CITY OF VANCOUVER
engineering services
D.H. Rudberg, P.Eng., General Manager
T.R. Timm, P.Eng., Deputy City Engineer
MEMORANDUM April 8, 2003
RTS 03241
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Dave Rudberg, General Manager of Engineering Services
COPIES TO: Judy Rogers, City Manager
Syd Baxter, City Clerk
SUBJECT: KEEP VANCOUVER SPECTACULAR 2003
The purpose of this memo is to provide the Mayor and Council with background information on Keep Vancouver Spectacular along with the details of this year's program.
Background
Keep Vancouver Spectacular is a volunteer driven community cleanup program initiated in 1996 by Tourism Vancouver, the Oceans Blue Foundation and the City of Vancouver. Each year during the month of May, registered cleanup teams work in neighbourhoods to remove litter and graffiti. The program encourages increased stewardship of the public realm, as block captains and volunteers of all ages and backgrounds join together in tidying up their streets and lanes. It is this desire to maintain a clean and beautiful City, and to create a sense of community, that last year prompted about 5100 people in over 70 groups to clean up 2000 City blocks and dispose of 150 metric tonnes of litter and abandoned garbage.
City's Role
The City's role in this program is to promote, register and organize cleanups, and to provide free gloves, garbage bags, cleanup tools and sanitation services. Sanitation services include collecting the garbage bags after the cleanup and carrying out extra street cleaning. The City's Graffiti Management Program provides the services of the Graffiti Busters Van to help volunteers conduct graffiti paint outs. We also supply a detailed event manual for block captains to use and hold orientation workshops for new block captains to give them tips on conducting a successful cleanup.
Free Disposal Month, Free Compost and Open House at the Vancouver Landfill
During May, Vancouver residents can dispose of household garbage and bulky items free out at the Vancouver Landfill. They can also pick up a cubic metre of free compost produced from the yard trimmings that they set out for collection during the year. There will be an open house at the Vancouver Landfill on Saturday, May 31, 2003 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
School Play
Each year, as part of the Keep Vancouver Spectacular program, the City produces a play about littering, vandalism and graffiti for elementary school children called "Clean Up Your Act". That play is being performed at about 65 elementary schools in April 2003. The 20,000 children who see the play each receive a colouring book and some of them will also take part in cleanups around their schools.
Corporate Sponsorship
Corporate sponsorship was vital to the early success of the program, but has now waned. In 2002, we lost our main corporate sponsor from past years, Granville Island Brewing. Granville Island Brewing was a strong supporter of this event for 3 years, providing publicity for the event and sharing promotional material costs, as well as hosting the wrap up celebration. Last year, Granville Island Brewing moved on from KVS to sponsor larger events in the City. Despite efforts through such groups as Tourism Vancouver and some advertising to solicit sponsorship in mid-2002, staff have been unable to obtain another main sponsor for KVS.
As well, back at the beginning of the KVS program, Home Depot donated $13,000 through the Oceans Blue Foundation to be used to buy supplies like gloves for use during the cleanups. That money has been used over the years and only a few hundred dollars remain after the 2002 program. While staff continue to search for another main sponsor for KVS and work towards another agreement with Home Depot, the funding shortfall these losses have created of about $13,000 per year will be covered in our existing community cleanup budgets.
On a more positive note, we are more successful each year in obtaining smaller sponsorships and support from a number of companies. To date, these companies include Tourism Vancouver, Peake of Catering, Gastown Business Improvement Association, Concord Pacific Place, Vancouver 2010 Bid Corp., Oceans Blue Foundation, International Paper Industries, Waste Control Services, Vancouver Film Studios, Stargate SG-1 (film company) and Jerimiah II (film company). The Gastown BIA is cohosting the kickoff event, with a number of their members providing services. Tourism Vancouver is cohosting the wrap up celebration for the block captains in their offices at 200 Burrard Street. The Peake of Catering has generously agreed to donate all the food and equipment, along with some beverages for the wrap up celebration, which is a major cost saving for the City.
This year, we also lost our past radio partner, KISS FM, but we have been successful in retaining our two other media partners from previous years.
· The Vancouver Courier is providing 4 quarter-page ads in April to solicit volunteers and 1 half-page ad in June that will thank volunteers. This is the third year that the Vancouver Courier has done this.
· City TV will provide a listing for Keep Vancouver Spectacular on their community calendar, some possible air time for the City's KVS promotional video and possible coverage of some of the cleanups.
The sponsors and media partners generously provide their services in return for modest logo placement on the KVS promotional materials.
Keep Vancouver Spectacular Events
The Mayor and Council are encouraged to participate in one or more of the cleanup events. This year's brochure, poster and colouring book, along with a special Keep Vancouver Spectacular garbage bag and gloves, will be provided at the Council meeting on April 22, 2003. You're also all invited to attend the KVS kickoff event, Vancouver Landfill open house and the KVS wrap up celebration.
Scheduled Events To Date
April 26 - Kickoff event in Gastown
April 27 - Southlands Community Clean Up
May 3 - West Coast Christian Fellowship - Helping out in the Downtown Eastide
May 9 - Collingwood Community Clean Up
May 10- 12th & Fraser/Carolina St. Community Clean up
May 18 - Cedar Cottage Community Clean Up
May 21 - Waverly Elementary School cleaning up in their neighbourhood
May 24 - Dickens Community Group cleaning up around the Kingsway/Fraser area
May 31 - West End Neighbours in Action group cleaning up the west end. Burrard to Denman, Davie to Robson
May 31 - Vancouver Landfill open house
June 12 - Wrap up celebration at 200 Burrard Street.
An up-to-date schedule of events will be maintained on the City web site.
D.H. Rudberg, P.Eng.
General Manager of Engineering Services
RLM/
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