Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: APPROVAL OF 2024 COTATI ACCORDION FESTIVAL AND
ASSOCIATED STREET CLOSURES
Date: July 9, 2024
Written by: Ashley Wilson, Recreation Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the 2024 Accordion Festival including the sale of alcoholic beverages on public property, amplified music, and the temporary closure of certain public streets.
Background
The Annual Cotati Accordion Festival is proposed for Saturday, August 17th, and Sunday, August 18th, 2024. The event coordinators are requesting permission to use La Plaza Park, including the bandstand with electricity, and the right-of-way surrounding the park. The event and the request to utilize City facilities are the same as prior years.
Cotati Accordion Festival, Inc. has submitted a completed City of Cotati Request for Use of Park Facilities application along with sufficient descriptions of the event.
Analysis/Discussion
La Plaza Park, as well as La Plaza Street and West Sierra Avenue adjacent to the park, would be closed from 10:00 a.m. Friday, August 16th through 10:00 a.m. Monday, August 19th. The event hours would be 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. both days, with live music played 9:45 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. each day.
The proposed traffic routing plan would be the same as that used over the past several years. La Plaza Street and West Sierra Avenue adjacent to the park would be closed and utilized for parking and event space. This traffic plan has reduced negative community impact by keeping Old Redwood Highway and East Cotati Avenue open throughout the event. The plan also allows for parking on William Street, Olof Street, Henry Street and La Plaza Avenue between East Cotati Avenue and Old Redwood Highway and affects only one bus stop.
As in recent years, the City has been installing “No Parking” signs in the bicycle lanes on West Sierra Avenue from La Plaza Avenue to East School Street. This also ensures that bicycle lanes remain open for their designated use.
Exhibits attached to the resolution describe the street closures and parking restrictions necessary to allow for the orderly movement of vehicle and pedestrian traffic during street closures. All parking restriction signage will be put in place by the City at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance.
A Condition of Approval has been included which requires proof of adequate insurance and an approved permit from the California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control to allow for the sale of beer and wine to be supplied to the City before the event.
Financial Considerations
Prior to 2020, the Accordion Festival paid fixed fees for use of the park and public street closures and have deposited monies to offset the costs of City staff time necessary for closing streets, noticing, clean-up, and general maintenance such as securing City equipment and locking/unlocking restrooms. For example, the total amount of fees and deposit approved by Council for the 2019 event was $2,600, which was a reduction from prior years by excluding the staff time needed to process the event application. From 2020-2022, this event had all fees waived as part of the City Council general park fee waivers due to COVID. The fees and deposit approved by Council in 2023 were $2,706, which was after at 50% fee waiver and waived staff costs of $6,387.50.
Below shows the fees associated with the permit and requests submitted by the applicant in accordance with the City Master Fee Schedule, as of the 2023 fee schedule.
Application Fee
$52
Street Closure Fee – Large w/traffic rerouting – Old Redwood Hwy $1,829
Street Closure Fee – Large w/traffic rerouting – West Sierra Ave $1,829
Street Closure Fee – Small – La Plaza
$731
Park Permit Fee
$834
Public Noticing – Traffic Notification Letter
$200
Total Fees: $5,475
Refundable Deposit
$500
The applicant has requested waivers of all City fees and costs for this event. The Special Events and Park Permit Policy allows for non-profit groups to request a 50% fee waiver for fees associated with their event when no admission fees are charged. Although this event does charge admission fees, since the Council approved a 50% waiver of permit fees in 2023, staff are proposing to continue the 50% waiver for this year’s event. The event does bring visitation to the City and has potential to support local businesses.
Staff spends an average of 40 hours each year processing the application and for labor associated with setting up and taking down the street closures and rerouting traffic. The adopted fees are intended, on average, to cover the costs of performing these activities, but it is important to also understand the true costs. The estimated staff costs are shown below, which are proposed to be completely waived.
Recreation Staff – 5 hours
$530
Public Works Staff – 36.5
$6,643
Total Staff Costs
$7,183
The proposed fees to be collected would be a fee of $2,737.50 (50% of the total $5,475) and a $500 refundable deposit to be collected and returned following the event if no unusual damage occurs or extra staff time is needed to return the park to its original state.
Additionally, the Cotati Accordion Festival is designated as a City-sponsored event, which allows them to be considered as one of the ten (10) community events designated to receive free trash/recycling/compost service in 2024, as permitted under the City’s waste franchise agreement with Recology. As a City Sponsored Event, it is expected that the organizer will prominently feature the City of Cotati as an event sponsor on all advertising and marketing materials.
The net impact to the City’s General Fund is reduced revenue of $2,737.50 and absorbing the estimated staff costs of $7,183, for an estimated total donation of $9,920.50.
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.