News
City Mgt. Says Promoters Of 3-Day Oct. '03 "ShoreFest" To Celebrate "Pike at Rainbow Harbor" Want City Hall To Donate Various City Services; Event Would Require Up To $250,000 in Police, Fire, Public Works & Other Services...And It's "Anticipated" Sales Taxes Will Equal or Exceed Costs
City Mgt. seeks Council approval to permit the event
(July 28, 2002) -- A city management memo to Councilmembers says promoters of a three-day combination air show, shore celebration and downtown festival in October 2003 to promote the opening of the "Pike at Rainbow Harbor" want City Hall to donate various city services to enable the event to occur.
The memo by Parks, Rec. and Marine Dir. Phil Hester, approved by City Manager Henry Taboada, says the event would require up to $250,000 in police, fire, public works and other city services, but "it is anticipated that the sales taxes generated from this event will equal or exceed this amount, which will cover the cost of providing the City services."
[LBReport.com note: Since cities receive one penny per dollar in sales tax revenue, city staff's memo appears to assert "ShoreFest" would generate $25 million in taxable sales (to produce $250,000 in sales tax revenue).]
LB currently provides taxpayers with fewer than 2.0 officers per thousand residents and ShoreFest promoters say their event could bring half a million people to LB -- more than the population of the city itself -- over several days. The Toyota Grand Prix has elsewhere been estimated to bring roughly 250,000 people to LB.
The staff memo says, "Any permit issued to Shoresales will include a requirement that Shoresales indemnify the City and provide insurance in accordance with requirements of the City's Risk Manager." Staff's memo says "Shoresales, LLC" is "a business alliance composed of Developers Diversified Realty (DDR), SaleMaker, and Exsportise, created to support the proposal for ShoreFest." City staff's memo does not claim DDR or the other entities will assume liability or indicate what insurance requirements the City's Risk Manager will apply for an event of this proposed magnitude.
City management's memo accompanies an item on the July 30 Council agenda seeking authorization for the City Manager to execute documents necessary to permit "Shoresales, LLC" to conduct "ShoreFest at the Pike"...and tells the Council, "Authorization for the City Manager to execute a permit is necessary at this time because application must be made to the United States Armed Forces in Washington, D.C. by August 1, 2002, to secure the military jet teams."
ShoreFest promoters publicly advised the Council of the military's upcoming August 1 deadline during a June 11 Council presentation. At that time, they described their event's combination AirFest, HarborFest, KidsFest, MusicFest, TasteFest. WaterFest & possible BlimpFest (details below).
Councilmembers were generally supportive but stopped short of giving their public OK without a cost-benefit analysis by city management. City management's memo for the July 30 Council meeting states in pertinent part:
Shoresales is committing that their local spending, and that of their subcontractors, will total $2.5 million toward the production of ShoreFest. They project visitor spending to exceed $30 million over the three-day event. ShoreFest is also committing to an aggressive advertising campaign, which would list the City of Long Beach as a co-
sponsor, and involve securing television, radio, newspaper, billboard cinema and airline video advertising valued at approximately $2.3 million. It should be noted that the
Downtown Long Beach Business Association (DLBA), the Convention and Visitors
Bureau (CVB), and the Strategic Marketing Initiative (SMI) have all expressed their
support for ShoreFest.
Shoresales will sponsor several charitable efforts to benefit local nonprofits and will
sponsor numerous outreach efforts to the community to ensure that ShoreFest is a
citywide event. ShoreFest performers will make appearances in schools, neighborhood
meetings, and community functions throughout the city. Shoresales will be working
closely with the Long Beach Unified School District to develop a science and technology
program in connection with ShoreFest. The event promoter will also provide exhibit
space at the event for each Council District and for selected nonprofits.
All affected City Departments, along with representatives from the United States Coast
Guard, the Queen Mary, the Convention and Entertainment Center, and Long Beach
Transit have met with Shoresales to discuss the logistics for the event.
The potential promotional and economic value of ShoreFest to the City, through its
focus on the shoreline, is expected to be extraordinary. ShoreFest offers the
opportunity to establish another world-class event in the City. For these reasons,
Shoresales has requested that the City donate various City services to enable this
event to occur. It is anticipated that to provide necessary support services for
ShoreFest, up to $250,000 in City services will need to be provided. These will include
services from the Police Department, Fire Department, Public Works Department,
Parks, Recreation and Marine Department, and other departments.
