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CITY OF VANCOUVER
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MEMORANDUM November 18, 2003
TO: |
Mayor and Council |
CC: |
J. Rogers, City Manager
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FROM: |
Burke Taylor, Director, Office of Cultural Affairs |
SUBJECT: |
Sign Bylaw Amendment: 798 Granville Street
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On October 23rd when Council referred this application to Public Hearing, Council directed staff to work with the applicant to enhance the proposed public benefits package.
The previous strategy built on the City's existing Transit Shelter Advertising Program whereby ten percent of all transit shelter facings are made available to non-profit organizations. The original video sign public benefit strategy followed that benchmark recommending the provision of:
· Up to 10% of airtime to be made available to non-profit arts organization for advertising, exhibitions and/or commissioning of new video artworks. The percentage of airtime would be phased in -- 5% in the first year of operation, 7.5% in the second year and 10% in the third and every subsequent year for the life of the screens; and
$60,000 per year contribution to pay for associated costs.
Since October 23rd, staff have worked with the applicant and expanded the public benefit package to also include:
an additional 2.5 hours per month for a broadcast concert series; and
an additional $75,000 per year contribution to pay for associated costs.
In summary, the proposed public benefit package now includes:
· Video advertising for upcoming events and performances produced by non-profit arts organizations;
· Curated exhibitions of existing video art by Vancouver artists and/or presented by Vancouver non-profit galleries and artist run centres;
· Commissioning of new site-specific video art by local and international artists; and
· A curated concert series of performances by Vancouver artists.
These four streams are supported by:
· Air time
Up to 10% of all available air time to be allocated equally throughout the day, week, and year for non-profit arts advertising, and/or the exhibition of existing or commissioned artwork. The airtime is to be phased in - 5% in the 1st year, 7.5% in the second year and 10% in the 3rd and every subsequent year. At 10%, this equals 2.4 hours of airtime per day which would be spread throughout a 24 hour period. Alternatively, or in addition, the City would have the ability to "bank" a portion of the City's airtime to create longer blocks of time suitable for video art exhibitions and/or to offer for sale through the Owner a percentage of the City's air time at market rates, with the revenues used for the commissioning of new video artworks; and
In addition, and commencing immediately, the City will have access to a further 2.5 hours of airtime per month for the purpose of hosting a video broadcast of a performance by Vancouver artists.
· Cash allowances:
On enactment, and annually thereafter, a cash allowance of $60,000 (inflated by CPI over time) to support creation of on-air advertising, curated exhibitions and commissioning new work; and
A further cash contribution of $6,250 per concert, up to a maximum of $75,000 per year (inflated by CPI over time) to support production costs associated with the video broadcast concert series.
· Other support:
The ability for the City and presenting arts organizations to control and benefit from all sponsorship revenues associated with monthly performances; and
Video sign technical support - the Owner will pay for the cost of a video technician to input the City's pre-formatted advertising. There may be additional costs associated with exhibitions and special events.
Staff believe that this package of public benefits provides a significant contribution to the community in raising the profile of arts and cultural activities, animating Granville Street and providing access to arts and cultural activity at no cost to residents and visitors.
A detailed description of each program element of the proposal as well as a summary of costs and revenues are attached.
If you have any questions, please call Sue Harvey at (604) 871-6001.
Burke Taylor
Phone: 871-6004
Fax: 871-6048
BT/sh
Video Screen Granville and Robson
Public Benefits Proposal
Arts Advertising:
This will provide for non-profit arts organizations to create video advertising for upcoming events to be aired as part of the regular advertising "loop". That is, every 20-40 second advertising "clip" would be aired numerous times every day. The non-profit air-time will be provided concurrently with the paid advertising with equal access to all times of the day, all days of the week and all weeks of the year.
Staff propose that a video logo and template for use by all non-profit advertisers. This will create a unified image and help to "brand" the program. Non-profits will be able to easily insert their own images and information into the template and create visually appealing advertising in a cost effective manner.
Guidelines and criteria for access to the Video Advertising Program will be set out and generally follow the Transit Shelter program where applications from qualified non-profit arts organizations are accepted year-round, on a first-come, first-served basis.
It is proposed that the Office of Cultural Affairs administer this program as a companion to the existing Transit Shelter Advertising Program. Costs, to be covered by a portion of the $60,000 annual payment by the owner, will include administrative and video production costs.
Curated Exhibitions of Existing Video Work:
The proposed public benefits package provides for the ability for the City to bank any or all of the City's 10% share of the air time and, with a minimum of 6 months notice to the owner, book a block of time equal to the banked time for the purpose of hosting a video exhibit.
The City will invite non-profit visual arts organizations which have existing video work to submit proposals for the use of the video signs as an extension to their regular programming. This will provide an opportunity for film and video artists, collectives and schools to showcase existing work which would otherwise not enjoy broad distribution. Cultural Affairs will administer the program, and coordinate the selection processes. Costs, to be covered by a portion of the $135,000 annual payment by the owner, will include administrative and selection process costs.
Commissioning of New Video Work:
Discussions about utilizing outdoor public space for video projects has come up frequently in recent years due to the prevalence of media technologies being used in contemporary art practices. Without permanent infrastructure and generous sponsorship, the cost of the technology to support such a program has proven prohibitive, even for temporary projects. Annual outdoor video event projects in New York and London have budgets of approximately $120,000 (U.S), half of which goes toward equipment rental and technician costs. The proposed high resolution video sign offers the use of a prominent venue for the creation of new work otherwise out of reach for most artists and arts organizations.
