From: Fikes, Cathy
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: City Council Agenda Item #14 - 4th of July Management contract Date: Monday, March 18, 2024 10:29:58 AM
From:
Chris Young <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2024 12:35 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <[email protected]> Subject: City Council Agenda Item #14 - 4th of July Management contract Dear Mayor VanderMark and City Council,
I am writing to you for you to delay or elimanate in total the contract for LSQ to manage the City’s 4th of July Parade/Run/Fireworks as proposed on the upcoming City Council Meeting agenda dated March 19, 2024, Item #14.
This simple question needs to be answered: Why does the Parade need a Management company when for at least 25+ years the Parade Board has managed all the activities and raised all the monies that were needed to cover the expenses of the festivities? The current answer as to why this is being proposed is because CC Member Michael Posey pulled an audit on the Board back in 2020 due to the fact that he wanted to know where the $100,000.00 in excess parking revenue was being used.
He never asked the Board that question (we could have answered it in about 5 days), instead he spent $25,000 of taxpayer money to have an audit done that actually never really answered his question and created a lot more headaches for the Board at the time. And the Audit was NEVER signed off as accepted by the Board the time of review.
For the 15 years that I was on the Executive Board for the 4th, we did ALL of the work (that is listed in the power point presentation under ‘responsibilities”
attached to Item 14), we raised all the
money (at least $300,000.00 and usually had excess that rolled over to the following year), we got all the sponsors, we got all the entrants, all the bands, all the subcontractors…..we did EVERYTHING and we did it for FREE. The City did assist with the City aspect of the operations but the Board did all the items you are now gonna PAY an outside contractor $150.000.00 to do. We were VOLUNTEERS, UNPAID. Yes we had Stacey & at one time Pat Stier that were paid but that was nothing compared to what this new proposal is stating. If you’re gonna pay a Management company to do what the the Board does, why have a Parade Board?
My proposals (3) are very simple:
1). Do not hire the Management company, instead hire a Fundraising Company to do just that, raise funds to produce the parade. Allow the Board to do what they do, manage the festivities. The Board used to do this with 5 people, now there are 11 so there are that many more to do the work more effectively……or
2). Do not hire LSQ for the 2024 parade and instead give the Parade Board the $150,000 for them to produce the parade as they have for many years. It is not fair to bring in LSQ and expect them to 3/19/2024
14 (24-188)
produce a parade in 3 months that usually takes 8 months to plan. Then in Septemeber 2024, hire LSQ on a 3 year contract as stated in Item 14. This give them a full 3 years to produce what is expected…..or
3). Don’t hire a management company or a fundraising company at all, instead give the Parade Board the monies that are listed in Item 14 and let them do what they have been appointed to do, manage a parade and all associated activities. The Board has proved in the past that they can do it, and if it wasn’t for Posey and his audit, they probably still would be doing it. If they show that they can’t do it, then revert back to #1 or #2 above.
And one other thing, I read in the contract that LSQ would pay the City a % over the contracted amount each year. Since when did the Parade become a fundraiser for the City? Im all my years on the Board (15), the City wanted very little to do with the overall operations of the parade. We had the “use” of one person in Community Services to deposit monies, log invoices and pay those invoices. That was the extent of the City’s interest. But after this Audit, it became apparent that the City wanted the parade to be a source of income. Well then it is very easy, supply funds to the parade in the City budget and let the Board manage the parade as they always have. Any excess monies raised would go to the City since the Board is a Volunteer Board and therefore is NOT PAID.
Thank you for your time and if there are any additional questions or clarifications needed, please feel free to reach out to me at the info listed below.
Chris Young
Outcast Event Consulting
714 292 9184
[email protected]
From: Jo Ann Arvizu
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: 3/19/24 Agenda Items
Date: Monday, March 18, 2024 6:45:58 PM
To All City Council Members,
Agenda item 24-197
Why is the city proposing a library management System to run our Public Libraries?
We are
50 year residents of this fine city.
We are very proud of our public libraries.
We did not
appreciate the council majority move to take away the selection of books process from our educated and trained librarians and turn it over to rank amateurs.
The attempt to privatize our
library system reeks of more possible corruption.
We are against privatizing our library system.
Agenda 24-194
Increasing the number of permits for selling safe and sane fireworks from 15 to 16.
Now that
is all fine and dandy!
How about getting the HB Police and Fire Department to enforce the law prohibiting the discharge of highly unsafe fireworks into the skies of our city
every 4th of
July?
It is a battle zone every year and its a simple matter of citing the perpetrators that set them off with a very expensive citation. There has to be a city ordinance against these actions in place now.
Are you waiting for some homes and businesses to burn down before responding?
Agenda 24-160
A three year contract costing the city $750,000 for liability claims and processing.
That
sounds like it should be the job of our city attorney and his team.
Didn't he get a healthy pay
increase above what his predecessor earned. I understand he also increased his staff as well.
Three quarters of a million
dollars is to much for our taxpayers to pay for something they already pay for.
We are against the approval of this contract.
Agenda 24-188
A three year professional services contract for production and management of the 4th of July Parade.
Our parade, the Largest 4th of July west of the Mississippi, has been outstanding in all the years we have attended.
There is no reason to turn it over to a private company.
Our
parade is well managed, well attended and enjoyed by all!
Do not turn it over to another
entity.
It is NOT broken, so no need to fix it!
Again spending more of our tax dollars!
Al and Jo Ann Arvizu
50 year HB residents
[email protected]