Park Use and Special Event Permit Policy and Application 201 West Sierra Avenue, Cotati CA 94931 (707)792-4600
Name of Applicant or Organization: CORATI ACCOROION FESTNAL Name Refund Ised To 020 ONFeST. Tax ID # (if Non-Profi: 68-0343118 Address: 29 MISSIONDR PETALIM CA 94952
Street City State Zip Code
Phone Number: 107 479-5481 Email Address: [email protected] Ava, ! 7818 8/16 TAM
Date of Event: 2024_Arrival/Completion Time: 8/1910 Au Estimated Attendees: 500C Type of Special Event: _ 2-DAy ACCORDION FESTIUM
PARK REQUESTED:
* La Plaza Park Kotate Park Sunflower Park
Draper Park Falletti Park Santero Park
Putnam Park Veterans Park Civic Center (Cator) Park
Alcoholic Beverages Sold: Yes X No Food served: Yes * Sold Street Closure Requested: Yes_X No Park Closure Requested: Yes X No Animals: NO Electricity Needed: Yes *
No E
Inflatable Jump House: Yes_ Nox Film Production: (if yes, see pg. 10) Yes Use of the above facilities may be pre-empted if City business so requires.
As an applicant for a City of Cotati Park Use and Special Event permit, facilities, I hereby agree to assume all risks for loss, damage, liability, further agree that in consideration of being permitted to use said facility, I will hold the City of Cotati, its officials and employees free and harmless from any loss, liabilities, damages, and/or injuries to persons and property occurring during applicant's use or public liability insurance as stated in "Park Use and Special Event Permit Policy" with the City of Cotati named as additional insured to be submitted no later than one month prior to the rental date. I have read the rules and regulations of rental carefully and agree to them as written. I understand that applications not submitted thirty (30) days prior to event may not be able to be processed.
I, the undersigned, acknowledge the contagious nature of COVID-19 and voluntarily assume the risk that myself and others attending my event may be exposed to or infected by COVID-19. I agree to having all attendees follow CDC and Sonoma County Department of Public Health recommendations for enhanced health and safety measures related to COVID-19 and follow all posted instructions while using City facilities; including requirements for social distancing, wearing of face coverings, participant grouping, types of event size.
Applicant Signature: 2/20/2024
Date of Application: Date Insurance Received:
Additional Comments/Conditions:
Park Use Fee: Deposit Received: Deposit Returned:
101-00-60702-000000 101-00-35002-000000
Street Closure Fee: Restroom Cleaning Fee:
101-23-64022-000000 101-24-80188-CLEANS
Group Classification: Cotati Resident Non - Resident ABC License Received 9 COTATHE Dates: August 16,17, $ 18, 2024
Website: Cotatifest.com
ACCORDION Email: [email protected]
FESTIVAL: Hotlinc/Texts: 707 664 0444
Advertising/Booths: [email protected]
29 Mission Drive Petaluma, CA 94952
To Ashley Wilson; City of Cotati Facilities/Recreation Coordinator.
From; Scott Goree, Executive Director/Cotati Accordion Festival.
Re; Description of the proposed 2023 Cotati Accordion Festival. event which has been staged in La Plaza Park in Cotati for the last 32 years. We began our event in 1991 and The Cotati Accordion Festival is a nonprofit, multi-generational, multicultural, internationally acclaimed musical only had to take off one year for Covid while we staged two international virtual festivals. following year. We donate the proceeds each year, keeping a prudent reserve in order to begin producing the event for the Last year we donated $26,600.00 to the following groups; The Cotati/Rohnert Park Education Foundation...
$5,000.00
Thomas Page Academy..
$5,000.00
Cotati/Rohnert Park Nursery Co-op
$5,000,00
The Penngrove 6th Grade Outdoor Education Program . $5,000.00 The Rancho Cotate Music Program....
$5,000.00
Student Scholarships.
$1,600.00
Date of event; Saturday and Sunday, August 17th and 18th Gates open; 9:30 AM both days.
Gates close; 8:00 PM both days
Amplified music is played both days from 9:45am to 8:00 PM both days.
Please refer to the attached map for the layout of the festival.It includes the vendor spots, all of which will be occupied for the weekend
The black heavy border shows the location of the fences that we will be erecting after the streets are closed at 10:00 AM on Friday, August 16th The fence will then be removed by 10:00 AM on Monday, August 19st. we have the Ray's Deli Stage where we have smaller acts play. We have polka dancing followed by zydeco There are several stages in the park. There are the two main stages where we alternate acts. At the south end play with each other. We also have the student stage at the Church of the Oaks. dancing in the big tent on West Sierra. We have the Jam Tent where people from all walks of life can come and There is zydeco all afternoon on both days at Spanky's, which is followed by a trip to the big tent for more dancing.
