Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: 2023 Cotatitarod Shopping Cart Race and Food Drive in La Plaza Park and through various Cotati streets, taking place on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
Date: January 10, 2023
Written by: Ashley Wilson, Recreation Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council of the City of Cotati adopt a resolution approving the 2023 Cotatitarod Shopping Cart Race and Food Drive including food sales in La Plaza Park.
Background
The 4th Annual Cotatitarod is proposed for Saturday, March 4th, 2023. This year’s event will be similar to the 2017-2019 Cotatitarod events with event coordinators requesting permission to use La Plaza Park, including the bandstand with electricity, as well as City streets and sidewalks.
This event is modeled after the highly successful CHIditarod, which is Chicago's 100% volunteerdriven urban shopping cart race, charity food drive, costumed beauty pageant, and pub crawl. Their philanthropic efforts help address food and hunger challenges by partnering with organizations that provide immediate hunger relief (food pantries, etc), and sustainable food empowerment through urban farming and education. More information on this event can be found at http://www.chiditarod.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/TheChiditarod/.
Hoping to mimic the success in Chicago, the North Bay Burners have submitted a completed City of Cotati Park Use and Special Event application along with sufficient descriptions of the event.
They have partnered with the Redwood Empire Food Bank to donate all food collected from the event to help those locally in need. With five teams the first year and approximately 400 pounds of food gathered and seven teams the second year, bringing in over 1,000 pounds of food, this event is enthusiastically supported by the REFB. This year’s goal is to bring in ten teams and double the food donations to gather over 1 ton of food to help end hunger in the community.
Analysis/Discussion
The North Bay Burners have requested the following: 1) food and vendor sales in La Plaza Park.
The event, beginning and ending at La Plaza Park, will charge food donations of 60 lbs. per team to enter, as well as a registration fee that equals $20 per person. The event will take place from 11:00am until 5:00pm, with use of the park from 10:00am until 6:00pm to allow for setup, breakdown, and cleanup. The event will include vendors selling food and beverages.
Exhibits attached to the resolution describe the race route necessary to allow for the orderly movement of race participants during the event. The map shows the route, which was designed to spread the course in the City along the safest route possible. There will also be flaggers at key street crossings to ensure the safety of participants and the public.
The North Bay Burners have reviewed the insurance requirements and have indicated that they can provide adequate insurance. A Condition of Approval has been included which requires proof of insurance be supplied to the City before the event.
Financial Considerations
In accordance to the Park Use and Special Event Policy, fees will be assessed as follows:
$50 – Special Event Application Fee
$125 – Special Event Daily Fee
$150 – Medium Event Resident Permit Fee
TOTAL FEE: $325
Special Event Refundable Security Deposit - $250
TOTAL DEPOSIT: $250
Environmental Issues
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.