09 Staff Report - Haunted Forest EventMEETING DATE: 01/18/05
°W N ITEM NO. C~
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
R
G AZ°S
DATE: January 13, 2005
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: DEBRA J. FIGONE, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: ACCEPT STAFF REPORT AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON E UATION
OF THE HAUNTED FOREST EVENT AND RECOMMENDATION THAT
THE EVENT BE DISCONTINUED.
RECOMMENDATION:
Accept staff report and provide feedback on evaluation of the Haunted Forest event and
recommendation that the event be discontinued.
BACKGROUND:
The "Haunted Forest" event was started in 1995 to promote a fun and exciting family-oriented event
that provides a safe environment for kids, teens and adults. The event has been held at Oak Meadow
Park, and involves a number of Halloween-themed activities and realistic displays, which takes place
during an approximate 2 week period leading up to Halloween.
The event was managed by the Police Department, largely supported by Town volunteers, from 1995
through 2003 - with proceeds going to support the Police Foundation. The Police Foundation
consists of members of the volunteer groups within the police department which includes the Police
Reserves, the Disaster Aid Response Team, the Volunteers in Policing, and the Pipe and Drum
Team.
While originally designed to be an event to be set up and run by volunteers for their own benefit,
as opposed to being a Town sponsored event, it had evolved into an event which had required an
increasing number of hours of staff time at a cost to the Town. The estimated cost to the Town in
2003 was $30,000.00. Due to increasing costs, the Police Department recommended discontinuing
the event after 2003.
PREPARED BY: Scott R. Seaman
Chief of Police V&"tew-
Reviewed by: `J Assistant Town Manager Town Attorney Clerk Administrator
P
Finance Community Development Revised: 1/13/05 4:00 pm
Reformatted: 5/30/02
PAGE 2
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: ACCEPT STAFF REPORT ON EVALUATION OF HAUNTED FOREST
EVENT AND PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF REGARDING THE EVENT.
January 18, 2005
After the 2003 event, a private individual, Bryan Patterson (hereinafter referred to as "vendor") who
had been involved as a volunteer during the entire nine year run of the Town-sponsored event,
proposed to continue the "Haunted Forest" event as a private endeavor, with limited Foundation
involvement. As proposed, the vendor asked for use of props which had been used at the event in
the previous years, and continued use of the warehouse for the storage of the props, which the Police
Foundation has rented from the Novitiate for several years. In exchange for the use and storage of
the props, and some volunteer help from members of the Foundation, the vendor agreed to donate
20% of the event's net proceeds to the Police Foundation.
This information was shared with Council at their April 19, 2004 and April 29, 2004 meetings. With
the concurrence of both the Parks Commission and the Town Council, this privately run event was
approved for 2004, and was handled in accordance with the Town's existing Special Events
Ordinance. Staff committed to bring an evaluation of the event back to Council.
DISCUSSION:
The 2004 Haunted Forest event occurred from October 15, 2004 through October 31, 2004 inside
Oak Meadow Park. From staff's perspective in both the Police Department and the Parks and Public
Works Department, the event experienced more problems and issues this year than in prior years.
Staff recognizes that some of the issues may be due to the tremendous amount of creative design,
coordination and management a new promoter faces in producing this event.
The overall appearance of the event was an issue. Staff in Parks and Public Works and the Police
Department observed that the props, equipment and other items which are necessary for this two
week event, and are left out' in the middle of the park for the duration of the event, were not
aesthetically pleasing, due to the manner in which the items were organized. Specifically, there
were numerous electrical cords strung across the grass, props which weren't used were left sitting
in the middle of the grass area, and other non-used equipment was poorly organized, taking away
from the appearance of the park during the daylight hours. Staff discussed issues with the vendor
as they arose. The vendor was generally responsive to staff requests; however, some issues such as
placement of major displays were not done as agreed upon, which impacted other uses. What was
supposed to be a private event this year required on-going staff time to constantly monitor the event
and to ensure that the park was not overly impacted by the event for the normal park operations
during the daytime.
Feedback to Town staff was that the event was much less organized than it had been in years past.
Many believed that this was still a Town-sponsored event. While some disorganization is normal
with any new event, the belief that this is still a Town-sponsored event did not reflect as positively
on the Town as in prior years. Attendance was lower this year than prior years. Feedback from
attendees varied with some individuals expressing that the event was of lower value this year.
PAGE 3
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: ACCEPT STAFF REPORT ON EVALUATION OF HAUNTED FOREST
EVENT AND PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF REGARDING THE EVENT.
January 18, 2005
According to the Parks and Public Works Department, the park does not have all of the electric
capabilities (locations of numerous outlets, etc) which are required by the vendor based on the way
the event was designed. Many more electrical outlets, closer to the displays, would be required
unless the vendor rented numerous portable generators as an alternative. While this event did not
meet the attendance or financial projections of the proposal, staff acknowledges that lagging ticket
sales and low attendance, especially during the first week of the event, was partially attributable to
inclement weather.
The Police Foundation has decided that they intend to divest themselves of future involvement in
the Haunted Forest event, including the transference or disposal of the props to another entity. At this
time, they are prepared to give them to the vendor should he be able to move them. The Foundation
no longer has an interest in storing the props, even if reimbursed by the vendor. Their storage
arrangement was originally created when the Foundation was the sponsor and was receiving the full
proceeds from the event. Since this is no longer the case, staff and the Foundation do not expect to
be able to continue to store the props at the same location under the same arrangements. Staff shared
feedback regarding the Haunted Forest event with the Parks Commission at its January 4, 2004
meeting and told the Commission of its intent to recommend discontinuance of the Haunted Forest
event next year. The Commission accepted staff's input regarding the event, and did not express any
concerns to staff regarding this recommendation.
Due to the fact that the Haunted Forest was only going to go forward as a private venture in 2004,
staff informed the vendor in May 2004 that the storage facility would likely not be available after
this year and asked that he look for an alternate storage location for the props if he were to continue
the event past 2004. This was re-stated in September. As of the date of this report, the vendor has
not been successful in finding an alternate storage location.
Based on the net proceeds this year, the tentative donation to the Police Foundation from the
agreement for this year's event is going to be approximately $2,600.00. As a point of comparison,
when the Police Foundation originally started this event, the net funds received from the event, not
accounting for staff time, was as high as $35,000.00. In the last couple years of operation, however,
this figure dropped on a yearly basis, to approximately $5,000.00. Uncompensated staff time was
valued at $30,000. The Foundation and staff subsequently recommended discontinuing the event.
As agreed this year, volunteers from the Police Foundation provided the vendor some assistance with
security and first aid at the event; however staff believes that this volunteer effort could be better
utilized with other fund raising community-based events throughout the year.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the Town and the Police Foundation discontinue their involvement in the
Haunted Forest. This recommendation would result in the Police Foundation giving away or
disposing of the props in a manner of their choosing.
If Council elects that it would prefer to see the event continue in the community, staff recommends
PAGE 4
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: ACCEPT STAFF REPORT ON EVALUATION OF HAUNTED FOREST
EVENT AND PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF REGARDING THE EVENT.
January 18, 2005
were reimbursed by the promoter. If this year's promoter, or any other entity, desired *to put on a
similar event in future years, staff would ask the promoter to apply for a special events permit in
accordance with the existing Town ordinance. Such a request for a special events permit would be
evaluated by staff at the time, based on the individual merits of the application.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
Is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
Attachments:
None
Distribution:
General
Parks Commission