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HomeMy WebLinkAboutUPD Economic Relief Pgrm - Community PartnersSTAFF REPORT CITY OF PALM DESERT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT MEETING DATE: September 24, 2020 PREPARED BY: Deborah S. Glickman, Business Advocate REQUEST: Request for authorization to grant Unite Palm Desert Economic Relief Program - Community Partners Funding to the Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce, El Paseo Business Improvement District, and Six (6) Palm Desert restaurants for outdoor dining expansions. Recommendation By Minute Motion: 1. Approve a grant of $25,000 to the Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce for: a. Distribution of free Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and management of a PPE store; b. Distribution of "Shop Palm Desert" banners to local businesses c. Creation and implementation of a "Shop Palm Desert" marketing campaign, and; d. Creation of a Palm Desert restaurant association. 2. Approve a grant of $10,000 to the El Paseo Business Improvement District for an El Paseo focused "Shop Palm Desert" marketing campaign. 3. Approve grants of $2,500 each to six (6) Palm Desert restaurants for outdoor dining expansions for a total of $15,000. 4. Authorize the Interim City Manager to execute any and all documents associated with the above activities, and allow the City Attorney to make non -substantive changes. Funds in the amount of $50,000 are available in the Economic Development Fund. Strategic Plan Objective The approval of the proposed use of funds aligns with the City's Envision Palm Desert Strategic Plan and Economic Development Strategic Plan in the following areas: • Economic Development Priority 1: Expand job and business creation opportunities, • Economic Development Strategic Plan (2018), High Priority (HPI) 2: Business September 24, 2020 — Staff Report Community Partners Grants Page 2 of 6 Retention and Expansion Program, (HPI) 3: Revitalization of Key Commercial Districts and (HPI) Subcommittee Review An outline of the Unite Palm Desert Economic Recovery Program - Community Partners Funding plan was presented to the Economic Development Subcommittee on September 10, 2020. The Subcommittee provided valuable input and direction, which is reflected in this report. Executive Summary At is May 14, 2020 meeting, the City Council approved the reallocation of the funds associated with the Invest Palm Desert Economic Development Incentive Program to the Unite Palm Desert Business Support Program, allocating $2 million in five (5) Five Focus Areas to assist Palm Desert community and its businesses during the COVID-19 health crisis. Focus Area 5 of the program is the Unite Palm Desert Economic Recovery Program - Community Partners Funding, which allocates $50,000 in funding to key Palm Desert partners including the Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce (PDACC) and the El Paseo Business Improvement District (EPBID). Discussion Staff has reviewed the goals of the Community Partners Program and recommends that the $50,000 be distributed as grants to the Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce, El Paseo Business Improvement District, and Palm Desert restaurants to expand their footprints with outdoor dining areas. Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce Staff recommends granting $25,000 to the Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce to be used to support programs in three (3) areas of operations. The three (3) areas of operation were selected to increase the PDACC's visibility within the Palm Desert business community, assist the organization financially, and benefit the business community by offering free PPE and marketing. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Seeing a need at the beginning of the COVID-19 health crisis, the PDACC created an in- house and online PPE store. The intent of the store was to make required PPE products readily available to local businesses and assist them in adhering to the State of California's COVID-19 industry standards at a time that it was difficult to acquire PPE. The PDACC sells the PPE at a small markup from its purchase price to cover its costs. This grant for assistance with the PPE store is based on a request from the PDACC and is designed to assist it with its robust PPE inventory while helping the City's businesses with the ease and cost of acquiring PPE. W1Staff Reports - Shared\Staff Reports 09-24-2020\3 - Randy 9-24-20113 UPD Community Partners - Funding\SR 9 24 Community Partners-ma.docx September 24, 2020 — Staff Report Community Partners Grants Page 3 of 6 Staff recommends granting $7,500 in funding to the PPE program as follows: Free PPE Program - $5,000 • The PDACC would be required to give away $5,000 worth of free PPE to Palm Desert businesses (PDACC membership would not be required). • The guidelines for the program would be developed by the PDACC and approved by City staff. PPE Store Administration - $2,500 • These funds would assist the PDACC in the administration, management, and distribution of the PPE give away and the PPE store. "Shop Palm Desert" Marketing Campaign and Banner Program The PDACC also requested funds is to create a "Shop Palm Desert" marketing campaign. During the COVID-19 crisis, many people have turned to online sales to make purchases. Most, if not all, of what people are buying online can be safely purchased from Palm Desert businesses. A "Shop Palm Desert" marketing campaign is aimed at redirecting those online dollars to Palm Desert businesses. The campaign will be focused on in -market and encourage residents and visitors to visit Palm Desert stores and to utilize curbside pick-up, and delivery even if the purchase is originally made online. To assist with awareness of which Palm Desert businesses are open, the campaign would include the creation of "Shop Palm Desert — Open for Business" banners. The PDACC would be charged with giving away free banners to Palm Desert businesses in a program similar to the "Open for Business" banner program put in place at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Staff recommends granting $15,000 in funding to the "Shop Palm Desert" Marketing Campaign and Banner Program as follows: "Shop Palm Desert Program" Marketing Campaign - $10,000 • Funds would be used to develop