Kind City Staffing (*Staff Estimate) Est. Cost* Staff Member Anticipated Duties TOTAL Other Requested In-Kind Items (*Staff Estimate) Est. Cost* In-Kind Item Proposed Utilization ` TOTAL Please identify any unique requests for City assistance related to this event: (e.g. street closures) 1. 2. 3. By Signing this application, the applicant agrees to comply with all City ordinances including but not limited to the following: Mass Gathering Ord. No. XXXX Noise Ord. No. XXXX Solicitation Ord. No. XXXX ? Please respond to the following questions: 1. Anticipated attendees: 2. Duration of event: Community Event Participation Policy - 2008-10-09 DRAFT - Page 5 of 6 3. Applicant’s Community Involvement: Is the applicant active in the community? Are they local and frequently engaged in community activities? If the applicant is not involved locally, is the event unique enough to support? Answer: 4. City Recognition: Will the City be recognized as a “co-sponsor”? What additional exposure or recognition will the City receive? Answer: 5. Experience of Applicant: Does the applicant have a history of successfully holding the event? Has the applicant worked successfully with the City on this or other similar events in the past? Is the applicant able to demonstrate the organization’s ability to perform the duties necessary to fund and implement the proposed event? Answer: 6. Marketing Efforts: Does the applicant have a marketing program to enhance the likelihood of success of the event? Answer: 7. Matching Fund: It is the intent of this Policy to require that the applicant provide a 50/50 match of the contributions by the City, e.g. if staff hours for an event was equal to $5,000, the applicant would be required to make a payment of $2,500 to the City. Answer: 8. Neutrality: Is the event non-partisan politically? Are all religions and ethnical backgrounds allowed to attend and participate? Does the event make no effort to promote or facilitate the promotion of a particular position or political candidate. Answer: 9. Tourism Impact: What are the beneficial tourism impacts of the proposed event? Factors might include: anticipated draw, likelihood of overnight hotel room reservations, visitor expenditures in the City, etc. Answer: Submitted on this the ______ day of ______________, 2008 _______________________________ Name: Title: Community Event Participation Policy - 2008-10-09 DRAFT - Page 6 of 6