1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: June 25, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director By: Simone McFarland, Asst. Community Development Director By: Jonathan Jones, Communications Manager, Public Information Office
SUBJECT: Review of Proposed Community Outreach Plan Regarding a Potential Rent Cap; Approval of a Sole- Source Professional Services Agreement with Pivotal Strategies in the Amount of $145,755 for Community Outreach Services; and Approval of a Sole-Source Professional Services Agreement with Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates in the Amount of $65,000 for Informational Survey Services
RECOMMENDATION
1. Approve a sole- source Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with Pivotal Strategies, a communications and public outreach firm, in the amount of $145,755 to structure the community outreach and engagement for considering rent caps, subject to any minor modifications approved as to legal form by the City Attorney’s Office (Attachment 1); and
2. Approve a sole- source PSA with Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3), a survey firm, in the amount of $65,000 to conduct community survey(s) for considering rent caps, subject to any minor modifications approved as to legal form by the City Attorney’s Office (Attachment 2); and
3. Authorize the City Manager, or their designee, to approve any ancillary documents necessary to effectuate the implementation of the approved PSAs.
BACKGROUND
At the City Council Meeting on April 23, 2024, Council directed staff to provide additional information regarding outreach for the ongoing discussion of a potential local rent cap for the City of Burbank. When the Budget Discussion Paper on this topic was presented at the Council meeting on May 21, 2024, Council directed staff to deliver a new Budget Discussion Paper on an expedited, more cost -effective public outreach process. Staff presented the additional Budget Discussion paper specifying the outreach process and
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 reducing the cost at the June 4, 2024, Council meeting. Along with the citywide survey, Council expressed a desire t o conduct a robust outreach program similar to what was completed for the Council districting outreach. Council also requested that the process be completed within 90 days, by the end of September, and appropriated $300,000 in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-25 Budget for this project.
DISCUSSION
Council directed staff to complete the outreach and survey in an expedited manner .
Therefore, staff is proposing two sole -source PSAs with firms that have extensive experience working in the Burbank community, and can deliver the Council request in an efficient and streamlined manner. The Pivotal Strategies (Pivotal) team has spent six consecutive years crafting successful communications and public affairs programs in Burbank, collaborating with various entities such as the City of Burbank, Burbank Water and Power, and the Hollywood Burbank Airport. Meanwhile, FM3 has conducted several key surveys for the City, including those for Measures P and T, and most recently, the 2022 communitywide opinion survey.
Outreach
Staff proposes the C ity partner with Pivotal to conduct a 90- day community outreach program. The full scope of work (Attachment 1) will include:
• Five Interactive community meetings that could accommodate up to 200 people per meeting:
o Three meetings will be held in person
o Two meetings will be held online (virtual)
o One of these meetings will be held on a Saturday
o Translation services in Spanish and Armenian will be available at all meetings • Five popups at events held throughout the City and on weekends1 • Promotional materials translated into English, Spanish and Armenian that include:
o Written materials
o Signage, including yard signs, placed in high-visibility locations o Email blasts
o Dedicated website with an opportunity for community feedback o Social media
• Advertising in English, Armenian, and Spanish newspapers
Survey
Staff proposes working with FM3 to conduct a statistically relevant community survey focusing on a potential local rent cap and to gauge what the community feels is an appropriate number for a rent cap, if any (Attachment 2). FM3 will contact community members to participate in a survey on a potential rent cap through email, texting, and phone calls (available in English, Spanish, and Armenian). The survey will include only Burbank residents and have subcategories for tenants and landlords. Staff and FM3 will report the results of the survey to Council. It is estimated that this process will take approximately seven to eight weeks from the date of the signed agreement.
1 Pop-up events are existing community events such as the Downtown Cultural Market, the Burbank Farmer’s Market and other previously scheduled events to promote the outreach meetings, project website and the on-line feedback platform. 3 After the completed outreach and survey, both consultants will provide an overview of their results to Council, currently forecasted for the October 1, 2024 meeting. The entire schedule is listed below.
Schedule
If the two sole source agreements are approved by Council as recommended, the PSAs would have an effective date beginning July 1, 2024, the beginning of the fiscal year when the approved funds are available. The PSA template is included ( Attachment 3). During the month of July, staff will work with FM3 on the survey as outlined in the attached scope of work that will be a part of the PSA (Attachment 2).
Concurrently, staff will prepar e for the c ommunity meetings and other outreach components with Pivotal. Meetings are scheduled to begin in August and continue through September both online and in- person at venues in three different areas of the community. There will be simultaneous and on- going online feedback, in-person engagement at existing community events , and paid advertisement s to engage and include different segments of the Burbank community as outlined in the attached scope of work that will be a part of the Pivotal PSA (Attachment 1).
COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND SURVEY SCHEDULE
Survey July – September 2024
Three In-Person Community Meetings August and September 2024 Two Virtual Community Meetings August and September 2024 Community Pop-Up Events July and August 2024
Web-Based Engagement August and September 2024
Paid Advertisements August and September 2024
REPORT OUT TO CITY COUNCIL OCTOBER 2024
Survey and Outreach Topics
Based on Council’s goals for this process, consultants will work with City Council and staff to develop specific topic areas for the survey. Questions will be developed in the interest of obtaining the greater community’s sentiment and potential solutions related to a possible rent cap.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity involves organizational and administrative activities of the government related to community outreach efforts, and such efforts have no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. As such, this action is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs Section 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Per Council direction, the adopted budget for these agreements in FY 2024-25 will include $300,000 for this purpose. The project number is 001.CD23A.62085.0000.25024. 4 CONCLUSION
In order to move forward with Council direction for public outreach and survey on a potential rent cap, staff recommends Council approve and authorize the City Manager, or their designee, to enter into two sole-source PSAs – one with Pivotal, a communications and public outreach firm to engage the public and maximize community engagement, and another with FM3, to conduct a communitywide survey, and to authorize the City Manager to effectuate the approved outreach and engagement efforts required by the two PSAs.
Results of the outreach and survey will be presented to Council in October 2024.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Pivotal Strategies Scope of Work and Budget Attachment 2 – FM3 Scope of Work and Budget
Attachment 3 – Professional Services Template