13-A
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
ATTENTION: Jeffrey L. Stewart, City Manager
FROM: P.J. Mellana, Director of Parks and Recreation
SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to provide staff direction on hosting the 2022 BRAVO Awards in relation to COVID-19
logistical challenges.
DATE: February 28, 2022
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As the COVID-19 pandemic surged with the Omicron variant in January 2022, it became apparent that the originally scheduled date in April for the 2022 BRAVO Awards was not feasible due to a host of logistical challenges and staff’s inability to meet critical planning deadlines. Staff is now seeking City Council direction on the feasibility of hosting the event on an alternate date or taking other action.
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Consider the proposed 2022 BRAVO Awards alternative dates, the feasibility of hosting the event, and provide direction to staff for moving forward; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City has an annual allocated budget of $27,000 to host the BRAVO Awards. These costs are largely offset by the City’s ability to solicit community sponsorship support.
DISCUSSION – PLAN OF ACTION FOR 2022 BRAVO AWARDS EVENT
The BRAVO Awards event takes a great deal of pre-planning, coordination amongst departments, vendors and outside organizations, and implementation occurs in progressive phases. When one or more phases are delayed, it impacts everything else down the line. This is precisely what occurred with the planning timeline for the 2022 event as the COVID-19 pandemic surged with the Omicron variant in January 2022.
Staff Report – 2022 BRAVO Awards
February 28, 2022
DISCUSSION – Continued
Following are some details of the challenges that were faced late in 2021 and as planning progressed into 2022:
In 2021, the BRAVO event was officially cancelled on January 25, 2021 and L.A.
County new COVID-19 cases reported that day were 12,523. One year later, L.A.
County was experiencing a surge in cases from the Omicron variant and new daily cases were hovering around 45,000. This was the catalyst to all other challenges faced with planning the event.
The nomination period was open December 21, 2021 through January 28, 2022.
The City received zero nominations.
Letters seeking nominations and recruitment for individuals to serve on the nomination selection committee were delayed due to staff shortages in multiple departments related to COVID-19.
Speaker recruitment was impossible as most notable speakers were only scheduling virtual appearances.
The speaker is the biggest draw for sponsorships and without the ability to recruit, staff was not able to finalize sponsorship packets. Packets were scheduled to be mailed on January 28, 2022.
BUSD had to postpone the essay contest due to COVID-19 related staffing shortages.
Staff time was overwhelmed with managing department COVID-19 cases ensuring the department and City were in compliance with reporting, testing, and return to work requirements.
Should the City Council choose to host the BRAVO Awards rather than cancel altogether in 2022, challenges will remain with implementing a compressed planning timeline that will run simultaneously with the summer event schedule. Additionally, staff continues to navigate L.A. County’s re-opening protocols in our ongoing efforts to re-open Parks and Recreation facilities, resume facility rentals, and offer extensive programming as we emerge from the pandemic.
Staff is prepared, however, to adapt plans as needed for a scaled back and modified event within the compressed timeline. With that scenario, staff has identified the following dates as possible alternatives: July 28, 2022, August 11, 2022, or August 25, 2022.
Hosting the event later in the calendar year could impact the 2023 event timeline and add limitations to staff’s ability to solicit financial support from sponsors.