NON-PROFTT BENEFITING LOCAL YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS
Scott Goree: Evecutire Director | Linda Conner, Richard Collinen, Lisa Benz, Dave Wasson, Ed Gilardi: Board Members EBA> LASSRE Dr. Forrest J. Cioppa
* PoSappo Contra Volker Financial &
Insurance Services Oliver
'ARL'S TALLTOADMUSIC LAGUNITAS
LOWES Best
Western ENRIGHT
Compass Wealth
RP HEALTHCARE Law Office of FOURT ROSIE Advisors
Andrew Martinez. Al Scastrand Family HINES/SIGNS Robert Meterille
95.1FM
BOHEMIAN
Recology
Dates: August 16,17, § 18, 2024
«COTATIO Website: Cotatifest.com
ACCORDION Email: [email protected]
_FESTIVAL: Hotline/Texts: 707 664 0444
Advertising/Booths: [email protected]
29 Mission Drive Petaluma, CA 94952
Attendees can enter through the north and south gates as marked on the map. Vendors, musicians, and staff all enter and exit at the West Cotati gate. We also have an emergency exit behind the polka tent on West Sierra Ave.
No food, drinks, coolers or pets are allowed into the park. However, as of late, we allow people to bring one water bottle. The Thomas Page and Nursery Co-op volunteers are in charge of inspecting all bags and whatever else is necessary to examine before people are allowed into the park.
Volunteers from the Cotati/Rohnert Park Nursery Co-op provide security as they make sure only cars with specific passes go through the rear gate and into the parking lot a block away.
Both Friday and Saturday nights we will have two security guards employed who walk along the fence all night to make sure there are no intruders attempting to climb into the park. They also make sure no one attempts to stay the night inside the park.
Beer and wine will be available from 9:45AM to 8:00PM both days. The beer and wine sales are handled by an annual returning team that has gone through training by the ABC. Our pourers are experienced and are instructed to refuse service to anyone that appears to be intoxicated or is deemed to be a problem.
We have two rows of food vendors and the Health Department shows up during Saturday morning and makes sure everything and everyone is in compliance with community guidelines.
Please let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to answer them.
Thank you,
Scott Goree
Executive Director
Cotati Accordion Festival
NON-PROFIT BENEFITING LOCAL YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS
Scott Goree: Eventin Dirdar | Linda Conner Richard Cullinen, Lisa Benz, Dave Wasson. Ed Gilardi: Board Members Elatinge SENSELE ür. Forrest J.Ciogpa
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Vendors - Cotati Accordion Festival
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https://cotatifest.com/vendor/
Dates: August 19 & 20, 2023
«COTAT Website: Cotatifest.com
Email: [email protected]
ACCORDION FESTIVAL. Hotline/Texts: 707 664 0444
Advertising/Booths: [email protected]
29 Mission Drive Petaluma, CA 94952
Dear Esteemed Council Members;
First of all, we want to thank the City of Cotati for waiving fees in 2021 & 2022 which came about as a result of the damages Covid had done to business and because of the need to help events like ours get back on their feet. Secondly, we would like to thank the City of Cotati for waiving over 50% of the fees that could have been charged to the C.A.F last year. We see the City of Cotati as a valuable ally, supporter and sponsor.
I also want to thank the City of Cotati for their role in the Cotati Accordion Festival receiving a full waiver of fees last year that could have been charged to us by Recology. It can not be overstated how important this proactive assistance is to the survival of our festival.
Plus, on behalf of the C.A.F., I want to thank the City for using our event in their print promotions and for having patience with the annual traffic problem created by us in downtown Cotati However, because of the rising costs of putting on the festival(the cost of the tents alone has gone up $3,000.00), and because we want to keep the cost of admission at such a low rate in order to keep the annual flow of clientele into our community, we are not only asking that our festival city fees again be reduced by 50%, but we are asking that the city considers giving us a full waiver as they did every year from 1991 through to 2007.
2008 was the Great Recession and every California city was having problems at that time. However, the city has since recovered economically, and the reasons that Cotati waived all fees during that 17 year period have remained. During those first 17 years Cotati waived all fees in order to keep the festival financially strong and in recognition of the economic boom the festival provided for the town each summer. Today, attendance has gone up and we still get 50% of our clientele coming from outside of the county, spending money through the weekend and making the Department of Tourism elated.
The issue of city fees is even more important at this juncture because it appears that giving us a 50% reduction last year came with a possibility of only asking for a 25% reduction this year and next. Plus, the general plan had us paying a full payment of over $6,000.00 in 2026. This is still a crushing concern to our economic formula that we have been basing the event on. That formula is to keep the ticket price low and the tourism dollars into Cotati flowing. Our formula is also based on sponsorships, contributions and fee waivers, matched by ticket sales.
