Item 10 - Financial Sponsorship of City's Landscaped Grounds
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{( _~GENDA REPORT ~
CITY OF POW A Y
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: James L. Bowersox, City Mana~
INITIATED BY: Alan D. Archibald, Director of Public service~
Daniel W. Cannon, Parks and Landscape Managert)~C/
DATE: March 31, 1992
SUBJECT: Financial Sponsorship of the City's Landscaped Grounds
ABSTRACT
On January 23, 1992, Councilman Snesko requested that staff develop a program to
allow for the financial sponsorship of specific landscaped areas in the City by
the publ ic (Attachment 1)., It is recommended that the City Council approve a
program to promote the donation of funds for the maintenance of City grounds and
to allow sponsorship signs to be placed in the corresponding areas.
BACKGROUND
The City has not developed a donation program in which staff actively solicits
Poway businesses and the public for financial support for City maintenance
purposes.
The City currently,maintains over 300 acres of parks 'and landscaped areas, 3,000
acres of open space, and 50 miles of trails. Of the '300 acres of landscaped
areas, 150 acres is contracted and 150 acres is maintained by City staff and
, volunteers.
The City has an active volunteer program. Volunteers assist staff in the
maintenance of ,the road medians, rights-of-way, and parks. The programs are the
Adopt-A- Trail Program, Train Volunteer Program, and the newly-formed Adopt-A-Park
Program. The City also util izes the work release program, the County work
referral program, the County Workfare program, the Cal ifornia Conservation Corps,
the Regional Educational youth program, and honor camp workers. The City
receives an average of 500 hours of free labor from these sources on a weekly
basis.
ACTION:
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Agenda Report
March 31, 1992
Page 2
BACKGROUND (Cont inued)
Section 17.40.090, #15, of the Comprehensive Sign Ordinance states:
"The following signs shall be exempt from the application, permit, and fee
requirements of this chapter":
"Signs providing direction, warning, or informational signs or structures
required or authorized by law or by law or by Federal, State, County, or
City authority." .
This section authorizes the City Council to have signs placed in the rights-of-
way to allow for advertisement of the sponsors. Section 17.40.100, #8, #9, and
#10, also allows signs to be placed in the rights-of-way by governmental agencies
for this purpose. The sign ordinance allows signs to be four square feet or
less.
FINDINGS
Staff can develop an active donation program to solicit local businesses and the
public for financial support for the City's landscaped areas. The program would
consist of:
l. Identifying areas to be adopted by businesses.
2. Identifying City maintenance costs of those areas and developing a
financial program for revenues and expenses.
3. Developing an advertising program and a list of potential
contributors.
4. Des ign ing sponsorsh ip signs and ident ifying 1 ocat ions for sign
placement.
5. Implementing the advertising campaign.
6. Assisting the donors with identifying areas to be adopted.
7. Construction and placement of sponsorship signs.
8. Managing the on-going program.
It is anticipated that development of the program would take 80 hours of staff
time. It is also estimated that the program would require five hours a week in
clerical and administrative time for the ongoing operation.
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- Agenda Report
March 31, 1992
Page 3
fJSCAL IMPACT
Staff estimates that the cost of salaries required to develop the program would
be $2,500. It would cost an additional $6,500 per year to support the program.
An aesthetic 2-square-foot sponsor sign would cost approximately $150 per sign
insta 11 ed.
It is anticipated that these costs would be recovered through sponsors.
PUBlIC NOTIFICATION AND CORRESPONDENCE
Chamber of Commerce and: Landscape Maintenance District Advisory Conmittee.
RECOMMENDATION .
It is recommended that City Council approve a program to promote donation of
funds for the maintenance of the City's landscaped areas and parks and to allow
sponsorship signs to be placed in the corresponding areas. The funding for this
program would be identified in the proposed 1992-93 budget.
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Attachment
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. ATTACHMENT 1
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the city Council
FROM: Tony Snesko, Counciimember
DATE: January 23, 1991
SUBJECT: Private enterprise assuming the landscape care of
. medians, right-of-ways and parks via sponsorship
by poway business and interested parties.
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DEscRrPTIoN:
The City of poway would make available to poway businesses and
interested parties, their financing of the landscape care of
medians, right-of-ways, and parks. In turn, the sponsors would be
allowed to exhibit a small, aest~etic, readable sign, on each area
sponsored.
The City of poway would solicit bids annually' from private,
reputable, qualified, landscape firms and, in doing sO"determine
the separate base costs for the maintenance of each of these areas.
Upon establishing the costs, the city would set a minimum bid for
each area and allow poway businesses to compete for the right to '
advertise on small, aesthetic, readable signs.
If perchance, there are businesses willing to assume the major
costs pf maintaining a park, it would be recommended that they be
- allowed to place a larger, aesthetic sign, acknowledging their
contribu:tion.
In the case of medians with areas to small to aesthetically exhibit
a sponsorship sign, they would be grouped with the closest, well
planted median, and the sign displayed there.
BENEFITS:
A reduction of the number of city employees presently required to
care for these areas and subsequent savings to the taxpayer and
general fund. It would be a requirement of those companies bidding
on this project, that they be willing to hire our displaced City
employees.
Through the bid process, it would be possible to realize a profit
in sections of high visibility when businesses compete to advertise
in those areas.
This action would be one step closer to privatizing areas of
government that are an unnecessary burden to the taxpayer and allow
private enterprise to be the beneficiary.
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