SR-040886-11BRP:DTA:VR
Council Meeting: April 8, 1986
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
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Santa Monica, California
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Approve Agreement with Nostrum, Inc.
for the Provision and Maintenance of Beach Trash Barrels
in Return for Advertising Opportunity
INTRODUCTION
This report describes the agreement between the City and Nostrum,
Inc. in which beach trash barrels were provided to the City in
return for Coppertone advertising incorporated in an anti-litter
slogan beginning in 1980. The withdrawal of Coppertone from this
arrangement is explained, and a recommendation is made to renew
the agreement with Nostrum, Inc. with two new advertisers,
McDonald's and K-EARTH radio station. In the agreement the City
will continue to have the first right of refusal in approving the
advertiser displayed on the beach barrels.
BACKGROUND
In March, 1980 the City Council approved a proposal to allow
advertising by Coppertone tanning products with an anti-litter
message on beach barrels which were provided and maintained by
the company at their cost. 1,000 barrels were provided to the
City each year and stored and refurbished during the winter
months saving the City approximately $5-10,000 annually in
replacement and labor costs. The City was also given the
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equivalent of $.50 per barrel (for labeling the receptacles) in
the form of beach cleaning equipment.
In 1985 the Coppertone Company changed its management priorities
and is no longer interested in advertising on the beach.
Nostrum, Inc. which managed the program for Coppertone has sought
alternative advertisers and has renewed the agreement with
several cities in Southern California including Long Beach, Seal
Beach, San Diego, Huntington Beach and Del Mar. Nostrum's policy
is to seek only non-controversial advertising and excludes
tobacco, alcohol and political accounts. Companies sought
include soft drinks, radio stations, suntan products and toys.
The two advertisers interested in the Santa Monica beach project
are McDonald's and K-EARTH radio station. Three 8"x23" stickers
bearing the companies' logos and an anti-litter message would be
placed on each barrel (see the attached proposed sticker design).
The stickers would have a light blue blackground, be placed on
tan-colored barrels to blend with the beach environment, and
carry an anti-litter slogan which includes the name of the city.
The agreement would be entered into on a year-by-year basis. The
City would agree that the use of the receptacles by other
commercial sources would not be permitted.
RECREATION AND PARKS COMMISSION ACTION
On March 20, 1986 at the regularly secheduled meeting of the
Recreation and Parks Commission the Nostrum, Inc. proposal was
agendized. The Commission expressed its disapproval of the staff
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recommendation to utilize trash cans for advertising on the beach
and passed a motion that "the Recreation and Parks Department
maintain and pay for the purchase, maintenance and placement of
trash cans on the beach which shall bear no advertising."
The Commission's opposition is based primarily on adding
additional clutter to the beach through advertising, as explained
in a subsequent letter to the Mayor on this subject:
"Our concerns are two-fold. First, we believe that
beaches should be kept in their natural beauty to the extent
possible; every effort should be made to maintain the beaches in
the most non-commercial, aesthetically pleasing state. Bold
letter advertising with brightly-colored logos espousing a
commercial message has no place on our beaches. Residents and
visitors go to the beach to enjoy the recreational pleasures
provided, and as a respite from the incessant barrage of
advertising and commerce in our cities. While we appreciate the
financial benefits that the Beach Fund would realize from the
proposed contract (approximately $5,000), we do not believe that
the economic considerations override all other considerations,
which we also must examine.
Our second concern focuses on the particular contract
and, specifically, the City's further explicit and implicit
support of McDonalds. As you may recall, when the contracts to
provide food service at the beach were negotiated and came before
the Commission, we expresssed strong opposition to McDonalds.
However, based on the fact that McDonalds was the only bidder who
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could withstand the off-season lull and still turn a profit for
itself and the City, we acquiesced to its proposal. We did so,
however, on our belief that alternative food services also would
be made available (particularly of a 'healthy' nature). To
further endorse McDonalds by allowing its advertising on beach
trash cans is unacceptable to the Commission."
The Commission also recommended that the barrels be painted a
prominent color which would make it easier to see them at night.
STAFF CONCERNS
For the past 5 years the City has participated in the Coppertone
advertising program with no complaints about the use of trash
receptacles for such a purpose. With the new color scheme
developed in co-operation with Nostrum, Inc, staff feels that the
barrels will be less obtrusive and more visually pleasing by
repeating the tan of the beach sand and the traditional blue of
the City of Santa Monica.
L.A. COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF BEACHES AND HARBORS
In discussion with staff of the Los Angeles County Department of
Beaches and Harbors, it was learned that the County had
difficulty in finding a similar sponsor for barrels on County
beaches. County staff suggested that the arrangement with
Nostrum, Inc. would be difficult to replicate.
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BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
The program provides a savings of approximately $6,200 per year
in the purchase of 500 new barrels at the cost of $12.40 each to
replace an average of half the barrels which rust out each year.
This does not reflect the labor costs to repaint the barrel which
are difficult to calculate. If the city were to forego this
arrangement, the city would have to expend approximately $12,400
for the purchase of 1,000 new barrels to be used for the upcoming
summer months.
In addition to the cost savings of the beach barrel program,
increased sales for McDonald's on the beach, a potential side
benefit of this arrangement, could produce increased revenue to
the Beach Fund for beach maintenance and improvements.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager
to negotiate a renewal of the City's agreement with Nostrum, Inc.
for the provision of beach trash barrels in return for the
opportunity to advertise the logo of specifically approved
advertisers in the context of an anti-litter message.
Prepared by: Don Arnett
Director Recreation and Parks
Vivian Rothstein
Assistant to the Director
Recreation and Parks
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Reference Contract
No. 4662 (CCS).