TITLE
Recommendation to receive and file the update on the 2007 Long Beach Sea Festival. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The International Sea Festival of Long Beach (Sea Festival), as it was originally known, has been a part of Long Beach for over 50 years. It originally was developed to be a program that utilized the city's great assets, its beaches and water areas, and helped to build a sense of pride in the community.
Over the past decade, organizational and financial support for the Sea Festival had waned. The majority of the scheduled events that were once defined as part of the Sea Festival were individually produced events and programs, with the exception of a few that were still sponsored by the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department.
With a desire to reenergize the program, to promote family and community events, and to expand activities that can introduce our beaches to all of our residents, the City Council, at their meeting on May 3,2005, approved a five-year agreement with the Sea Festival Association of Long Beach (Attachment #1). The goals of this public-private partnership included:
1) Rejuvenation of the International Sea Festival program;
2) Development of activities that are geared toward families and the community, plus expansion of programs that can introduce all Long Beach residents to our beaches;
3) Creation of a destination site for people looking to enjoy the unique assets of our community; and
4) Reinvestment of proceeds from the Sea Festival Association into Long Beach based programming and community needs.
In a June 28, 2006 memorandum, the City Council was provided an update of the FY 2006 Long Beach Sea Festival (Attachment #2).
Event Overview
In 2006, the Long Beach Sea Festival sanctioned 47 events on the beaches and waterways between June 25 and Labor Day. This was an increase from the 30 events held in 2005, and over 190,000 people participated in or attended Sea Festival's events.
Based on information from event producers, it is estimated that the contribution was over $950,000 to the local economy. Because of its benefits to the community, the California Park and Recreation Society presented its 2006 Award of Excellence to the City for the renewed Sea Festival program. This summer, the Sea Festival of Long Beach will sanction over 112 events, ranging from sailing events, volleyball tournaments and camps, swimming activities, concerts, festivals, tennis events, boating activities, etc. A complete list of all programs with locations is included as Attachment #3.
Sponsorships
From the beginning of this public-private partnership, the key to the continued development of the programs has been to maintain and increase support of Sea Festival sponsors, and event operator sponsors. A number of private sector businesses or agencies have signed on as sponsors of Sea Festival. A list of these private sector sponsors (as of this date) are listed on Attachment #4. A number of other sponsors are yet to be added. In addition, the numerous event producers have a number of individual event sponsors, with a partial list for FY 2006, provided as Attachment #5.
Finally, a number of City departments have continued to participate in the support of this public-private partnership. For the 2007 Sea Festival season, the following City departments will be contributing to the success of this program as sponsors.
· Long Beach Airport - $19,750
· Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine - $25,000
· Long Beach Public Works/Recycling - $15,000
Also, the Port of Long Beach is partnering as a sponsor in the amount of $50,000. In addition, the City Council has approved, as part of the FY 07 adopted budget, $120,000 to cover the fireworks and public safety staffing for the 4th of July celebration. The City, through its Tidelands funding, will be contributing $50,000 for the sand for the Association of Volleyball Professionals event in July.
In addition, a number of City agencies will be providing a variety of "in-kind" support services, including tee shirts for participants, refreshments, water, etc. for the event(s) that they sponsor. The Parks, Recreation and Marine Department, through its Office of Special Events and Filming, handles all the permits for the events. As a result of this process, they provide assistance in event planning, parking and traffic planning, Police and Fire coordination, etc. Per the agreement with the Long Beach Sea Festival Association, the permit fees for these events are waived and these waived fees have a
value of approximately $19,000. The Marine Bureau oversees the events that take place in the marinas, Rainbow Harbor, Marine Stadium, and on the beaches, consistent with any other event operator who utilizes these sites.
Planning for the Future
The Board of Governors meets on a regular basis to evaluate current events and sponsor opportunities and continues to plan for the future. A number of issues that remain to be challenges include the following:
1) To work with the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department and other youth serving agencies to bring more young people to the beach. This summer, there are a number of events that will bring over 5,000 youth from all over the city to the beaches. These include: citywide beach days, youth sailing on the American Pride, free tennis clinics, sand castle competition, kite flying competition, Kids Fishing Rodeo, etc.
2) To address the need to provide summer transportation to the beach for the youth. Supervisor Don Knabe has agreed to provide buses to transport youth and staff to events this summer. A long-term solution is needed to make transportation easier for the youth.
3) To develop programs and activities that are of interest to all families within the city, like concerts, special events, etc.
4) To develop "Good Neighbor" policies for those neighborhoods that may be negatively impacted by Sea Festival events.
5) To gather information from participants and event producers to evaluate the success of the events. The Sea Festival Association is working with California State University, Long Beach, in developing a tool to track participant satisfaction and the economic benefits of the events.
6) To expand this public-private partnership whereby the Sea Festival Association, through private sector sponsorships, will be able to absorb the costs of operating the annual Sea Festival program.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Gary J. Anderson and Budget and Performance Management Bureau Manager David Wodynski on May 16, 2007.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
The City Council requested this report, per their action on March 13, 2007. The City council action on this matter will facilitate the Long Beach Sea Festival 2007 schedule of activities.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
PHIL T. HESTER
DIRECTOR OF PARKS, RECREATION AND MARINE
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APPROVED: |
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GERALD R. MILLER |
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CITY MANAGER |