Agenda - Council Work Session - 06/09/2020

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CC Work Session 2. 2. Meeting Date: 06/09/2020 Information Title: Continue Discussion Regarding City Events and Staffing Purpose/Background: The purpose of this case is to clarify and gather Council feedback to provide direction to staff in terms of how to commence in any planning for City events including the 2020 Happy Days Festival and the Summer Concert Series. Happy Days Festival: A Special Meeting of the Happy Days Committee was called on Thursday, May 14. The purpose of the meeting was for the committee to provide a recommendation to the City Council as to whether the annual Happy Days festival be canceled, modified or commence as usual. City staff provided an update on COVID-19, shared a message from State Fair officials, presented research regarding what other Counties and Cities are doing in regard to their fairs and festivals, reviewed what a modified version of Happy Days could look like and provided a recommendation to the Committee. Staffs recommendation was to cancel the 2020 Happy Days Festival for the following reasons: 1. Budget 2. Staffing (Discuss Administrative Intern & One FT Employee Leave of Absence [LOA]) 3. Sponsorships 4. Volunteers 5. Governor's most recent recommendations Committee members provided feedback on staffs presentation. The minutes of the May 14 meeting are attached to this case. Also attached to this ase are Staffs presentation/notes. Per the Council's request at the May 26, work session, the 2019 budget is also attached to this case. Staff will also present its findings in terms of sponsorship interest as requested. Summer Concert Series: Also on May 26th, there was acknowledgement (consensus) that the June concerts at The Draw would be canceled. Additional discussion included developing a plan for some or many concerts to occur in July and August with respect to appropriate distancing at the amphitheater. The following day, another Executive Order was issued that specifically prohibited programming or gatherings at 'Outdoor Performance Venues'. In response to the above prohibition, Staff is seeking concurrence that concerts may be shifted to Central Park which is large in area with opportunities to space patrons apart, and is not an Outdoor Performance Venue. Additionally, by the time this work session topic is discussed, the Drive-in Movie scheduled for June 6th will have occurred at The Draw, and residents and Council may find that regular Drive-in Movies might be a suitable alternative and easier to manage than concerts for the Summer of 2020. Note: The second attachment highlights the status of various other city events affected by the pandemic. Staffing: As the City Council is aware, the 2020 budget includes funding for interns. Two of the interns included in this funding have not been hired; the Planning Intern and the Administrative Intern (Happy Days Intern). The reason for not hiring these interns is primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, staffing resources are still needed to do any Happy Days related work that may be decided upon. In addition, on or near August 1st, the Communications and Events Coordinator will be out of the office for approximately three months. If Happy Days occurs, staff recommends that it consist of 1-3 recreational events for the community, not a weekend of the crowd -intensive activities that would normally occur. Staff have strategized how to best cover any Happy Days work that may be needed, as well as how to cover the ongoing work of Communications and Events Coordinator.