Fremont City Council Meeting: 06/09/26 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Police Department
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Grants
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5637) DOC ID: 5637
Updated: 6/5/2026 11:33 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 1 Special Event Sponsorship Program 2026/27 – Adopt resolution allocating Special Event Sponsorship Awards for FY 2026/27
Contact Persons:
Name: Amy Gee Geneva Bosques
Title: Public Affairs Manager Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs
Div/Dept: Police Department City Manager's Office
Phone: 510-790-6967 510-284-4094
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: The Fremont City Council established the Special Event Sponsorship Program (SESP) in 2019 to support local community events. Staff has completed the FY 2026/27 review and award allocation process and recommends City Council approval of the sponsorship awards outlined in this report.
BACKGROUND: In FY 2025/26, the SESP budget was $350,000. After the cancellation of the 4th of July Parade, the Council awarded $319,010 for 12 events. At the time of this report, final accounting for several events held in May and June of 2025 is pending, as final reports are not yet available until the events conclude at the end of June. One planned event, Burger and Brew scheduled for late May 2026, was canceled. At this time, staff anticipates total spending of $299,290 in SESP Awards for FY 2025/26 for all executed events.
The City opened the FY 2026/27 application period in December 2025. The program remains available to established organizers of permitted events requiring City services. Applicants may request up to 50% of the event budget or the estimated cost of City services, whichever is greater. The FY 2026/27 Proposed Operating Budget includes $350,000 for SESP.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The FY 2026/27 special event sponsorship letter of intent process opened from November 20, 2025, to January 14, 2026, with the full application due on March 25, 2026. The City publicized the program online and through direct outreach, and staff held a virtual information session. General feedback from event organizers indicates that SESP funding is essential for successfully hosting community events, particularly as costs for materials, vendors, and City services continue to rise.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5637) Meeting of June 9, 2026 Updated: 6/5/2026 11:33 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 2
Applications Received and Eligibility Review: The City originally received eleven eligible SESP applications by the deadline. One event, Burger and Brew, again canceled their planned event next fiscal year in 2027 and withdrew their application during the review process. Staff processed the following ten SESP applications.
1. 4th of July Parade (July 4, 2026)
2. Fremont Street Eats (Fridays from July to October 2026, and May to June 30, 2027)
3. Festival of Arts (August 1, 2026, and August 2, 2026)
4. Niles Car Shows (August 9, 2026, and May 2, 2027)
5. Festival of India (August 15, 2026, and August 16, 2026)
6. Niles Antique Fair (August 30, 2026)
7. Gurdwara Diwali and New Year’s Eve (November 8, 2026, and December 31, 2026)
8. Festival of Lights and Tree Lighting (November 27, 2026)
9. Chanukah Lighting (December 6, 2026)
10. Fremont Creates Grand Finale (April 24, 2027, and April 25, 2027)
Staff from five departments reviewed each application using a Pass/No Pass scoring system; all applications received a passing score. In consultation with the City Manager’s Office, staff recommends funding all ten events. The City will establish a sponsorship agreement with each award recipient, requiring recipients to comply with all applicable City ordinances and State and federal regulations governing special events and public gatherings.
Failure to comply with any regulations may result in revocation of the current award and eligibility for future sponsorship, and recipients may be subject to fines or other appropriate actions.
Sponsorship Award Allocation and Funding Recommendation: Staff calculated the estimated City service cost for each eligible event and used that as a guide for award allocation. Funds are allocated pro rata to each eligible applicant based on the estimated cost of City services, including, but not limited to, those provided by Community Services, Fire, Police, Maintenance Operations, and/or City-approved vendors. Using this allocation method, Staff recommends the City Council award the funding amounts shown in the Award Allocation column in the far-right table below. Based on available funding, the proposed award is anticipated to cover approximately
92.6% of the city services cost estimated for each event.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5637) Meeting of June 9, 2026 Updated: 6/5/2026 11:33 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 3
Disbursement of Sponsorship Awards: The SESP is a reimbursement grant intended to cover some or all of an event's City service costs and possibly some of the event's other expenses. After the event, staff will determine the actual cost of the City services provided using the special events hourly rate schedule previously adopted by the City Council. The event's sponsorship award will be credited against the actual cost of City services, where possible. The event organizer is responsible for paying the City any actual costs in excess of the sponsorship award amount.
Event organizers have until 90 days after the event, or 30 days after final billing details from the City are available, whichever is later, to submit a final report (including a post-event evaluation, attendance estimate, and documentation of actual costs). To the extent the sponsorship award exceeds the actual cost of City services, the City will reimburse the event organizer for eligible event-related expenses, which may include City- approved third-party traffic control vendors for street closures or City facility rental fees. The combined credit for the cost of City services and reimbursement for other event-related expenses will not exceed the event's sponsorship award amount.
FISCAL IMPACT: The FY 2026/27 Proposed Operating Budget included a $350,000 General Fund allocation for the SESP.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The Special Event Sponsorship Program, an administrative government activity, is not subject to the California Event
SESP
Award
Requested
City
Services
Cost
Estimate
Award
Allocation
1 Fremont Street Eats $30,000
$30,000
$13,200 $ 12,230
2 4th of July Parade 47,031
47,0311951
34,600 32,050
3 Festival of Arts 195,000
195,000
134,300 124,380
4 Niles Car Shows 8,000
8,000
3,400 3,150
5 Festival of India 160,000
160,000
95,000 87,980
6 Niles Antique Fair 100,000
100,000
40,300 37,320
7 Diwali Gurdwara and New
Year's Eve
12,000
12,000
9,000 8,340
8 Festival of Lights and Tree
Lighting
42,000
42,000
36,800 34,080
9 Chanukah Lighting 5,000
5,000
1,800 1,670
10 Fremont Creates Presents 10,000
10,000
9,500 8,800
Total $609,031
$639,031
$377,900 $350,000
Council Staff Report (ID # 5637) Meeting of June 9, 2026 Updated: 6/5/2026 11:33 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 4 Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), in that the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. The Special Event Sponsorship Program does not involve the approval of special events or individual projects, which are subject to a separate environmental review and permitting process. Thus, the Special Event Sponsorship Program will not significantly affect the environment, and no further CEQA review is required.
LINKS: https://www.fremont.gov/permits/special-event-permit/special- event-sponsorship
ATTACHMENTS:
• Draft Resolution- SESP Program FY 26-27
• 2026-2027 SESP Guidelines and Application Checklist Rev Nov 2025
RECOMMENDATION: Adopt resolution allocating FY 2026/27 special event sponsorship awards to the ten eligible events as specified in this report.