SR 01-14-2020 3A
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: January 14, 2020
Agenda Item: 3.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Karen Ginsberg, Director, Community & Cultural Services
Andy Agle, Director, Housing and Economic Development
Subject: Approval of Fourth Modification to Agreement with Downtown Santa Monica,
Inc. (DTSM) for Park Ambassador Services
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a fourth modification to
Services Agreement #10402 (CCS) in the amount of $206,640 with Downtown
Santa Monica, Inc., a California -based company, to extend the Reed Park Pilot
Ambassador program. This will result in a six-and-a-half-year agreement with a
new total amount not to exceed $5,252,439, with future year funding contingent
on Council budget approval.
2. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts and Budget
Actions section of this report.
Summary
The City has invested in a variety of site-specific strategies to help all people feel
welcome and safe in public spaces, including City parks. As part of that effort, City
Council initiated a six-month pilot to extend the City’s ambassador program to Reed
Park. This pilot, designed to test the idea that the presence of hospitality and restroom
ambassadors might improve the park’s cleanliness and safety and the public’s
perception of the park, began on August 1, 2019. The pilot has been a success.
Overall, feedback for the pilot program has been positive and data indicates that the
Ambassadors are a key component of the multi-pronged approach to maintain equitable
access to safe, fun, and healthy open spaces. Therefore, staff recommends extending
the Reed Park Pilot Ambassador Program through June 30, 2020 through a Fourth
Modification to agreement #10402 with Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. at a cost of
$206,640.
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Discussion
Located on Lincoln Blvd. between Wilshire Blvd. and California Ave., at the edge of
Santa Monica’s downtown, Reed Park opened in 1892, making it one of Santa Monica’s
oldest parks. The 5.2-acre park, formerly known as Lincoln Park, is home to the historic
Miles Memorial Playhouse, tennis courts, basketball courts, playgrounds, a senior lunch
program, and offices for the City’s CREST afterschool program. When not used for the
senior lunch program, the auditorium in Joslyn Hall is a popular meeting spac e for
groups of up to 90 people. These diverse uses bring people of all ages to the park at
different times of the day and throughout the week. This heavy use is not without its
tensions, however, as neighboring residents and the Parks and Recreation Comm ission
have raised concerns about safety and security for park users. To further activate the
park and improve both the reality and perceptions of safety there have been strategic
capital projects, experiments with park programming, and most recently the pilot
hospitality and restroom ambassador program as well as stepped up Police and Public
Safety Officer presence and patrols.
Reed Park’s playgrounds, landscaped areas, gardens, buildings, and restrooms have
been significantly renovated over the last ten years. Smaller-scale improvements have
included upgrades to exterior lighting, new permanent signage, and “See Something
Say Something” signs to empower park patrons to call the non-emergency police phone
number or connect with an Ambassador when witnessing dangerous or concerning
behavior.
A strategic redesign of the historically underutilized lawn in the northeast quadrant
added pathways, seating, exercise equipment and a platform suitable for outdoor
performances. These changes have activated the lawn in new ways. For example,
organized fitness trainers and individuals now exercise there, an outdoor cultural and
recreational program, Meet Me at Reed, has taken hold, and the lawn has been a site
for a variety of City community classes and camps. Beginning in 2020 community
members will use the lawn for a variety of pop-up social, educational, and cultural
programming.
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While the improvements and new programs were designed to, and have, drawn more
people and uses into the park, community members and the Council inquired about the
feasibility of assigning dedicated public safety personnel to the site in response to
several well-publicized incidents primarily focused on the rest rooms and greenspace at
the corner of California and Lincoln. In response to direction from Council, staff
developed cost estimates for dedicated, onsite sworn public safety personnel and a cost
estimate for a pilot restroom and hospitality ambassador team. Both were considered as
staff prepared the FY2019-21 biennial budget, however due to funding constraints
neither was included in the proposed budget document. During the June 5, 2019 budget
study session, after hearing from community members and staff and considering the
issue, Council directed staff to include a six-month Reed Park Ambassador pilot
program at a cost of $250,000 in the FY 2019-21 budget funded by Council
discretionary funds ($150,000) and General Fund dollars ($100,000). Staff committed to
return to Council with a report on the pilot program and recommendation to continue if it
proved to be valuable. This report serves that purpose.
