Report to Mayor and City Council
Wednesday, November 07, 2018
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER APPROVING A CONTRACT AMENDMENT WITH CHOURA EVENT SERVICES TO DECORATE THE CIVIC CENTER (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
The City Council continued this item from the October 16, 2018 City Council meeting, requesting that staff meet and confer with the effected bargaining units. The meet and confer has been completed. Staff is recommending that Choura Venue Services - the City’s current caterer - lead decorating the Civic Center via the company, The Christmas Light Co. Guy to decorate for the holidays. The City has a history of contracting out selected holiday decorations at the Civic Center. The Choura Venue Services contract would be amended to deduct $28,131.75 from the December revenues to the City. The costs will be partially offset by the City not having to purchase trees, decorations and other supplies. Also, City staff will not be required to set up, take down and store the decorations, creating other efficiencies and cost savings. Several decoration “add-ons,” with their respective prices, are included with the staff report should the City Council wish to decorate areas of the Civic Center not within the current project scope.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. APPROVE utilizing Choura Event Services to decorate the Civic Center for the 2018 holiday season.
2. APPROVE an amendment to the Choura Event Services contract in an amount of $28,131.75 to decorate the Civic Center for the 2018 holiday season.
3. REVIEW additional decoration items for consideration and select which items it wants and APPROVE the amendment to the Choura Event Service contract for the total amount ($28,131.75 + cost of any additions) to decorate the Civic Center for the 2018 holiday season with direction to the City Attorney’s office to revise the contract for execution accordingly.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
Decorating the Civic Center during the winter holiday season has and continues to be an important tradition in the City of Carson. For much of the City’s history, various staff members - primarily within the Department of Community Services - undertook the responsibility of installing garlands, wreaths, lights and other decorations throughout both City Hall and the Community Center. The City also purchased trees, wreathes, lights, garlands and other decorations for the Civic Center, which require storage and cleaning each year. The City Council requested that staff examine contracting out this specialized service. The City allocated $21,500 to holiday decorations for the 2017 holiday season. This included $7,528 in civic center perimeter lighting, $3,069 in Christmas trees, $2,949 in supplies and $2,306 in part-time labor costs. A vendor- Jarvis was utilized for the perimeter lighting of City Hall and lights wrapped around the perimeter trees in front of City Hall costing $7,528 which was budgeted in account #01-90-950-003-6009 (See Exhibit No. 4). The FY2018-2019 budget was increased to $29,950 for the holiday decorating activities and supplies.
After contacting a number of decorating vendors and reviewing different proposals, staff recommended The Christmas Light Co. Guy to provide this service. The vendor currently provides both external & internal decorations which the previous vendor - Jarvis does not. The vendor creates winter holiday lighting displays and décor for a broad range of endeavors, including city projects, commercial buildings, shopping centers, and office buildings. It is a full-service company that provides design, installation, timely removal, and storage. Design experts develop and provide the City with a complete décor package that fits into its aesthetic and budget. The cost of associated with this selection was $30,000.00 based on a five-year contract.
This approach was discussed with members of the City Council and Executive Staff. After further consideration, the decision was made to move into a different direction. The task of decorating the Civic Center is recommended to be led by the City’s catering company, Choura Event Services (“Choura”). The cost will be deducted from the December fees for rentals and catering revenues that are normally paid to the City. Per the proposal, the cost for decorating the Civic Center is $28,131.75 (See Exhibit No.1). Should the City Council desire to decorate other areas of the Civic Center beyond the current proposal scope, several “add-ons” with their associated prices are included for consideration (See Exhibit No. 2). Typically, between $60,000 and $65,000 is disbursed from Choura for that month.
Utilizing an outside vendor for this responsibility will permit the City to present a new aesthetic comprised of decorations different from what has been displayed in the past. As well, storage challenges and the possible loss of decorations will be eliminated, staff overtime costs will not be an issue, and the timeliness of installing and removing decorations will be enhanced. The vendor has many years of experience in this field, and the supplies and equipment to create an outstanding presentation for the City of Carson. The end result will enhance the overall decorations of the Civic Center as well as the flexibility of themed holiday presentations and making the Community Center attractive for holiday bookings.
As an alternative to the enhancements found in Exhibit No. 2, the Community Services Department maintains an extensive supply of decorations that can also be utilized for enhancements. Staff has set aside $5,000.00 to cover any currently unknown expenses related to using City-owned enhancements only.
The City Council continued this item from their October 16th meeting and requested that staff meet and confer with the effected bargaining units. This meet and confer process has concluded. It is important to note that the Director of Community Services established a team to evaluate and make recommendations regarding the holiday decorations. This team included the Recreation Superintendent, Human Services Manager, Recreation Coordinator (Reservations/Permits) and Community Center Manager. The recommendation of this team was to expand the current practice of contracting outdoor holiday decorations for the Civic Center, the exterior and interior of both the Community Center and of City Hall. The Director of Community Services once more met recently with the Recreation Coordinator that is assigned the task of holiday decorations. The Recreation Coordinator once more did not express any concerns with expanding existing outdoor City hall decorating contract practice to include exterior and interior of the Community Center and of City Hall. Staff does not believe that an official meet and confer is required under the City’s Memorandum of Understanding.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
The $28,131.75 cost associated with this project will be deducted from the rental and catering fees paid to the City during the month of December. However, should the City Council authorize any “add-ons,” the amendment will be adjusted to reflect these inclusions. Typically, Choura pays to the City $60,000.00 to $65,000.00 during December. A contingency of $5,000.00 has been set aside for currently unknown expenses related to the use of any City-owned decorations only. The funds of this possible expense are budgeted in Account No. 101-90-950-101-6004. Currently $29,950 is budgeted for FY 18-19 for holiday decorations in the following accounts:
Division /Section Account Number Amount
Recreation & Human Services 01-90-950-003-6004 $23,000
Recreation & Human Services 01-90-950-003-6009 $1,000
Community Services Administration 01-90-010-001-6004 $400
Community Services Administration 01-90-010-001-6009 $1,500
Community Center 01-90-100-003-6004 $4,050
VI. EXHIBITS
1. The Christmas Light Co. Guy Proposal #1324 (pgs. 4-5)
2. The Christmas Light Co. Guy Proposal # 1323 with “Add-ons.” (pgs. 6-7)
3. Draft Choura Event Services Contract Amendment No. 2. (pgs. 8-18)
4. 2017 Jarvis Company Invoices (pgs.19-21)
Prepared by: Luchie S. Magante, Principal Administrative Analyst