HomeMy WebLinkAbout40. D) Lori Palmeri memo 14b a L
August 16, 2017
TO: Oshkosh Common Councilmembers, Mark Rohloff, Lynn Lorenson
FROM: Lori Palmeri
RE:Special Events
I have placed the discussion item on the agenda for Tuesday,August 22, regarding the expectations of the Special Event!
Review/Report that were referred to in the emails exchanged below and previously in March 14 Council Meeting Minute
It was my understanding we were not just reviewing fees, but that the workgroup was evaluating a larger scope of
the Special Events policy we have for potential reform.
I direct your attention to the minutes from the March 14, 2017 Council meeting along with numerous emails
exchanged (some of which are below).This does not include multiple in person conversations and public input
shared with Mr. Rohloff and staff.
Specific examples:
1.The Mayor stated, in part, "...working group able to determine how to keep events going, while evaluating the
different types of events"as well as distinctly referencing evaluating alcohol and non alcohol events.
2. Councilmember Herman said, "...there were a number of communities the working group could review as an
example..."
3. Council Member Allison-Aasby referred to the volume and number of events with a possible maximum in her
comments at the same meeting.
4. 1 personally spoke with and emailed staff examples of information (see below) desired so that Council
could make an informed decision.You stated yes, minutes would be provided for the Work Group which was
formed. You also said you would gather a "broad group of stakeholders to seek input and evaluate
the fee structures".
When, in a previous communication, Mr. Rohlofff stated, "Council gave no additional direction,so staff worked off
of comments provided by the public at the Council meeting...", clearly,there is a communication breakdown
which requires Council to give further direction.
The recommendations report received from Ms. Snell,with a follow up statement from Mr. Mauer that said,
no additional documentation would be provided at the workshop or Council Meeting, needs to be addressed.
It was also my understanding that additional information was to be gathered from the CVB
(mistakenly Referred to in the minutes as"CVS"). At a minimum,the stakeholder group should be
listed and recognized as well as the minutes and data considered in the recommendations. Ideally, a comprehensive
analysis would have been in the report, including possibilities considered as well as actual data as to the number of
events that have increased, alcohol serving events,fees proposed (with rationale)for each event, and
comparisons of other cities events/festival policies.
*Some emails below are examples. Please refer to City Council Minutes From Feb and March 14 2017 which include
references to Council direction as to what was expected.
Re: Special Events Working Group
Sent: Wednesday,August 16,2017 7:41 AM
To:
Cc: ;
Mr. Mauer,
I believe Council requested and expected more more than this. Can you explain the limited information after
all these months?
A full report and analysis would be appreciated as was requested.
Lori Palmeri
Special Events Working Group, Ray Maurer
.Sent: Wednesday,August 16,2017 9:05 AM
To:
Cc: ;
Lori
My understanding is that Ray is out for the remainder of the week.You may want to contact Kathy Snell if you have questions about the
stakeholder group.The focus was on the methodology to arrive at fees.Council gave no additional direction,so staff worked off of
comments provided by the public at the council meeting.Input into and understanding of the process and methodology were the comment;
received.
Kathy led the process with the group,so she should be able to give you good insight into how the analysis was approached.This is not on
the next agenda,so there is plenty of time for questions.
Mark
Mark Rohloff
Sent from my!Phone
On Aug 16,2017,at 7:33 AM,Palmeri,Lori < > wrote:
How long is he out of the office?
RE: Special Events Data
Sent: Tuesday,March 28,2017 2:25 PM
To:
Cc:
Lori:
Thanks. I will share this info with staff as we begin our work. From my standpoint, a
discussion may be warranted on identifying groups who by Council policy may be
appropriately be considered for some reduced rates. This may be helpful in evaluating
who should/shouldn't be included in any such group(s) .
As for the members of the stakeholders group, we were still making final contacts
with people to confirm their participation. You should receive something by the
end of the week.
Mark
Mark A. Rohloff
City Manager
City of Oshkosh
920.236.5002
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-----Original Message-----
From: Palmeri, Lori
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2017 10:11 AM
To: Rohloff, Mark <MRohloff@ci.oshkosh.wi.us>
Cc: Allison-Aasby, Debra L. <DAllison-Aasby@ci.oshkosh.wi.us>
Subject: Special Events Data
Hi Mark,
Attached is a start to the spreadsheet I mentioned on what types of information might be
needed for council to review further special events policy. Would the workgroup
(who is on the workgroup, by the way?) have someone from OCVB to complete the yellow
sections and staff from City complete blue sections? Perhaps there is information
Kathy Snell can pull from the database or other sources. The purpose would be to provide
a comprehensive report/analysis for review of future policy discussions. Perhaps you
have other thoughts or suggestions.