When it comes to fee waivers, I understand that there are some at city hall who have said that why should taxpayer money benefit a festival that does so well that it turns around and donates over $26,000.00 right back to the taxpayer's children's organizations? The answer to this is somewhat nuanced We are dealing with a Catch-22 here. If we don't get our annual package of fee waivers, in kind donations, and cash donations then we don't end up with the money to donate to the youth groups. If we don't have the ability to donate to the local youth groups we could end up with a lesser interest on the parents' part, who might be less inclined to donate their time and energy to the festival. Without the 100 to 150 local volunteers
VOX-PRONT BENEF LOCALYOU TH ORGANIZAMONS
Scott Goree: Executive Director | Linda Conner, Richard Cullinen, Lisa Benz, Dave Wasson, Ed Gilardi: Board Members Eg tankange Dr. Forrest J. Cioppa Volker Financial &
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TALL TOADMUSIC LAGUNITAS
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Commune VOICE BOHEMIAN
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Dates: August 19 & 20, 2023
«COTATU Website: Cotatifest.com
Email: [email protected]
ACCORDION -FESTIVAL Hotline/Texts: 707 664 0444
Advertising/Booths: [email protected]
29 Mission Drive Petaluma, CA 94952
who run the show we would then have to go further into the red by replacing them with paid labor. It is the interweaving of fee waivers, donations, ticket sales, donated labor, and donations to local youth groups that makes each facet rely on the other in order for the event to sustain itself. Fee waivers contribute to the festival's ability to return each year as much as any other block of our community support.
I don't want to make it look like our festival economic formula is shaky and risky. Instead it is a situation that without community support the event simply doesn't exist as a community event, nor as a cherished multicultural event, nor as an internationally acclaimed event. We don't want to end up like the Bodega Seafood Festival which had to close after 30 years due to rising costs of production.
One could argue that the problem could be solved by drastically raising the ticket price. However, we are intent at keeping this a community involvement event where families can affordably drop by and take advantage of the ambiance and joy. If we set a high ticket price and just rely on accordion aficionados only, we would then end up with a small event, drastically reduced tourist dollars, and little community involvement.
The festival would end up being a small event in a hall somewhere, if at all.
Finally, why should the fees be waived as in what does the festival do for the community? The knee jerk response is to first go to the economics and money brought into the community. However, we think our mission of multiculturalism is equally important. We don't book a bunch of different kinds of accordion acts and genres as a clever idea or as a whim. We have booked a vast array of genres over the years because we have established the festival as a multicultural event that can help bring different segments of the community together through music. We see our promotion of multiculturalism as our way to help strengthen the community and bring about the realization of togetherness for us all to experience. We believe that is why so many come away from the festival experiencing heightened levels of joy.
We also believe that we have structured our event to make it so people who might not have much of an interest in the accordion can still experience the excitement of working together in a community event. Plus, the volunteers know that what they are doing is contributing to the flow of funds to the local youth groups in need of help.
On another level, the festival raises the profile of the city, not only locally, or statewide, but as an international event. Most Americans don't know that the accordion never stopped being a major instrument (if not the major instrument) in most countries around the world. In other countries it is a major point of interest that there is a multicultural accordion festival in Cotati, California. As a result we have been able to bring in the top young players from around the globe at little expense, just because of their desire to play at the C.A.F.
Finally, the C.A.F. is valuable to the city because of economics. The Sonoma County Bureau of Tourism showed us a formula they used back in 2010. They had access to the company that did our ticket sales so they could tell where everyone was coming from and make their projections from those figures. They had records of how many people spent the weekend locally and what the projected dollars were for lodging, food, transportation and gifts. According to their financial impact statement, there was an amount of $33,972.00 spent by a sample of 116 individual ticket buyers who came from 7 different states and spent the weekend in XON-PROFT BENETTING LOC:M IZATIONS
Scott Gorec: Executive Director | Linda Conner, Richard Cullinen, Lisa Benz, Dave Wasson, Ed Gilardi: Board Members Eg Exchange Dr. Forrest J. Cioppa Volker Financial &
& Pet Supply Center Insurance Services Oliver TALL TOAD MUSIC LAGUNITAS LOWÉ'S Best * WRIGHT
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Andrew Martinez Al Seastrand Family 95 1FM
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pressdemocrat.com Recology
Dates: August 19 & 20, 2023
COTATIO Website: Cotatifest.com
Email: [email protected]
ACCORDION FESTIVAL Hotline/Texts: 707 664 0444
Advertising/Booths: [email protected]
29 Mission Drive Petaluma, CA 94952
Rohnert Park/Cotati. When one projects that figure to include the 500 ticket buyers who bought two day tickets, the figure quickly grows to well over $100,000.00 contributed to the greater community. (each year we sell about 500 two-day tickets out of our 4500 plus total).
Then there are the vendors. About 30% of the vendors are from out of county and take that money with them. However, about 20% are Cotati/Rohnert Park, 20% are Santa Rosa, and 30% are from the rest of Sonoma County. Once again, most of the money being spent at the festival is at least staying in the county.
There has been a mention that locals should possibly get a price break. We contend that the 50% of our clientele that are coming from out of town are already spending additional money on lodging, food, and transportation that locals do not have to worry about. To raise the price in order to accommodate a price reduction for locals, who already are in such a money saving position, would be to punish those out of town festival goers as they head to Cotati to spend their dollars.
To bring my request for a full waiver of funds back to the forefront, I would like to ask the council to decide whether or not the city should be a full supporter of our international event and help launch it into the future, or should they look at us as a short term source of revenue.l am hoping that the city sees the same level of value in our event that our current Board of Directors does as they have asked me to lobby for a full waiver for our 2024 event..
Thank you,
Scott Goree
Executive Director
Cotati Accordion Festival
VON-PROFET BENEETTING LOCALSOUTH ORGANZNMONS
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