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Desk Item.Updated Staff Report Promenades PREPARED BY: Monica Renn Economic Vitality Manager Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, Police Chief, and Finance Director 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832 www.losgatosca.gov TOWN OF LOS GATOS COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: 06/20/2022 ITEM NO: 21 DESK ITEM DATE: June 21, 2022 TO: Mayor and Town Council FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager SUBJECT: Receive a Report on the June 16, 2022 Promenade Event and Provide Additional Direction to Staff on Event Format or Other Provisions if Needed. RECOMMENDATION: Receive a report on the June 16, 2022 Promenade Event and provide additional direction to staff on event format or other provisions if needed. BACKGROUND: On May 4, 2021, the Town Council allocated $80,000 of America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the Chamber of Commerce to host up to seven Summer Promenade events in Downtown Los Gatos to stimulate the downtown economy. After the first week of the 2021 event series, the Chamber requested the ability to have a “blanket” Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) permit that allowed the community to essentially have open containers of alcohol at the event as a way to encourage event participants to patronize local businesses and take advantage of the ability for the establishments to sell the “to-go” style beer, wine, and cocktails. As the event evolved over the weeks, Town and Chamber staff worked closely to make modifications and adjust the format as the summer progressed. The number of event guests bringing beverages into the event increased as evidenced by the community feedback to staff. Staff also received complaints about the consumption of alcohol by guests that were not properly identified as being over 21 years. At its February 15, 2022 meeting, the Town Council allocated an additional $120,000 of ARPA funds to the Chamber of Commerce to fund a 2022 Summer Promenade event series. During this discussion, the Town Council asked staff about the amount of staff resources required to PAGE 2 OF 4 SUBJECT: Summer Promenades DATE: June 21, 2022 BACKGROUND (continued): create an environment where multiple events, including the Promenades, Music in the Park, and Jazz on the Plazz, can take place safely and successfully for all stakeholders. Following this meeting, staff worked internally to understand and allocate available resources for the upcoming summer events, including the Summer Promenade. Based on resources, observations from the 2021 series, and Town Council direction, staff provided parameters to the Chamber of Commerce that the event should include more controlled sales and consumption of alcohol and thus added provisions that included up to three beer gardens rather than an open alcohol model observed in 2021. The Chamber of Commerce strongly believed that an open format of alcohol sales and consumption was more conducive to a promenade setting for the event and thus requested a public discussion on the provisions. During the Town Council discussion June 7, 2022, the Chamber of Commerce staff and representatives provided a series of parameters that they believed could help manage an open format for alcohol sales and consumption, and thus, the Town Council unanimously approved the following: Motion by Council Member Sayoc to eliminate beer gardens and required the Chamber to: 1) provide alcohol dispensing points where identification will be checked and wristbands will be issued by paid staff; 2) alcohol will be provided via wristband by paid staff, one alcoholic drink per wristband and no more than one drink will be issued at a time; 3) Chamber staff will monitor the ingresses and egresses; 4) rules of conduct signage to be provided to staff to allow Police Department staff to review for additional suggestions and be displayed prominently during the event; 5) streetside alcohol sales end at 8 p.m. an hour before close of the event; 6) bring the item back to Council on June 21 for debriefing; 7) the Town Manager to provide updates to Council during the month of July; and 8) authorize the Town Manager and Police Chief to take any necessary precautions in the interest of public safety. Seconded by Vice Mayor Ristow. DISCUSSION: Following the meeting on June 7, 2022, staff worked with the Chamber of Commerce to apply the direction to a modified Conditional Letter of Approval. By the following week, the Chamber of Commerce had met the provisions of the Special Event Permit and were issued a Final Event Permit. On Thursday, June 16, 2022 the Chamber contacted Town staff with concerns about permit compliance. Staff worked through the concerns with the Chamber and both parties agreed that PAGE 3 OF 4 SUBJECT: Summer Promenades DATE: June 21, 2022 DISCUSSION (continued): the conditions could be met and minor changes to clarify language could be made to the Permit following a post-event discussion. Overall, the first Promenade event was well attended and had a positive atmosphere with a few areas that could be given additional attention in the upcoming weeks to create a safer and more compliant environment. From the perspective of staff, event preparedness, structure, and permit provisions are developed with the goal of public safety and prevention, rather than taking a “wait and see” approach and reacting by adding new provisions to the Special Event Permit. Town and Chamber staff met on Monday, June 20, 2022 to debrief the event and appeared to be on the same page with items that can be more closely addressed to create a smoother event. On a high-level, the areas of discussion include: • Traffic Closure- The traffic control company arrived unprepared and operated from an incorrect or missing traffic control plan. With the assistance of the Police Department and Parks and Public Works staff, the closure set up was corrected. As a result, the closure was delayed. Chamber staff has addressed this concern with their vendor and worked with them to ensure the deficiencies are addressed in future weeks. Town staff will continue to support the closure with the implementation of the Town’s anti-vehicle barriers. • Staffing- Chamber staff connected with Town staff immediately following the event and shared their concerns with their event staffing and the difficulty to find and hire event staff to manage the ingress and egress points. These event staff are critical to monitor the flow of attendees with alcohol and guide guests who are visibly out of compliance with alcohol guidelines. Thus, the Chamber requested to utilize an outside security staffing agency to provide paid staff for these locations. Town staff agrees this is an acceptable solution and requested that the hired staff members wear “Promenade Staff” shirts to clearly identify them as event staff members without any equipment, hats, or clothing that might convey a security role. The Chamber also agreed to give them a briefing on the event layout, State Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) provisions, and other basic event information that could help them educate guests and maintain the provisions of the Special Event Permit. For example, there was at least one instance of an underage minor in possession of a wristband and alcoholic beverages. Police Officers observed the minor with alcohol and made contact with the individual, provided education, and corrected the situation. It is PAGE 4 OF 4 SUBJECT: Summer Promenades DATE: June 21, 2022 DISCUSSION (continued): not clear exactly how the wristband was obtained. Town staff requested that the Chamber of Commerce provide ABC’s instructions and tips for checking guest age to the event staff responsible for checking identification. • Signage- The required signage for “no alcohol beyond this point” and “no outside alcohol” was difficult to locate and read given the equipment the Chamber had available for mounting the signs. Staff recommends that the Chamber obtain additional A-frame or Type 3 barricades for posting these signs to make them more visible for event guests. Town staff has offered to provide the signage to affix to the barricades that may be reused each week moving forward. • Conditions of Approval- Attachment 1 provides the updated Conditional Letter of Approval that provides the language for the final Special Event Permit. Modifications to the original Permit, provided to the Town Council on June 7, 2022, were made following that Town Council’s discussion, then minor adjustments were again made following the June 16, 2022 event, as a result of collaboration between the Chamber of Commerce and Town. CONCLUSION: With ongoing check-ins, pre-event briefings, and post event debriefs, staff will continue to collaborate with the Chamber and make modifications as needed to the Permit to continue to support the safety and success of the event. Staff will provide updates to the Town Council in July as requested. Staff looks forward to Council discussion and any additional direction to facilitate successful Promenades. COORDINATION: This staff report was prepared with collaboration between the Town Manager’s Office, Parks and Public Works, and the Police Department. FISCAL IMPACT: There are no direct fiscal impacts related to the recommendation of this report. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required. Attachment Received with this Desk Item: 1. Special Event Permit, Conditional Letter of Approval, updated June 20, 2022.