Park Ambassador Program
DTSM launched its hospitality and maintenance ambassador program in 2009 following
the establishment of the Downtown Santa Monica Property-Based Assessment District
(PBAD) in which property owners voted to fund supplemental and enhanced services to
benefit the downtown area through a special assessment. Ambassadors are uniformed
sidewalk concierges trained to assist those seeking information about downtown, report
maintenance or other public safety issues to the appropriate parties and provide a
welcoming presence for all visitors to the area. Restroom and hospitality ambassadors
are currently stationed in Tongva and Palisades Parks with the goal of improving t he
parks’ cleanliness and safety and the public’s perception of the parks by offering
directions, recommendations, escorts, etc. and reporting maintenance or safety issues
to responsible City departments.
Reed Park Pilot Ambassador Program
The six-month Reed Park pilot program began on August 1, 2019, providing 228 service
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hours each week between the hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The deployment consists
of one Hospitality Ambassador and one Restroom Ambassador during the daytime. Two
Hospitality Ambassadors and one Restroom Ambassador are present during evenings
and weekends. Ambassadors are stationed near the public restrooms and roam the
park. They engage visitors; offer directions, recommendations, escorts, and other
assistance as desired by visitors; aid City public space management; and provide
minimal custodial services as needed in the Park such as picking up and disposing of
litter, conducting intermittent restroom cleanings, and checking and replacing the stock
of City-provided restroom supplies as needed.
The Ambassadors are trained on the applicable provisions of the Santa Monica
Municipal Code pertaining to the use of public space, work closely with the Santa
Monica Police Department, and alert the Santa Monica Police Department if they
witness any illegal or dangerous activity. They constantly monitor for criminal behavior,
illegal vending, and other illegal activity and advise Reed Park users if an infraction is
taking place. Ambassadors may not enforce municipal codes. However, they often work
in concert with local social service providers and the Santa Monica Police Department's
Homeless Liaison Program (HLP) Team to offer service referrals when appropriate and
maintain close communication and coordination with patrol officers and Public Safety
Officers who also regularly visit the park.
Pilot Program Metrics
Prior to the launch date, representatives of DTSM and multiple City departments agreed
that a desired outcome for Reed Park is “Maintenance of equitable access to safe, fun,
and healthy open spaces” and identified a comprehensive set of metrics related to
public safety, cleanliness, service connections, and use of space. The Santa Monica
Police Department, the Community and Cultural Services Department, The People
Concern’s C3 multidisciplinary team, and DTSM collect and report data monthly. Metrics
are organized into four project domains: Cleanliness, Public Safety, Service
Connections, and Use of Space. See Attachment A for a list of metrics and August -
December 2019 data.
