ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: March 12, 1999
Author/Local: M.Pham/6422
RTS No. 00584 CC File No. 3501

Council: 23 March 1999

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT:	Keep Vancouver Spectacular 1999

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT Council officially support the Keep Vancouver Spectacular 1999 clean-up event, to be held May 1 to May 31, 1999.

B. THAT Council authorize annual funding of $35,000 for this year’s and future Keep Vancouver Spectacular events, to be added to the Solid Waste Utility Budget starting in 1999 .

COUNCIL POLICY

On February 27, 1996, Vancouver City Council officially supported the Keep Greater Vancouver Spectacular 1996 campaign and allocated $56,000 in City funds for the event.

On February 3, 1998, Vancouver City Council officially supported the Keep Vancouver Spectacular 1998 campaign, and allocated $50,000 in City funds for the event itself, as well as a one-time amount of $30,000 for the production of the “Clean-Up Your Act” community stewardship play.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to seek Council's official support and funding approval for the Keep Vancouver Spectacular 1999 event, to be held this year from May 1 to May 31. It also seeks Council approval for annual funding of $35,000 for this year’s and future Spectacular events, to be added to the Solid Waste Utility Budget starting in 1999.
SUMMARY

Last year’s Keep Vancouver Spectacular campaign was a resounding success with more than 4,000 volunteers cleaning-up 1,200 blocks. By way of context, the first Keep Greater Vancouver Spectacular in 1996 resulted in 1,500 volunteers and the clean-up of 400 blocks.

This year, the City will provide services similar to those in past campaigns: training of volunteers, provision of supplies, free residential disposal at the landfill, provision of roll-off bins, and special sanitation services during clean-up's. In addition, the City's Anti-Graffiti vehicle will be available to support community graffiti removal efforts.

The City will continue to present its highly-successful educational play aimed at kindergarten through grade five students. School children, particularly those having seen the “Clean-Up Your Act” play, accounted greatly for the success of last year’s campaign.

It is recommended that Council approve Keep Vancouver Spectacular 1999 for May 1 to May 31, with a budget of $35,000.. For future events, it is recommended that funds of $35,000 be added annually to the Solid Waste Utility Budget.

BACKGROUND

On February 27, 1996 and February 3, 1998, Council officially supported the Keep Vancouver Spectacular campaigns for 1996 and 1998 respectively.

Both Spectacular 1996 and Spectacular 1998 were community-based clean-up events undertaken in partnership with Tourism Vancouver and the Oceans Blue Foundation. The purpose of the yearly1 event was to acknowledge the on-going efforts of the community and the City in keeping Vancouver Spectacular, as well as promoting an increased community stewardship of the City’s public realm.

The event involves volunteers from business and residential communities in the clean-up of their streets, sidewalks, lanes, boulevards, parks and shorelines. Engineering Services assumes event planning, administration, and promotion, as well as providing supplies,
volunteer training, sanitation and anti-graffiti services during the event. Tourism Vancouver and the Oceans Blue Foundation (an organization dedicated to promoting environmentally-sustainable tourism practices) assist with the event’s planning and promotion.

DISCUSSION

Keep Vancouver Spectacular 1998

Spectacular 1998 was held from May 1 to June 7, 1998. It was operated essentially in the same way as the initial clean-up event in 1996. The event drew 4,000 volunteers who cleaned up 1,200 City blocks. Several elements contributed to the success of the 1998 campaign:

· leadership of community groups, such as the Mount Pleasant BIA and Crime Prevention Office, the International Service Day Foundation, the Downtown Vancouver BIA, the Collingwood Neighbourhood House and Safety Office, the Chinatown Merchants Association and the Broadway Station Community Crime Prevention Office;
· promotional and organizational support of the Oceans Blue Foundation, R. Greenwood & Associates, NIST’s, community centres and crime prevention offices;
· joining forces with Park Board Commissioner Al DeGenova’s Downtown Eastside clean-up effort;
· success of the “Clean-Up Your Act” play in drawing large numbers of school children volunteers;
· coordination and follow-up efforts of both Dan Harder and Jim Heep, Sanitation Operations foremen, as well as crew efficiencies in providing special services during clean-up’s.

Monk McQueen’s restaurant and the Waterfront Centre Hotel also provided valuable prizes, while Concord Pacific Group and Pacific Place Development Corporation co-sponsored the wrap-up event. Finally, the Waste Management Association (more particularly Fraser Valley Disposal, McRae Waste Management and Trash Terminator Disposal) deserve specific credit for providing roll-off bins which were key to the event’s realization.

