SR 02-12-2019 3A
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: February 12, 2019
Agenda Item: 3.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Andy Agle, Director, Housing and Economic Development, Office of Pier
Management
Subject: Twilight Concert Series 2018 Season Recap and Proposed Adjustments for
2019 Season
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Receive the following assessment of the reimagined 2018 ‘Twilight on the Pier’
concert series; and
2. Approve the Santa Monica Pier Corporation’s request for the 2019 concert series to
include two concerts before Labor Day; and
3. Affirm the City’s financial support for the 2019 concert series of up to $400,000 for
public safety and beach maintenance costs and a $200,000 grant to the Pier
Corporation.
Summary
The Council–directed reimagining of the 2018 Pier concert series shifted the popular
concerts from Thursday evenings before Labor Day to Wednesday evenings after Labor
Day. The changes were effective in addressing the primary goal of alleviating many of
the serious public safety concerns created by excessive crowds drawn to the beach.
The changes were also effective in reducing negative impacts to the beach, congestion
in the downtown, and rising costs. The 2018 concert series drew manageable crowds,
averaging 8,000 people per evening, with no significant public safety incidents reported.
The favorable response from City departments, the largely positive feedback received
from residents, concert attendees, and Pier businesses, and the reduced costs suggest
that the rescaling of the series successfully achieved the stated goals.
The Santa Monica Pier Corporation (Pier Corp), the producer of the series, proposes to
employ the same format and curatorial style for the 2019 season , with one substantive
change. The Pier Corp seeks Council’s approval to move the start date of the series to
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the third Wednesday in August, in advance of Labor Day. The Pier Corp estimates the
shift could increase attendance by approximately 30 percent and would help the
organization secure sponsorships to underwrite costs associated with the concerts.
Staff recommends that Council approve the Pier Corp’s requested change in order to
help the concert series become more financially self-sustaining, with the expectation
that the increase in attendance remains manageable.
Discussion
On December 12, 2017 (Attachment A), Council directed implementation of several
significant changes for the 2018 concert season in an effort to scale down the Thursday
evening crowds that overtaxed the Pier and beach, congested nearby streets, raised
concerns for the safety of those attending the concerts, and significantly escalated costs
to the City. The following changes were implemented for 2018 :
The concert series day of the week was changed from Thursdays to
Wednesdays;
The number of concerts was reduced from eight to six;
The series was rescheduled to begin after Labor Day;
Speakers projecting towards the beach were removed;
The stage was relocated and the venue was partially screened so that it was less
visible from the beach; and
The series was rebranded to reinforce the event as a smaller, Pier-focused
series with a curation strategy that booked niche performers with audience draws
better in line with the venue size.
Additional adjustments to the concert series included using the entire Pier as an event
zone by distributing three stages around the Pier to encourage attendees’ movement
and a festival-like atmosphere, rather than congregating attendees in a single area.
Entry to the Pier was managed by security personnel who conducted bag check and
magnetometer screenings and provided an accurate attendance count to ensure
compliance with occupancy limits.
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Council also capped the expenditures for public safety costs at $400,000 for the 2018
series, with a stipulation to suspend the concert series once the budget was exhausted .
For the reimagined 2018 series, the Police and Fire Departments’ costs fell well below
the cap, with police and fire staffing costs of approximately $240,000, which reflects a
71 percent reduction from the previous year’s public safety expenditure of $83 7,600.
An interdepartmental committee comprised of representatives from Police and Fire
(Public Safety), Office of Pier Management, Traffic Management, Beach Maintenance,
the City Manager’s Office, and the City Attorney’s Office met regularly with the Pier
Corp staff as they developed the new format and closely monitored the 2018 season.
Each concert night drew approximately 5,000 to 10,000 attendees, versus the previous
year which drew crowds as large as 35,000 attendees. Public Safety reported no
significant safety incidents and confirmed that security staff present were able to
effectively manage the visitors to the Pier. Traffic Management reported moderate traffic
conditions with no major congestion throughout the City. Beach Maintenance reported
minimal overflow of concertgoers on the beach. The City and Pier Corp received several
complaints from attendees upset with the changes, particularly the loss of the
connectivity between the beach and the Pier, as views of the stage were screened to
encourage beachgoers to come onto the Pier.
Pier Corp Proposal for 2019
The Pier Corp requests that Council authorize one change to the previous directive,
which required the series to start after Labor Day. The Pier Corp would like to start the
2019 concert season in mid-August, two weeks prior to Labor Day. The proposed
concert dates would be August 21st, August 28th, September 4th, September 11th,
September 18th, and September 25th.
The Pier Corp believes an earlier start date, paired with the new Pier-focused,
community-oriented format on Wednesday nights, would increase attendance by about
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30 percent, or an additional 1,500 to 3,000 attendees per evening. The increased
attendance could be accommodated on the Pier and is not expected to result in
significant beach attendance and safety challenges that occurred with the pr evious
iteration of the Thursday night summer series. Additionally, Snap Inc., a major sponsor
of the concert series, notified the Pier Corp that it would not be returning as a partner
following the 2018 season. An earlier start date would provide greater visibility and
better appeal to potential sponsors, as sponsorship is necessary to help underwrite the
cost of the series. Furthermore, shifting the series into August and out of October wou ld
enable the Pier Corp’s use of the Pier deck in October for other events and community
programming such as LA Opera, Front Porch Cinema, and Halloween-themed activities,
as well as private rentals.
City Considerations
Public Safety Concerns: Shifting the start of the concert series to August 21, two weeks
prior to Labor Day, would likely require additional support from the City to manage the
increase in attendance and associated impacts. The two free concerts prior to Labor
Day may again result in people choosing to congregate on the beach, even with the
views of the stage screened. For the 2018 series, the Santa Monica Police Department
(SMPD) employed assistance from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and
other allied agencies for the first concert, but based on the reduced crowd size, was
able to scale back deployment and only use SMPD officers for the rest of the concerts.