Authorization for the City Manager to execute a permit is necessary at this time because
application must be made to the United States Armed Forces in Washington, D.C. by
August 1, 2002, to secure the military jet teams. Any permit issued to Shoresales will
include a requirement that Shoresales indemnify the City and provide insurance in
accordance with requirements of the City's Risk Manager.
This proposal has been reviewed in accordance with requirements of the California
Environmental Quality Act and a Categorical Exemption has been issued. In the
coming months, additional coordination meetings will be held to ensure the success of
the event and to minimize the impacts on neighborhoods.
This item was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney James McCabe and Budget Manager
Annette Hough on July 22,2002.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
The United States Armed Forces requires application for aerial demonstrations by
August 1 of the year preceding the year in which an aerial demonstration is to occur.
City Council action on this item is requested at the July 30, 2002 meeting in order to
meet the August 1 deadline.
FISCAL IMPACT
The estimated cost for the City to host ShoreFest in FY04 is $250,000. It is anticipated
that the sales taxes generated from this event will equal or exceed this amount, which
will cover the cost of providing the City services.
IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL:
Authorize the City Manager to sign an application to secure military aerial jet
teams and to execute documents necessary to permit Shoresales, LLC, to
conduct "ShoreFest at the Pike."
City staff's memo describes ShoreFest as follows:
ShoreFest is conceived as being composed of six large-scale events occurring the first or second weekend in October 2003. It would be promoted and managed by Shoresales, LLC, a business alliance composed of Developers Diversified Realty (DDR), SaleMaker, and Exsportise, created to support the proposal for ShoreFest.
The six events or "Fest"ivals, will coincide with the grand opening of the "Pike at
Rainbow Harbor" (Pike). The large majority of the events would be free to the public.
Individual "Fest"iva1s include:
AirFest - A two-day, four-hour air show targeted to aviation enthusiasts taking place 4,000 feet off the beach. Event components will include: a precision
military jet flying team (e.g., Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, Canadian Snow Birds);
single-unit and multi-unit military demonstrations (e.g., bombing runs, water
rescue, parachute jumps); and civilian aerial acts (e.g., stunt flying, wing
walkers). This event would coincide with the City’s "Wings Over Long Beach"
event at the Long Beach Airport, which would showcase the aircraft featured in
the air show, as well as many other static displays.
HarborFest - A two-day, in-the-water display of various marinecraft targeted to watersports, to be conducted in Rainbow Harbor. Sponsor exhibits, static military
displays, and celebrity activities would also be located at the Pike.
KidsFest - An event targeted to parents and their 6 to 12 year-old children, to take place in the enclosed Rainbow Lagoon area. Event components would
include: amusements (e.g., remote controlled boat races, mazes, karaoke
contests); attractions and exhibits (e.g., Air Force Thunderbirds mini-jet, Brutus
the Skydiving Dog, sponsor exhibits); and costumed characters and mascots
from corporate sponsors (e.g., Willy Wonka, Air Force "Ricky Recruiter").
Musicfest - A concert series targeted to music enthusiasts to be conducted at
one or more Long Beach venues. Specific acts and prices (if any) would be
established based on the specific venue and capacity.
TasteFest - A food village targeted to culinary enthusiasts to be conducted on Shoreline Drive. Pine Avenue restaurants and other local restaurants would be
featured to attract business sector support and showcase the City's fine cuisine.
WaterFest - A two day, two-hour sea show targeted to military and watersports
enthusiasts, to be conducted off the beach and near the Queen Mary. Event
components would include: U.S. military exercises (e.g., hovercraft, beach
exercises, U.S. warship displays); civilian acts (e.g., jet ski, water ski, and kite
surfing displays); and a hydroplane racing exhibition.
Other ShoreFest events and activities will include "BlimpFest," the world's first blimp
race, powerboat races, and extreme sports demonstrations. A fireworks display would
occur each night of ShoreFest. It is estimated that 500,000 people would participate in
the inaugural ShoreFest. This event will be similar to an annual event that is held in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida...
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