Keep Vancouver Spectacular 1999

It is proposed that the Spectacular 1999 event be held in the spring again, from May 1 to May 31. Past campaigns have been successful with the public, and as such, the Spectacular 1999 event will operate essentially in the same way as in previous years. The City will provide the following services:

· provision of supplies and training to volunteers;
· no-charge disposal at the Vancouver Landfill for residents for the duration of the clean-up event;
· free collection of specially-tagged bagged litter by residential garbage crews;
· recycling via the mini-depots and main depot;
· provision of roll-off bins for large-scale clean-up’s;
· special lane and street cleaning and litter pick-up’s.

In addition, the Anti-Graffiti vehicle, which was launched at the end of Spectacular 1998, will be available for use at community clean-up’s.

The Deputy City Engineer and the Director of the Oceans Blue Foundation will co-chair the campaign’s Program Committee to help promote the event. The Program Committee will also include representatives from various Business Improvement Associations, Tourism Vancouver, the Park Board NIST, and community associations.

Spectacular 1998 costs were minimized by using remaining supplies (e.g., gloves, litter bags, “How to Do It” booklets, banners) which were donated through the Oceans Blue Foundation in 1996. Those supplies were exhausted as part of the 1998 campaign, and will need to be bought this year at an estimated cost of $7,000.

While Engineering staff will be reallocated to coordinate the event, temporary staff will need to be hired this year again, at an estimated cost of $5,000, to operate the registration hotline.

It is also proposed that $4,000 be allocated to fund temporary staff dedicated to seeking sponsors during the months leading up to the campaign. Indeed, corporate donations and organizational support are key to making the event a success; effective promotion is also vital to publicize it with the general public and to draw as many participants as possible. As such, eventual sponsors would help offset City costs for promotion, purchasing of supplies, organization of special events, and provision of services (e.g., roll-off bins). Based on last year’s $4,700 total sponsorships, it is expected that approximately $9,000 will be raised in 1999 in sponsorships and in-kind donations.

“Clean-Up Your Act” Community Stewardship Play

In 1998, staff developed a play entitled “Clean-Up Your Act” about community stewardship for elementary school students. The play focused on keeping our neighbourhoods clean and graffiti-free because our city is our environment - its intent was to educate students about stewardship values.

Last year, the play was presented to a captive audience of kindergarten to grade 5 in approximately half of Vancouver’s elementary schools. It was widely popular with its target audience, and played a significant role in drawing large numbers of volunteers to the clean-up campaign. This year, it will be presented to the remaining schools, and it is expected that this will help build momentum for yearly school-based community clean-ups during the Spectacular event.

While the play is an integral part of the Spectacular event, it should be noted that on February 3, 1998, Council already approved an annual sum of $17,000 for the continued performance of the play. As such, funding for the play is not included in the following section.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

In 1996 and 1998, Council approved $56,000 and $50,000 respectively in extra City funding from the Solid Waste Capital Reserve to pay for special Spectacular services. However, both campaigns were completed under budget, mostly as a result of crew efficiencies, with $26,000 being spent in 1996 and $22,800 in 1998.

It is recognized however, that it is not appropriate to continue to fund a yearly event such as Keep Vancouver Spectacular from the Solid Waste Capital Reserve. As such, this report seeks Council authorization to fund this year’s and future Keep Vancouver Spectacular events, at an approximate annual cost of $35,000, to be added to the Solid Waste Utility Budget as of 1999. While a number of Spectacular activities can be accommodated within the approved Engineering Services Operating Budget, the additional $35,000 is required to fund the remainder of the event, generally as detailed in Appendix A.

* * * * *

APPENDIX A

KEEP VANCOUVER SPECTACULAR 1999 - BUDGET SUMMARY

	1996		1998		1999
	Budgeted	Actual	Budgeted	Actual	Proposed Budget
Sanitation Services	35,000	9,000	15,000	12,400	14,000
Banner Installation	6,500	4,500	5,000	2,400	3,000
Banner Production	4,500	4,500	-	-	-
Residential Fees Grant	5,000	5,000	-	-	-
Promotion & Sundry	5,000	3,000	8,000	6,700	10,000
Sponsorships -Staffing	-	-	-	-	4,000
School Outreach	-	-	2,000	2,000	-
Registration	-	-	20,000	4,000	6,000
Supplies	-	-	-	-	7,000
Total Project Budget	56,000	26,000	50,000	27,500	44,000
Sponsorships -Received				(4,700)1	(9,000)
Total City Budget	56,000	26,000	50,000	22,800	35,000

¹ $1,500 in roll-off bins from private haulers

$1,000 donation from Concord Pacific Group
$1,000 donation from Pacific Place Development Corporation
$800 prize donations from the Waterfront Centre Hotel
$400 prize donation from Monk McQueen’s Restaurant

APPENDIX B

SAMPLE LETTERS OF SUPPORT AND ARTICLES

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver

1 Spectacular 1997 was cancelled due to the civic worker strike and the uncertainty about the ability to execute the event on schedule.