SMPD anticipates that allowing the two concerts in August may necessitate contracting
with allied public safety agencies for additional personnel to ensure appropriate levels of
public safety are provided, which could exceed the approximately $240,000 spent on
public safety for the 2018 series.
Beach Maintenance Concerns: Shifting the commencement of the series prior to Labo r
Day may draw a larger number of concertgoers to the beach, which could require more
resources including rental of portable restrooms, as well as additional beach
maintenance resources to remove litter and groom the sand for the summer beachgoers
the following morning. During the 2017 season, which saw the highest levels of beach
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attendance for the concert series, Beach Maintenance costs were an additional
$28,000. However, for the 2018 season with its steep drop in concert attendees on the
beach, there were no additional expenditures for restroom rentals or supplemental
beach maintenance.
Funding Considerations
Pier Corp Cost to Produce the Series: The 2018 concert series was essentially a break-
even endeavor for the Pier Corp. The concert series cost the Pier Corp $659,711 and
brought in revenues of $661,174, netting the Pier Corp $1,463. Corporate sponsors
underwrote over two-thirds of the concert series costs, with the remaining one-third from
City grant-funding (described below) and revenues from beverage sales.
Pier Corp expenses were comprised of artist booking, production services, security,
rentals, marketing, labor, traffic management costs, and governmental permits, fees,
and licenses. Traffic management was approximately $40,000 and other City and
governmental agency fees paid by the Pier Corp came to approximately $23,000.
City Funding: The City’s budget traditionally includes funding for the Pier Corp’s
operational costs. Over the past four years, the funding has been enhanced with an
additional annual allocation of $200,000 to support the summer concert series.
In FY 2017-18, the Pier Corp repaid the enhancement to the City to help offset a portion
of the City’s public safety costs. For FY 2018-19, due to the sweeping changes made to
the series, repayment of the $200,000 grant enhancement was not required.
Additionally, the City has allocated funding for public safety costs associated with the
concert series. Those costs escalated to over $800,000 in FY 17-18. Public safety
funding for FY 18-19 was approved at an amount not to exceed $400,000.
If Council approves the Pier Corporation’s request to move the start of the concert
series to August, staff assumes that the 2019-20 General Fund budget would continue
to support up to $400,000 for public safety and beach maintenance costs related to the
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2019 concert series, as well as the $200,000 General Fund enhancement to the Pier
Corp grant for the production of the concert series, without expectation of repayment.
Alternatives for Council Consideration
The Council could consider the following alternatives to the recommended action:
1. Deny the Pier Corp’s request to begin the concert series before Labor Day, with
direction that the City’s funding of support services not exceed $250,000, slightly
above the amount spent during the previous season.
2. Approve or deny the Pier Corp’s request for the 2019 season, alongside
instructions that the Council expects the concert series to achieve full cost-
recovery for the 2020 season, including all public safety and beach maintenance
costs, as well as the additional City grant, which would put the concert series on
par with all other non-City-sponsored events.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
12/12/17 (attachment A) Evaluation of TCS 2017 Season determined changes
were not effective enough at reducing crowd-size, traffic
congestion and other public safety concerns. Council
directed significant changes for 2018 Season including
changing the day of the week to Wednesday, moving
the series to the fall, and additional measures to
prioritize the safety of the public.
3/28/17 (attachment B) Update to Council on proposed changes to be
implemented for 2017 concert season.
1/14/14 (attachments C-1
staff report and C-2
supplemental staff
report)
Discussion of concerns related to growing crowds on
the beach and related public safety challenges. Council
directed modifications to reposition the series as a
community-focused Pier event, with minimal beach
overflow, and directed staff to continue to work with the
Pier Corp to right-size the event, ensure public safety,
and conform to existing law.
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Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
With Council approval, budget authority of up to $400,000 for public safety and beach
maintenance costs and $200,000 for an enhan cement to the Pier Corp operating grant
would be proposed as part of the upcoming biennial budget.
Prepared By: Elana Buegoff, Pier Administrator
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachment A. 12/12/2017 (Web Link)
B. Attachment B. 3/28/2017 (Web Link)
C. Attachment C-1. 1/14/2014 (Web Link)
D. Attachment C-2. 1/14/2014 supplemental rpt (Web Link)
E. Written Comments
1
Thania Montoya
From:The SEO Doctors <theseodoctors@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, February 11, 2019 8:35 PM
To:Clerk Mailbox
Subject:Council 2/12/19 - Item 3A
Follow Up Flag:Follow up
Flag Status:Flagged
2018 Twilight Series recap, proposed adjustments.
What if we charged people for cabanas or upscale VIP arrangements to the concerts, and still broadcast the
concert on the mega-screen ? We could use the revenues to fund the cleanup and security. We've had some
pretty big artists come through, I think we could recover some of the costs in this fashion.
We could also do this through taxing merchandise sales ? Or parking ? I'm trying to think of some other creative
ways people would be interested in paying for. Drinks and food are always something people wish they had
after they're already laying their stomach on the sand. People take the train or drive all the way to the beach.
Convenience and souvenir items to remind them of their experience. Event should still be free, but it should be
like the freemium model. Everything else, all the up-sells cost something. Some free stuff would be cool
though, like free waters or candy or something to the first 500 that show up or something. But then everyone
else is upsold (Like, where's the homies with the rolling coolers? )
Also we should put more trash cans on those days so that people are more likely to throw things away.
Korie Schmidt
(310)600-2278
TheSEODoctors@gmail.com
Item 3-A
02/12/2019
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02/12/2019