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INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No.
February 26, 19$5
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
Subject: PUBLIC OPEN AIR CELEBRATION
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Several months ago, the Chamber of Commerce requested (see attached
resolution) that the city appoint a committee to study existing policies
and ordinances governing the holding of Public Open Air Celebrations
(i.e., Mayfest, Mexican Independence Day, Juneteenth, Pioneer Days,
etc.). Members of the Steering Committee; Acting City Manager Vernell
Sturns; Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce Bill Shelton;
Planning and Growth Management Director James Toal; and Assistant to the
City Manager Libby Lanzara, met with Committee Chair Vi Baker,
Vice-President for Advertising at MBank, to establish goals. The goals
established were: 1) to ensure that there are uniform and equitable
policies governing public open air celebrations; 2) to ensure uniform
enforcement of existing policies regarding security and traffic control,
litter removal, and health code compliance; and, 3) to compile all city
requirements together into a brochure that will be made available to all
current and future sponsors of such open air events.
The process followed to accomplish these goals included: 1) meeting with
all pertinent departments to learn about their respective practices and
perspectives; 2) a follow-up meeting with Ward Bogard and Jane
Schlansker to understand further their particular concerns; and 3) a
0001` meeting with several of the public open air festival sponsors to relay
some of our findings and to hear their concerns.
Findings
What was learned through this process is that cooperation and communica-
tion generally does exist between the City of Fort Worth and festival
organizers. However, there is room for improvement. To this end, it is
proposed that an information packet be developed for festival sponsors
to provide a list of requirements, such as which department to contact,
where to pay fees, and what permits to obtain. A checklist could be
included which would make the planning of such an event easier for the
organizer.
Another proposal is that the City designate one contact person to act as
liaison to event sponsors and organizers. This person could provide
general direction, see that the brochure/packet was kept updated and
serve as a clearinghouse for information.
In terms of fees and requirements, it was found that cities which retain
their bed tax money (like San Antonio), are able to provide the majority
of services without cost to the event sponsors, yet still charge
building and health inspection fees and require permits. On the other
hand, cities that do not keep their bed tax monies (such as, Fort Worth,
Austin, and Dallas) require festival sponsors to provide either the
services (i.e. , security, trash removal, etc.) themselves or to
rk reimburse the city for expenses incurred by the events.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
MFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No.7003 ` - 2
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�o4�aeT�� To the Mayor and Members of the City Council February 26, 1985
Subject: PUBLIC OPEN AIR CELEBRATION
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Unresolved issues which remain are: 1) a request has been made to fence
off public streets during Chisholm Trail and Pioneer Days celebrations
to control crowds and to charge admission; the Department of Law is
reviewing this matter; 2) Jane Schlansker has requested that the city
provide security for events which draw over 100,000 people; and 3) a
request to provide a sliding scale for health fees according to event
size and duration.
Recommendation
Council direction on the following options to improve coordination of
open air festivals is requested:
1) Designate a staff liaison to coordinate with organizers of public
open air events;
2) Authorize the staff to prepare a brochure that will aid in the
planning of these events and coordinate the distribution of the
brochures with the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Convention and
Visitors! Bureau; and,
3) Determine whether special rules and services are indicated for
events which attract more than 100,000 persons. (The budgetary
impact of this recommendation should be considered during the
budget process.)
Further information will be provided upon request.
Vernell Sturns
Acting City Manager
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Attachment
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS ---