Agenda - Council Work Session - 01/05/2010

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.3 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Topic Report City Festival Funding By: Jessica L. Hendricks, Management Intern - Background: At the December 15t work session, resulting from the discussion regarding the cost analysis of City events, Council requested additional information about other methods of funding the Happy Days Festival. Staff has contacted a number of local cities that hold festivals and requested information about the planning and funding of their events. Staff has compiled a summary sheet 'of the cities and their events. This document details which party is responsible for the planning of the festival, as well as a general overview of how the event is funded. A majority of the cities have a separate committee of volunteers who are responsible for planning the city festival. These committees are then responsible for funding the event. However, many of the cities are providing the labor of Police, Fire, Public Warks, and sometimes Administration as an in-kind donation, meaning that the City still covers the cost of their labor. The summary spreadsheet has been attached for Council review. At the December 15t work session, the idea of adding a carnival to the event was also brought up. The summary spreadsheet indicates which cities currently include a carnival as a part of their festival. The City of Ramsey has been approached in the past by carnival companies asking to participate in the Happy Days Festival. The standard procedure for these carnivals is a donation of some portion of their proceeds to the festival after the event is completed. However, all of the city festivals that have carnivals run their event from three to four days. It is unlikely that these carnival companies would be interested in participating if the event were to continue as a one- day festival. Action Statement: Based upon Council discussion Reviewed by: Deputy City Admin' City Administrator: CCWS: