CONCEPTUAL APPROVAL FOR CITY

HOLIDAY DECORATION PROGRAM

Recommendation

Staff recommends that Council:

1. Approve in concept, a proposed holiday decoration program (Attachment A).
2. Provide staff with direction regarding the annual budget and priority areas for decorations.
3. Direct staff to return to Council with a contract and a request for appropriation for this program.

Background

City Council requested that staff examine the possibility of upgrading our City holiday decorations. To that end, staff looked at catalogs and other City programs to identify costs and a program for Hermosa Beach.

In order to determine Council's interest in pursuing this program, staff is seeking feedback from the Council prior to preparing a final recommendation.

Analysis

To approach this program, staff considered three variables: (a) aesthetics, (b) Public Works impacts, and (c) cost.

After some consideration, staff worked with a company called Dekra-Lite to develop preliminary concepts for the decorations. The recommended program would include:

1. A custom designed icon (dolphin with Santa hat) to be part of overhead street streamers and pole decorations.
2. Spiral-wrapped illuminated palm trees (trunks only and multi-color) on the Pier Plaza and other locations as approved by Council.
3. A phased-in approach to acquiring permanent decorations (e.g., a three-year program).
4. Annual expenditures for tree light and installation, maintenance, removal, and storage for all decorations to reduce impacts on the Public Works Department.

The following grid identifies a recommended program for 1998-99 to serve as a starting point for Council discussions about this issue:

Decoration	Location (recommended for first year program)	Item(s) Cost (tax included)	Annual Costs (installation, removal, maintenance, light replacement and annual cleaning/ storage)	Other Poten-tial Locations /Item
Overhead Street Streamer	Pier/Valley Ardmore intersection	$23,382	$2,500	Aviation and Prospect. Hermosa Avenue and Pier. Avenue. Pacific Coast Highway.
Palm Trees Illuminated	Pier Avenue Plaza		$4,720.00 ($295.00/ea)	Community Center palm trees. Community Center Rotary Tree. Greenwood Park. Hermosa Avenue
Custom Dolphin Pole Decorations	20 poles on Pier Avenue west of Valley Drive to Hermosa Avenue.	$15,900 ($795.00/ea)	$2,500.00	Pacific Coast Highway. Aviation Blvd. Pier Avenue from PCH to Ardmore. Hermosa Avenue.
Holiday Tree	Pier Avenue Plaza			$1,000 per foot (does not include installation)
Total		$39,282.00	$9,720 (annual)

The streamer and pole decorations would be warranted for six years, while the tree lights would be replaced each year as part of the installation.

Clearly, a City wide decoration program can be an ambitious undertaking from a budgetary standpoint. If Council wishes to spread the purchase of decorations over the next few years, the City could build the program gradually in order to reduce the impacts for FY 98-99.

Other alternatives available to Council include:

1. Amend the program as presented.
2. Recommend and alternative program for decorations.
3. Increase/reduce the first year's budget.
4. Develop a cooperative program with merchants and/or the Chamber of Commerce to help fund holiday decorations.
5. Direct staff to prepare a bid for any/all of the recommended program.
6. Receive and file.

FISCAL IMPACT: None with this agenda item.

If Council approves the concept as presented, total first year cost would be $49,002.00.

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