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HomeMy WebLinkAbout417644 - MINUTES - CRA MINUTES OF WORKSHOP MEETING CITY OF DANIA BEACH COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AND THE ARTS & SEAFOOD CELEBRATION COMMITTEE TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014 — 5:30 P.M. 1. Call to Order Chairman Duke called the workshop to order at 5:30 p.m. Present: Chairman: Walter B. Duke III Vice-Chairman: Chickie Brandimarte Board Members: Bobbie H. Grace Albert C. Jones CRA Executive Director: Jeremy Earle City Attorney: Thomas Ansbro CRA Secretary: Louise Stilson Arts& Seafood Celebration Committee: Kathleen Weekes, CRA&Event Coordinator Dan Murphy, Economic Development Manager Sharon McCormick, CRA Marketing Consultant Elizabeth Wentworth, Wentworth Creative Management, Inc. Victor Maisonet, Standing Ovations, Event Planner Mark Felicetty, Director of Parks and Recreation Robert Furman, Lieutenant, Broward Sheriffs Office 2. Comments on 2014 Arts& Seafood Celebration Executive Director Earle noted with the development of the Dania Jai Alai, we need to give further thought to this festival over the next year because a lot of the on-the-ground logistics have changed. 3. Improve Event Coordination Procedures 3.1 Service Providers/Vendor Agreements and Risk Management Kathleen Weekes commented the recommendation is for the CRA to get together with the City Attorney to develop the contract documents prior to the event so that the service providers and vendors are aware of the requirements upfront. Staff also wants them to know what the City rules and regulations are, as well as the requirements and deadlines for permitting, inspections, and fire safety. Director Earle said there are multiple ways to streamline the process and make it more efficient. Potentially, we could have a master agreement so that the City Attorney does not have to review multiple agreements. Board Member Jones suggested the packet be available on-line, which would be more efficient. Chairman Duke suggested that we could have agreements for every yearly event. City Attorney Ansbro concurred. Sharon McCormick, CRA Marketing Consultant, commented that the City of West Palm Beach said the most important thing they have is that there is only one person to go to who funnels the application process to everyone involved. She recommended that we copy their process and modify it for our application. 3.2 Finance/Purchasing—Payments and Tax Exemptions Kathleen Weekes noted staff would like the event producer to be more involved in this process to alleviate some of the stress for the department. She said they hope that a PO could be issued for the entire event to pay for all allowable services through the event producer, and it would include all the legal language and requirements. She stated the problem they foresee is our tax exemption when it comes to purchases made by a service provider on behalf of the City. Ms. McCormick noted this PO process is also done in West Palm Beach. Board Member Grace asked the City Attorney if it is a safe practice to allow someone else to use our tax exempt status. Additionally, she wants to be sure we look within Dania Beach for an event coordinator. Director Earle acknowledged that looking at what other cities do is a smart approach. He noted that he and his staff had to pay for taxes out of their own pocket for the event because the City does not reimburse for taxes. He remarked other cities have a policy that they pay taxes up to a certain dollar amount. Board Member Jones clarified that it would be City staff that would be reimbursed for taxes; we would not give the tax exempt certificate to the event producer. 3.3 Permitting/Inspections—Best practices to create event permit Director Earle thanked the Community Development staff for streamlining the process this year. 4. Budget/Financial Minutes of Workshop Meeting 2 Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and the Arts&Seafood Celebration Committee Tuesday,May 27,2014—5:30 p.m. Director Earle provided an overview of the financials, noting that additional items and.staff were required compared to the first year of the event due to the size of this festival. He noted the q P Y approximate $63,000.00 in revenues, mostly from beer and wine sales, and the approximate $64,000.00 in expenditures on the event. He added we raised more money to offset our expenses this year and expenditures were about $6,600.00 less than last year's for a festival three to four times larger. Chairman Duke observed that it was hard to determine that we had 30,000 attendees, and our revenue went down from the previous year per attendee. Board Member Jones said his vision is something that is family-oriented, and will bring people to our beach and into our hotels, restaurants and