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The City and partners tracked and analyzed data collected during the pilot. For certain
metrics in the Cleanliness and Public Safety domains, an increase (e.g. amount of
trash/debris collected by Ambassadors) reflects the positive impact of the Ambassadors
at Reed, while a reduction in another metric (e.g. calls for SMPD service) may also
indicate improvement. Steady increases in Service Connection metrics (e.g. referrals
by Ambassadors or services provided directly by the C3 multidisciplinary team) confirm
that the City and DTSM are working together to provide resources and information to
those in need. The success of park activations like Meet Me At Reed and a consistently
high number of restroom users (on average more than 200 every day, with an 86% of
users reporting a positive experience) shows progress toward the goal of equitable
access to a park that is safe, fun and healthy for all to enjoy. DTSM has also conducted
an Activity Survey to measure how Reed Park has been used and by whom. “Secret
shoppers” deployed to interact with Ambassadors, assess the environment, and
complete qualitative reports have reported that the Ambassadors are friendly, upbeat,
and helpful. Park visitor feedback has included the following:
• “The Ambassadors’ presence made the venture and time spent at the park and
restrooms feel much more safe and clean.” (Danielle L., August 1, 2019)
• “I am thrilled to bring all of my kids back to the park!” (Dominique S., August 27,
2019)
• “As a mom of a preschooler who has frequented all parts of Reed Park for the
past three years, I’d like to give you my thanks. There is no question that the
work of the Ambassadors has tremendously improved the situation at Reed
Park.” (Anastasia F., November 18, 2019)
Commission Action
In preparation of the Council’s consideration of this item, the Recreation and Parks
Commission received a similar report on December 19, 2019 and unanimously
supported authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Fourth Modification
to agreement #10402 in the amount of $206,640 with Downtown Santa Monica, Inc., a
California-based Company, to extend the Reed Park Pilot Ambassador Program
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through June 30, 2020. The Commission appreciates the investment in the pilot and its
future.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
12/6/16 (attachment
B)
Authorization of Services Agreement with Downtown Santa
Monica, Inc. to establish a pilot ambassador services
program for Tongva and Palisades Parks
06/25/19 (attachment
C)
Third modification to expand ambassador services to Reed
Park for a six-month pilot program
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the General Fund to increase the amount
of the services agreement with Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. to continue the Reed Park
Pilot Ambassador Program through June 30, 2020.
Agreement Modification Request
Agreement
#
Current
Authorized
Amount
Modified
Request
Amount
FY 2019-20 Budget
Dept Account
Total Revised
Contract
Amount
10402 $5,045,799 $206,640 01800004.550250 $5,252,439
Award of the agreement modification requires the following budget actions:
1. Release of fund balance from General Fund reserve account 01.380256 of
$206,640;
2. Appropriate $206,640 to account 01800004.550250 (Ambassador Program –
Reed Park).
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
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Prepared By: Danielle Noble, Assistant Director
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachment A Pilot Program Metrics
B. December 6, 2016 Staff Report (web link)
C. June 25, 2019 Staff Report (web link)
Attachment A
Metrics
DTSM = Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.
CCS = City of Santa Monica, Community and Cultural Services Department
SMPD = City of Santa Monica, Police Department
TPC = The People Concern
(*) = No Meet Me at Reed Programming this month
Project
Domain
Metric Agency/Dept. Aug
2019
Sep
2019
Oct
2019
Nov
2019
Dec
2019
Cleanliness # of maintenance requests/work orders DTSM 16 23 25 11 8
Cleanliness # of drug paraphernalia collected DTSM 9 5 24 47 18
Cleanliness # of trash/debris collected DTSM 2712 3284 3936 4129 3188
Cleanliness # of bills/stickers removed DTSM 15 26 30 11 17
Cleanliness # of graffiti removed DTSM 13 3 6 5 5
Cleanliness Negative Responses to Restroom Cleanliness
"Smiley Terminal"
DTSM 11% 13% 16% 10% 14%
Public Safety # of incidents in CCS Reed Park log CCS 1 0 1 0 0
Public Safety # of calls for SMPD by Ambassadors DTSM 0 0 8 0 2
Public Safety # of SMPD contacts (arrests, citations, field
contacts) at Reed Park
SMPD 55 35 46 41 52
Service
Connections
# of social service referrals DTSM 146 121 127 148 180
Service
Connections
# of SMPD HLP/DMH referrals/contacts SMPD 11 9 11 8 3
Service
Connections
# of services provided by C3 team TPC 31 63 57 62 48
Service
Connections
# of substance use treatment
referrals/linkages by C3 team
TPC 2 1 2 3 3
Service
Connections
# of medical services provided by C3 team TPC 5 6 6 7 6
Service
Connections
# of VI-SPDAT/CES assessments completed
by C3 team
TPC 2 1 2 1 2
Use of Space # of "Meet Me At Reed" and other events CCS 0 3 6 2 0
Use of Space # of participants in "Meet Me At Reed" &
other activations
CCS 0* 90 822 15* 0*
Use of Space # of restroom users DTSM 6329 6617 5778 5577 4421
Use of Space # of recreational equipment rentals DTSM 92 13 209 167 201
REFERENCE:
Modified
Agreement No. 10402 (CCS)