Therefore, in addition to the programs outlined above, the City will have the ability to bank any or all of the City's 10% share of the available air time, and with a minimum of 6 months notice to the owner, allocate a period of time for a major video art installation. Further, the City will have the ability to offer for sale through the Owner any or all of the City's 10% air time at prevailing market rates, with the revenues used to pay for the commissioning of new video artworks. The owner will be obliged to offer the City's airtime for sale in the same manner and for the same price as his own air time and all revenues will be allocated on a proportional and equitable basis. The funds from the sale of the City's airtime will be used to commission site-specific video art work.
Cultural Affairs will administer the program -- advertising the opportunity, receiving and processing submissions, coordinating selection committees and facilitating the review of artist submissions as well as overseeing artist agreements and fees according to existing Public Art Program policies. In addition, Cultural Affairs will work with the sign technician as needed to meet the specific programming needs. Costs, to be covered by a portion of the $60,000 annual payment by the owner will include administrative and selection process costs. Commissioning fees will be paid for by revenues received from the sale of the City's airtime.
Monthly Performance Series:
In addition to the 10% of the total airtime made available for advertising, curated video exhibits and/or the commissioning and exhibition of new video artworks, staff also propose a monthly video concert series.
The opportunity exits to broadcast performances with sound on the video screen. Staff note that as a condition of rezoning no sound will be permitted with advertising.) Staff propose that the City host a monthly video broadcast of performances by Vancouver artists to be showcased on the video screens -- a concert simultaneously being performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra down the street in the Orpheum Theatre... a concert presented as part of the Jazz Festival ... a performance by Ballet British Columbia or Holy Body Tattoo broadcast live from an international touring engagement.. The possibilities are diverse and exciting.
Staff recommend, that should Council approve this proposal, discussions with the Granville BIA, Translink, Engineering and the City's F.E.S.T. committee take place to explore the possibility of closing Granville and/or Robson Streets to traffic so that people could gather to enjoy the broadcasts.
Vancouver arts organizations would be invited once a year to submit proposals. Cultural Affairs would convene a jury to select a balanced and broad range of concerts from the submitted proposals.
Costs would include administrative support, artist selection costs, production costs and street closure costs. The administration, jury, production and streets closure costs would be fully recovered from the $60,000 annual allocation received from the Owner. The Owner would also be responsible for paying for $6,250 in production costs per performance (up to a maximum of $75,000 per year). The Owner will have the right to sell one 15 minute block of advertising during the 2.5 hour concert (intermission) as a way to offset these expenses.
The artistic costs would be paid for through sponsorship. The City would have all rights for the sponsorship of the concert series and the presenting arts organizations have the right to obtain a sponsor for their individual concerts. The proceeds from the series sponsorship will be used by the City to pay any extraordinary production costs such as street clean up and any surplus revenues would be used for the commissioning of new video artwork. The sponsorship revenues from the individual concert events will be secured by and flow directly to the presenting arts organization and be used to cover their artistic and production expenses.
Agreements will need to be made to ensure advertising and sponsorship relationships are complementary and not competing and to ensure the best benefit to the artists and arts organizations.
Implementation
Should Council support this proposal, and subject to the execution of the necessary agreements staff will initiate a more extensive consultation process with downtown business, business associations and arts originations. This will help to further define the program and enable the creation of program guidelines and criteria for each of the streams.
Cultural Affairs will, having put in place the necessary administrative support, retain designers to create a video logo and template and begin the process to solicit requests for advertising airtime from art organizations. It is anticipated that this process will take 2-3 months to implement.
The curated exhibitions may take 3-4 months to actualize and the concert series a full 6 months from program definition to the first concert. This will enable sufficient time for arts organizations to plan their activities and secure the necessary sponsors, and time for OCA to send out a call for proposals and set up a jury process for the evaluation of submissions.
In the first 6 months of operation the City will have the ability to offer for sale through the Owner up to 50% of its air time on a month-by-month basis in order to phase in the public programs as they become ready for broadcast. While providing a manageable period of time to get the programs up and running it will also provide revenues which will be held as working capital and used to offset any unforeseen expenses arising from future exhibition and programming events.
Video Screen Granville and Robson
Public Benefits Proposal
Summary of proposed costs and revenues including in-kind support
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Air time |
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Advertising |
Exhibitions |
Commissions |
Concerts |
Total
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Cash Allowance |
Re-sale & |
Sponsorship | |||||||
Admin |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
$40,000 |
$40,000 |
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Video Template |
$15,000 |
$15,000 |
$15,000 |
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Jury processes |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
$2,000 |
$5,000 |
$5,000 |
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Commission fees |
X |
X | |||||
Performance fees |
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X |
X | ||
Subtotal: |
$25,000 |
$11,000 |
$12,000 |
$12,000 |
$60,000 |
$60,000 |
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Production costs* |
$50,000 |
$50,000 |
$50,000 |
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Street closure costs* |
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$25,000 |
$25,000 |
$25,000 |
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Subtotal: |
$75,000 |
$75,000 |
$75,000 |
* allocated on a per event basis ($6,250 per event).
