DATE: March 1, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Roy Nakamura, Chief of Police
By: John Bonomo, Administrative Sergeant
SUBJECT: WAIVE EXPENSES RELATED TO TRAFFIC CONTROL SERVICES FOR THE TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL SANTA ANITA DERBY DAY 5K TO BE
HELD ON SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2022, AND AUTHORIZATION TO WAIVE
SUCH COSTS ANNUALLY
Recommendation: Approve
SUMMARY
The Los Angeles Turf Club (“Santa Anita”) is sponsoring their twenty-sixth Annual Derby Day 5K Run & Walk wherein traffic control services are required to facilitate the event.
Typically, when City services or personnel are required for coordination of special events, the cost of these services are borne by the event organizer. In this instance, like years past, Santa Anita is requesting that the City waive the cost of traffic control services because it is a charitable event. It is recommended that the City Council waive expenses related to traffic control services for the Annual Santa Anita Derby Day 5K Run & Walk to be held on Saturday, April 9, 2022, and also to waive such costs annually.
DISCUSSION
The Santa Anita Derby Day 5K Run & Walk is one of several special events that will be held in conjunction with the Santa Anita Derby and will be coordinated by Kinane Events, Inc. This year, the Derby Day 5K Run & Walk is co-sponsored by the Methodist Hospital of Southern California and Westfield Shopping Town Santa Anita. Participation of contestants has increased each year and it is anticipated that about 6,000 runners/walkers will join in this year’s event.
Any profits from the race will be donated to local beneficiaries including the Arcadia High School Athletic Boosters Club and the Gilb Museum of Arcadia Heritage. If the race operates at a loss, Santa Anita will give all organizations a check for a fixed amount. The Arcadia Police Explorer Post will also receive a donation from this event.
The race will begin inside the racetrack between Gate 3 and Gate 1, and the runners/walkers will proceed through the track parking lot, exit at Gate 8, and cross
Waive Expenses for Derby Day 5K
March 1, 2022
Baldwin Avenue. The participants will continue north on Baldwin Avenue in the southbound No. 2 Lane, which will be barricaded, and enter the Arboretum parking lot just south of Gate 7. They will proceed through the course in the Arboretum, exit by the fountain, cross back over Baldwin Avenue, and enter the racetrack through Gate 7.
Finally, the racers will proceed through the turf tunnel and infield, and wind up on the training track toward the finish line.
The Police Department will provide intermittent traffic control to facilitate the running of the race and to ensure the safety of the participants. The cost for staffing this is estimated at approximately $3,500 for traffic control. As in year’s past, Santa Anita is requesting that the City waive these expenses.
It is anticipated that traffic flow on Baldwin Avenue, between Colorado and Huntington, will be diverted between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Police personnel will utilize previous traffic flow management patterns, which have proven to have the least effects on businesses and local residents.
As part of hosting an event of this type, Santa Anita is also required to provide a certificate of insurance designating the City of Arcadia as an additional insured. They have provided the required insurance certificate and it has been approved by the City Attorney.
Given that this is the twenty-sixth year of this event and its parameters have not changed in recent memory, it is recommended that the City Council authorize the City Manager, at their discretion, to waive these expenses annually without the need for City Council authorization, provided that the request is of similar nature to those included in this year’s request.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The proposed action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), and it can be seen with certainty that it will have no impact on the environment. Thus, this matter is exempt under CEQA.
FISCAL IMPACT
The event will cost about $3,500 in overtime for Police personnel and will be absorbed in the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Operating Budget under Traffic Overtime. These expenses have been anticipated in the adopted budget.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council determine that this action does not constitute a project and is therefore, exempt under, the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), and (1) waive expenses related to traffic control services for the twenty-sixth
Waive Expenses for Derby Day 5K
March 1, 2022
Annual Santa Anita Derby Day 5K Run & Walk to be held on Saturday, April 9, 2022; and (2) authorize the City Manager to waive such costs annually, without the need to seek additional direction from the City Council.