shops. We need to look at other things, such as the casino, which may require other places to park for the festival. He commented if the festival can become bigger, let it. Board Member Grace felt we should go a step further because we want to make a profit. We could plan smarter, and hopefully in a couple of years our hotels, restaurants, and City could profit. Vice-Chairman Brandimarte commented we should continue to support the Creative Arts Council and festival this year, and deal with bigger problems that are looming when the time comes. She added she is in favor of making a profit. Ms. McCormick noted that profit in the event world is defined by economic impact. You have to look at the overall impact and the value that comes from producing the event. 5. Goal/Vision of Arts & Seafood Celebration This topic was discussed above. 6. Artist Participation Elizabeth Wentworth, Wentworth Creative Management, Inc., noted Victor Maisonet, Standing Ovations,was primarily involved with the artists. She provided a comparison of the two years of the festival, and stated they have recommendations on how to develop the fine arts program. James Ridgely, 880 SE 2nd Avenue,addressed the numbers pertaining to revenue per head count. He questioned what is being done to quantify the revenues collected by the vendors, and said this is a relevant piece of information for marketing. Director Earle responded we have begun looking into these things. He noted if we charge patrons for a festival, no one will come. One of the primary reasons for this festival is branding and marketing the City; people are responding to our City because of the festival. Minutes of Workshop Meeting 3 Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and the Arts&Seafood Celebration Committee Tuesday,May 27,2014—5:30 p.m. Board Member Jones commented that the purpose and intent is lost when you start looking for the dollar. He felt there were missed opportunities, such as hotels in the community not being involved and a local beer distribution company not involved in providing the beer. He remarked the event can grow, but sometimes some things need to be given away in order to improve the business model. He said the numbers indicate to him that a profit will develop over a period of time, so we should not get hung up on the dollar amount as this is only the second year. We need to send the right message in order to provide opportunities for businesses in the community. Mayor Duke noted we should never take our eyes off the bottom line when it comes to taxpayer dollars. Clive Taylor, 642 NE P Street, commented his event has all the same problems as this event. Joan Gringer, CAC, addressed quality of artists, and said she was disappointed that the signal box artists were not invited to participate. She noted we want to be branded as quality, and she saw things that did not belong in an arts festival. 7. Local Community Engagement/Volunteers &Charitable Organizations Ms. Wentworth noted five to ten local artists were involved; outdoor exhibiting artists are a special breed and the number in Dania Beach is limited. She thanked seven exceptional volunteers, all CAC members, who gave their time. Henriette Kitte Arnold, CAC, noted she does not participate because she does watercolor, which does not do well outside. If local studios were included in the future, there would be more people coming to the event. Dan Murphy, Economic Development Manager, said he initially organized the volunteers, which were structured into committees, and noted the need for a centralized volunteer committee. This year we had a tremendous outpouring of community volunteers and it is our role next year to organize that better. Vice-Chairman Brandimarte commented she is disappointed that the CAC is not comprised with mostly artists, who participate in our events. Joan Gringer responded members of the CAC are in all mediums of the arts. Board Member Jones reiterated there are opportunities here; hotels and cruise lines should advertise in our brochures, and we should talk to the beer distribution center. He added churches can volunteer, but we need to reach out to them, as well as to the hotels, which should advertise our events. Board Member Grace complimented everyone who worked on the festival for doing a fantastic job. Minutes of Workshop Meeting 4 Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and the Arts&Seafood Celebration Committee Tuesday,May 27,2014—5:30 p.m. 8. Adjournment Chairman Duke adjourned the workshop at 6:33 p.m. ATTEST: COMMV1q1TY REDEVELOPMENT AGEN r LOUISE STILSON, M WATEB. DUKE III CRA SECRETARY CHAIRMAN—CRA Approved: June 10, 2014 )w Minutes of Workshop Meeting 5 Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and the Arts&Seafood Celebration Committee Tuesday,May 27,2014—5:30 p.m.