City to Discuss Sponsoring Chasco Fiesta

A request for New Port Richey to sponsor the 2012 Chasco Fiesta could cut costs the city pays to support the multi-day celebration by more than half, according to estimates.

Representatives from the , which organizes the Chasco Fiesta, will discuss the sponsorship request with the City Council at a work session Tuesday night. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, (5919 Main Street, New Port Richey).

Council members cannot vote at a work session but they can share opinions or give direction. If they’re agreeable to a vote, a formal proposal could be submitted to them for consideration in the near future.

The sponsorship, requested by the Chamber, could cost the city an estimated $42,381, although the number is subject to change when the Chamber officialy submits its event documents to New Port Richey, according to the city’s summary.

According to the summary, it has been estimated the city paid almost $87,800 to support the 2011 celebration, which lasted 11 days.

The city council is also being asked to discuss a draft “Special Event Memorandum of Understanding."

The MOU is an agreement that spells out the city’s and events planners’ responsibilities in preparing for the event, paying for its costs and cleaning up afterward. City staff is recommending that New Port Richey consider MOUs for individual special events in the future, to be voted on along with special event beverage sales permits.

As part of the agreement, the Chamber has offered to pick up equipment from storage and return it there, install crowd barricades, organize trash clean up, pay for law enforcement and security and perform other duties. The city has offered to oversee setup, close roads, set up a traffic plan, craft response plans from the city fire rescue and police department and provide public safety services.

Most of the savings comes from a plan to store 1,100 barricades in the city's facility, instead of one in East Pasco. The Chamber cleanup also saves the city money.

It was proposed this summer that New Port Richey recover the costs it pays for fire, police and other services in support of events staged downtown by nonprofits.

These costs were projected to total $186,000.

The initial idea was to recover the full cost , but it was met with criticism from event planners, especially the Chamber of Commerce. The city has since negotiated and agreed to subsidize specific cost amounts for certain events.

The city council agreed last month to

The executive director of the Chasco Fiesta Steering Committee said in September that a back-up site has been selected for the fiesta, in case it decides to leave the city. Mayor Bob Consalvo and City Manager John Schneiger later met with planners, and both parties said they would meet after new number crunching.

The heftiest burden the city pays when supporting Chasco is the cost of law enforcement services, with the total coming in at more than $27,140, with about $20,361 of that amount being invested in support of the street parade. The city has agreed to allow for private security services approved by the police chief.

In certain cases, the city currently asks for police officers to volunteer to work “off duty” for $25 an hour at events, which is paid to them directly by the event planner. This cost is less than the cost of the officers if the city were to pay their salary and benefits, accordng too the city write-up. The city receives nothing, although it provides equipment, cars and other assets.

The recommendation is for the creation of an “extra duty” rate that more accurately covers the costs. This would be paid to the city, and the city would pay those officers. Police officers would still be volunteers, and the pay would not be pensionable.

The city has agreed to waive charges for review of the event application and administrative expenses, other than police and fire. The Chamber is not being charged tfor the relocation of fire trucks to the Chasco site.

Staff is recommending that the city start budgeting line items for each event in the near future. In addition, it's recommending that New Port Richey  develop standardized, hourly rates for city personnel working in support of events.  

It's expected a formal proposal will be ready for consideration at a regular session Oct. 18.

* story revised 11:37 p.m. Oct. 11