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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 09/15/1998 - WorkshopI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the City Council Workshop of the City of Corpus Christi of September 15, 1998, which were approved by the City Council on September 22, 1998. WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this 22nd day of September, 1998. Armando Chapa City Secretary SEAL MINUTES CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS City Council Workshop September 15, 1998 12:37 p.m. PRESENT Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr. Mayor Pro Tem Edward A. Martin Council Members: Javier D. Colmenero Melody Cooper* Alex L. Garcia Jr. Betty Jean Longoria* Dr. David McNichols* ABSENT Dr. Arnold Gonzales John Longoria City Staff: City Manager David R. Garcia City Attorney James R. Bray Jr. City Secretary Armando Chapa Mayor Neal began the workshop session in the Council Chambers of City Hall. City Secretary Chapa called the roll. Mayor Neal pointed out that the workshop could begin without a quorum of the Council present. He said city staff would be presenting information to the Council about the special events management policy, and they would not be hearing comments from the audience during the workshop. *Council Member Betty Jean Longoria arrived at 12:39 p.m. City Manager Garcia said there was extensive discussion about the special events management policy during the preparation of the budget, and specific direction was given to staff to attempt to recover the costs that the city paid in support of special events. He said that as a result, staff reviewed the city expenses associated with a number of major events. Those expenses were incurred not only by the Police Department but also by the Park and Recreation Department, Solid Waste Services, and Street Services. Mr. Tom Utter, Assistant City Manager for Development Services, referred to the background information prepared by staff on this issue. He explained that parades were excluded from the proposal to recover costs for special events because they pertain to freedom of speech issues. Some examples of the more costly parades in terms of police overtime were the Junior Buc Parade and the Buccaneer illuminated night parade. Mr. Utter said the two other types of special events are: those held in a city facility, such as Minutes City Council Workshop September 15, 1998 Page 2 the convention center, a recreation center or a senior citizen center; and those that are held on city property but not in a city facility. The cost associated with special events in city facilities is the charge to an organization for renting a certain facility, such as Buccaneer Days which rents Memorial Coliseum. The cost for events held on city property involves the organization paying either 4% of gross receipts from the event or the actual city costs. There is also a provision that the Police Chief could charge for overtime costs for police services, but the city has not invoked that provision. Responding to Council Member Betty Jean Longoria, Mr. Utter said the city costs for Bayfest, for example, would include Park and Recreation, Solid Waste, Traffic Engineering, and Police. He said many organizations hire their own security personnel for their special events and police overtime costs are for pedestrian traffic control. City Manager Garcia said in the effort to recover some of the city's costs, they would like organizations to consider the cost of having the city clean up after an event or having a private contractor do it In addition, several set-up services provided by the Park and Recreation Department could be provided by private groups or other sources. Mr. Utter agreed that this proposal gives the organizations the ability to control some of their own costs. He then referred to and discussed Attachment "B" in the background material pertaining to samples of special event charges. *Council Member McNichols arrived at 12:49 p.m. Council Member Martin asked staff to further explain what constitutes police overtime. Police Chief Alvarez said police overtime is computed after the officers' normal duty hours (of 40 hours per week) at a cost of $30 per hour. He said the Police Department determines the number of police that will be needed to ensure security at a special event. Mr. Martin said traffic control is the city's responsibility. Council Member Garcia referred to Attachment "C" regarding police overtime expenditures for parades and special events. He questioned why 22 Police Department civilians at $15 an hour (time and a half rate) were used during Buccaneer Days. Chief Alvarez replied that they manned the lost children booth and he suggested that volunteers could take on that task which would save money. Mr. Utter said staff is recommending a phased -in program over the next three years that would recover city costs for special events. In the first year 50% of city services would be charged and the 4% of gross receipts requirement would be eliminated. He said staff estimates that the city would receive about $45,000 in the first year and about $68,000 in the second year when 75% of city services are recovered. For example, last year Bayfest paid $17,680; under the proposal they would pay $22,141 during the first year and $33,211 during the second year. Also, last year Buccaneer Days paid $5,323 and they would pay $16,166 the first year and $24,249 the second year. Minutes City Council Workshop September 15, 1998 Page 3 Mr. Martin asked how Beach -to -Bay and the Sherrill Park veterans' ceremonies would be charged. Mr. Utter said all parades, walks and runs would be excluded and the Sherrill Park ceremonies would not be charged because they have been an activity of the Park and Recreation Department. *Council Member Cooper arrived at 1:05 p.m. Mr. Martin said he feels this analysis illustrates that the problem of special events costs is not as severe as the Council was led to believe. He said basically there are two events that are significant--Bayfest and Buccaneer Days --and the issue is to work out common sense plans for those events. He added that he thought the 4% requirement was effective. Mr. Utter replied that it does not work for the police overtime. Mr. Martin also asked about the origin of this proposal; Mr. Utter said it was a Council action request from one Council member. He said the Council will have to assess whether they want to proceed with this policy. Mrs. Longoria questioned what the proposed policy would accomplish. She noted that tourism is important and the city's special events contribute to its tourism endeavors. She said she did not envision taking action on this policy at this time, although she feels that special event costs should be reviewed periodically over the long term. Responding to Council Member Colmenero, Mr. Utter said guidelines need to be developed regarding the types of events that the city sponsors. He also discussed using volunteers and other sources for setting up and cleaning up for special events. City Manager Garcia pointed out that it costs the city about $100,000 a year to stage over 120 different events, and of that amount, $75,000 goes toward two specific events--Bayfest and Buccaneer Days. In reply to Council Member Garcia, Mr. Utter said many cities are struggling with full -cost recovery for special events but there are no standard procedures that are followed. City Manager Garcia said staff did not calculate the revenue that these special events produce. A brief discussion ensued about the use of the coliseum and the convention center, and the number of hours of operation of Buccaneer Days and the associated police overtime. Mrs. Longoria said citizens receive many benefits from the special events that are held, and she said she did not think it would be feasible for volunteers to clean up after very large special events. Mayor Neal said he thought there were two issues involved: one is a mandated budget item that says to recover more costs of city services to special events of $50,000, which impacts this year's budget only and which he said staff could make a recommendation about in the next few Minutes City Council Workshop September 15, 1998 Page 4 months. He said that leads to the recommendation to change the whole policy toward special events, and he said he did not know if there was support among the whole Council to make major changes to the policy. The Mayor said if they do not change the policy, they need to find ways to better manage the city's costs for special events and to be more consistent. Mr. Martin said this proposal would not have even generated the $50,000 this year. He said the reason the city has contractual agreements with organizations is because their special events differ. He said the Council should have the opportunity to officially vote during a regular Council meeting to have staff proceed or not proceed. Mr. Colmenero said this was an opportunity to meet with organizations to try to address financial concerns. Dr. McNichols said he did not agree with most of the comments that were made; he said the city is either going to have to raise revenues or cut expenses. He said he would recommend charging for the police overtime in an appropriate fashion. Mrs. Cooper said the non-profit organizations give so much to the community and they should not be adversely affected. 1998. Mayor Neal declared the Council workshop session adjourned at 1:40 p.m. on September 15, * * * * * * * * * * * * *