Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: COTATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LICENSE
AGREEMENT
Date: June 11, 2024
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council, by motion, authorize the City Manager to execute the attached license agreement with the Cotati Chamber of Commerce and approve the FY 24-25 annual plan for chamber activities.
Background
Each year, the Cotati Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) works on joint initiatives with the City, primarily consisting of business outreach and assistance. The Chamber also serves as the City’s visitor center, tables at the Farmers Market and Shop n Stroll and holds annual public events in La Plaza Park, including Music Fest and the Octoberfest. Prior to COVID-19, the Chamber also worked with the City on the ”Explore Cotati” magazine, which included recreation information, Chamber information and items of general community interest.
The Chamber offices are at 216 East School Street in the Ray Miller Community Center and there currently is no license agreement describing the terms of tenancy. In prior years, the Chamber received an annual $15,000 grant to assist the City with business outreach and development.
Analysis/Discussion
The proposed 10 year license agreement would formalize the terms of tenancy and is a best practice. In accordance with the proposed license agreement, the Chamber must also submit an annual plan, which is intended to detail the work planned for the year and the corresponding funding request to accomplish the work. The work proposed for FY 24-25include the following items, as further detailed in the attached Annual Plan:
• Visitor Center Operations. The Chamber will host the visitor center on set days and hours.
• Business Directory Maintenance. The Chamber will keep the business listings in the downtown kiosks and related materials current on a semi-annual basis, including working with a vendor to fabricate the updated signage. In this initial year, the City would be responsible for the costs of the signage fabrication and installation. • ”Explore Cotati” Magazine. The Chamber would lead the development and publication of this magazine twice per year to publish recreation guides, Chamber information, and community interest items. The Chamber leads ad sales, which typically covers the cost of publication, with the City and Chamber splitting the cost of mailing. • Event Partnership and Promotion. The Chamber would continue to organize and host the Cotati Music Festival and Oktoberfest and promote other City events through their media channels.
• Business Liaison/Meetings. The Chamber would continue to promote the City to prospective businesses and to act as a liaison between the City and businesses, provide business assistance and visit a local business every two months with City staff and staff of the Economic Development Board.
Additionally, the Chamber will provide the City with a Chamber Board roster, a list of current Chamber members, an annual schedule of events and programs, and a monthly summary of business interactions, requests/issues and outcomes.
Financial Considerations
The proposed Annual Plan includes a request for $15,000 to carry out the scope of work.
Additionally, the license grants waivers of the park fees for the Octoberfest and Music Festival, not including cleaning fees or deposits. The City would also grant the Chamber a limited number of rentals in the community center at no cost, except for cleaning fees.
The City Council has provided grant funding to the Chamber in the amount of $15,000 for many years and also granted park fee waivers to the Chamber for their events in La Plaza Park. The Chamber license fee is $1 per year to operate at the Community Center, which is typical of other licenses that provide public services on behalf of or in partnership with the City. Currently, the Chamber does not pay for use of the space in the community center. The proposed license agreement would not change that.
The only new request is rent waivers for up to 4 rentals of the Cotati Room or Community Center rooms, which results in reduced revenue of approximately $400 annually in accordance with the recently adopted fee schedule. If approved by the City Council, the costs and reduced revenue associated with this license agreement will be included in the FY 24/25 budget.
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.