City Council
MEETING DATE: 8/10/2016
TITLE:
Title
35th Anniversary Banner Program on East Palm Canyon Drive
End
FROM:
Chris Parman, Communications / Events Manager
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff will present a proposed 35th Anniversary Banner Program for East Palm Canyon Drive in Downtown Cathedral City for Council direction. The banner program is designed to increase awareness of our special anniversary year and help promote our local businesses and organizations that make living here great.
Body
BACKGROUND:
The incorporation of Cathedral City occurred on November 16, 1981. The City will hold a 35th Anniversary Celebration during the weekend of November 18-20, 2016 featuring an Anniversary Gala Dinner and Jazz Concert, 35th Anniversary Parade on East Palm Canyon Drive (EPC), 35-Hot Air Balloon Glow, and a statue unveiling of the late Lalo Guerrero, the "Father of Chicano Music" and the namesake for the street on which City Hall resides, for what would have been his 100th birthday in December.
To promote our 35th Anniversary, the City has teamed with KMIR (NBC), Univision, Sunny 103.1 FM, Cathedral City Auto Center, Westin Mission Hills, VW of Palm Springs, and many more sponsors to bring this celebration to fruition. We have also created the "Desert Treasure Hunt" which is an eight week pre-anniversary event that actively engages the community with an opportunity to win a new car as a way to create greater awareness.
Additionally, the Community Development Department has taken steps to refurbish the light poles along EPC by cleaning, painting, and removing the faded banners of years past. The banners that honor our fallen heroes in the military are being relocated along Dinah Shore Drive and Date Palm Drive adjacent to Patriot Park where the annual Healing Field event takes place honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to our nation.
Currently, there are 41 light poles along EPC between Date Palm Drive and Cathedral Canyon Drive, each with holders that support a banner on both sides creating a total of 82 banner slots. These slots are not currently being used.
DISCUSSION:
Inspired by the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates" that brightened Central Park of New York City in 2015, staff is recommending Council's authorization for a 35th Anniversary Banner program that would utilize the City's orange logo color as a backdrop to 81 banners with "35th Anniversary" written at the top, the City's three arches in the middle, and ending with a business or organization sponsor labeled in white at the bottom. For the 82nd slot, it would showcase the City's anniversary logo in white. Not only will the banners add color to our downtown landscape, but it will also create an artistic way of promoting our anniversary, local businesses and organizations to the 35,000 automobiles that travel EPC each day. The banners would grace EPC starting on or before November 1, 2016 and remain visible until October 31, 2017.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Community Development Department was expecting to refurbish the banners this year at a cost to the City. With the banner program, the City would reach out to local businesses and organizations who are interested in sponsoring a banner (double sided). Sponsorships would cost $500 per banner to $625 per banner depending on when the entity sponsored the program (early sign-up discount). If all 81 banners are sponsored, the program would provide colorful banners and raise more than $40,000. After expenses, staff believes that the banner program would help generate $20,000 to offset expenses related to the 35th Anniversary Celebration and Hot Air Balloon Festival scheduled for November 18-20, 2016.
ATTACHMENTS:
Graphic artist renderings of the 35th Anniversary Banner Program