Sources used include Guidestar (free) downloaded 990s, Kathy Snell's documents,
some responses from event organizers.
Regards,
Lori Palmeri
Attached is information that Council Member Palmeri requested.
The attached spreadsheet is used to track event billing information and shows all the 2016 events. 7
per event were calculated using the approved 2016 Charges for Extraordinary Services for Special E
1 have also attached the 2017 preliminary estimates for the seven events per the request. These prel
estimates were sent to the organizers back in January. The estimated charges were based on the or€
event logistics and do not reflect the minor changes that have been made to some of the 2017 hour13
were included in your packets for the March 14ffi meeting.
We have met with a couple of the organizers in the last two weeks and have had some good
conversations about their event logistics. Based on these conversations, we will be able to reduce
some costs to a number of the events. We will continue to work with the organizers as we
review their event applications.
Thank you,
I:a,ihy Silell
RE: Special Events
Sent: Tuesday,February 28,2017 3:56 PM
To:
Cc: s
Lori-as far as inforriaation you i ay be looldng for, here is a liblk to the Special Events calendar on the city
ivebsite.
You can see all the events for each rnontl=., ;the status? of the approval for that eN%eiat, ,L d you.can click oii
One events for more. detailed information. 1 a321 N-+-orki-n,,; with IT o!i refinlno, the calendar aS 1'vThe
he
calendar also includes events thal are run by the Pa_•ks Deparbnent and other entities that may not require
approval through the Special Event process and Cone-non Coiuicil. Hopeh_illy tills provides you with alt
lane information YOU are tooling for.
I1.1n-k A,ou,
Kat',J5T Snell
Hi Lori -
I have attached the map for the Frost wedding for this evening's meeting. Please note
originally they requested closing the trail for the horse and carriage, however, we were
opposed to that idea and instead requested the horse and carriage to remain on the street
(Menominee Drive) and follow all traffic laws.
Several months back it was determined to not include the maps for the events as they are
less than desirable when they are sent in. Once they are scanned and sent along with the
attachment of the cover page of the application, they are sometimes even less legible.
It is when the Special Events Review Committee or I meet with the groups individually that
we discuss the details of their layouts.
In regards to your requests, we currently have a very simple database that is used by the
Special Events Review Committee. There is limited ability to print reports but no way to
filter data. We have discussed other software that may be available for our needs and I
am exploring with both IT and the current Parks software to determine if either of these
avenues can work for the particular details that Special Events require.
We have discussed the use of a "public view" Google calendar that would allow for the
public to view approved events and is something we are working to have available -in the
future. As for seeing all venues and availabilities, this would pose a challenge.
Some requests are not for normal rental or reserved spaces such as roadways, Riverwalk, etc
There is a great deal of detail that goes along with each special event and it has been
our duty to filter the necessary information to Council members to lessen the amount of you:
time spent on those details. At any time if you have questions regarding a particular
event, I would be happy to discuss it with you.
Thank you,
Kathy Snell
Special Events Coordinator, Parks
City of Oshkosh
920.232.5304
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-----Original Message-----
From: Palmeri, Lori
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2017 5:51 PM
To: Snell, Kathryn S <KSnell@ci.oshkosh.wi.us>
Cc: Allison-Aasby, Debra L. <DAllison-Aasby@ci.oshkosh.wi.us>
Subject: Special Events
Hi Kathy -
Could Council receive copies of the maps or other additional details of event applications
going forward? Particularly on the agenda tomorrow evening, there is the Frost Wedding
at Menominee Park and it refers to "See maps" - can you include those in your response to
this email. Thank you.
Also, I believe Councilwoman Aasby has asked for a master calendar of all events for the
city and requests previously. I would also like to see a calendar which shows availability
and reservations of spaces we have, so that as we review the applications at council, it
will be more efficient for reviewing within the big picture. I would be happy to meet with
you to see what system limitations or challenges there might be. For example, do we use a
database or Excel spreadsheet for this? I also wonder if we would have an online calendar
that a potential organizer could see all venues and available dates, fees etc. -'
It could be something as simple as a spreadsheet with worksheet for each month or location
with all dates and parties. I am guessing you already use something like that.
Thank you,
Lori Palmeri