and implement a "Shop Palm Desert" marketing campaign. • The campaign would utilize the Unite Palm Desert logo on collateral materials, e- blasts, and in -market advertising. • Artwork for the campaign would be developed by the PDACC in tandem with the City's Marketing Department. • The PDACC would coordinate with the El Paseo Business Improvement District to ensure that the organizations' marketing campaigns are complementary. • The PDACC would be asked to work with Westfield Palm Desert to distribute collateral materials. "Shop Palm Desert — Open for Business" Free Banner Program - $5,000 Funds would be used by the PDACC to purchase and giveaway $5,000 worth of "Shop Palm Desert — Open for Business" banners to Palm Desert businesses (PDACC membership would not be required). WAStaff Reports - SharedlStaff Reports 09-24-2020\3 - Randy 9-24-20\13 UPD Community Partners - Funding\SR 9 24 Community Partners-ma.docx September 24, 2020 — Staff Report Community Partners Grants Page 4 of 6 Banners would be distributed on a first -come -first -served basis, with a maximum of one per business unless there is excess supply. Banner artwork would be created by the City's Marketing Department. Banner artwork would also be available to all businesses so that they could print their own if they have already received a free banner, or if the supply of free banners is exhausted. Palm Desert Restaurant Association At present, Palm Desert does not have an organized, city-wide restaurant association. During the COVID-19 crisis, it became apparent that such an organization would have been beneficial when trying to better understand the needs of restaurants, including gleaning information on such topics as outdoor dining, dining decks, and lane closures. Therefore, staff has spoken with the PDACC about forming and running a Palm Desert restaurant association to act as a cohesive voice for the industry in expressing its needs to the City. Staff recommends granting $2,500 in funding to the Palm Desert Restaurant Association program. Below is an overview of staffs recommendations for how a $25,000 grant to the PDACC would be allocated. PDACC Funding Allocations Free PPE Program j $5,000 PPE Store Administration j $2,500 "Shop Palm Desert Program" Marketing Campaign j $10,000 "Shop Palm Desert — Open for Business" Free Banner Program j $5,000 Palm Desert Restaurant Association j $2,500 Total j $25,000 El Paseo Business Improvement District - $10.000 Although the PDACC has member businesses from numerous sectors throughout the City, staff believes that it would be advantageous to expand the "Shop Palm Desert" marketing campaign to create a separate, but complementary, El Paseo centric campaign. With the marketing contracts and contacts that the EPBID already has in place, it would be able to leverage the granted dollars to allow for a more expansive campaign that would reach an El Paseo specific market. Staff recommends granting $10,000 to the El Paseo Business Improvement District to fund an El Paseo centric "Shop Palm Desert" marketing campaign. • Funds would be used for digital and other "Shop Palm Desert" advertising, and the cost of the campaign administration. • The campaign would focus on bringing visitors to El Paseo, as well as keeping them there for longer periods of time. • City staff would ensure that there is unity between both the EPBID and PDACC "Shop Palm Desert" marketing campaigns. WAStaff Reports - Shared\Staff Reports 09-24-2020\3 - Randy 9-24-20\13 UPD Community Partners - Funding\SR 9 24 Community Partners-ma.docx September 24, 2020 — Staff Report Community Partners Grants Page 5 of 6 Restaurant Outdoor Dinina Expansion Grants - $15.000 At its regular meeting of June 11, 2020, the City Council directed staff to implement a temporary outdoor -dining program consistent with the State Alcohol and Beverage Control pandemic requirements. Additionally, at its meeting of August 27, 2020, the City Council approved a Resolution authorizing a temporary waiver of fee for Temporary Use Permits until the end of Fiscal Year 2020/2021. Subsequent to the above direction from the City Council, the Planning Department has received numerous inquiries and some applications from restaurants that are interested in having outdoor dining on either the sidewalk or dining decks effective immediately or at the start of the season. Dining decks will benefit more than just the restaurants that build them, as they will also benefit nearby businesses by bringing people directly to them and creating an aesthetically pleasing environment in which they can dine and shop. For the last year, a multi -departmental team of City staff has been meeting internally to discuss and develop a dining deck program. This team has already established basic guidelines for dining decks, which will assist staff in being able to implement the program quickly. The proposed grant is intended to entice restaurants to create dining decks by offsetting some of the cost of design and construction. Staff recommends granting $15,000 in funding to restaurants for dining decks. Funds would be allocated in amounts of $2,500 each for up to six (6) restaurants. Businesses would be required to attain all appropriate approvals and permits from the City to be eligible for the grant. If the program is approved, Economic Development, Planning, and Finance Department staff will work together to determine the grant guidelines and implement the program with approval by the Interim City Manager. Conclusion In conclusion, the above -detailed funding recommendations for the Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce, El Paseo Business Improvement District, and Palm Desert restaurants are intended to assist the City's business community at this time of difficulty during the COVID-19 health crisis. The PDACC and EPBID were selected to receive funding because of their strong partnerships with the City and their ability to leverage the funding to reach large audiences of Palm Desert businesses, constituents, and visitors. Below is a chart detailing the recommended allocations of the Unite Palm Desert Economic Relief Program - Community Partners Funding. WAStaff Reports - Shared\Staff Reports 09-24-2020\3 -Randy 9-24-20\13 UPD Community Partners - Funding\SR 9 24 Community Partners -ma docx September 24, 2020 — Staff Report Community Partners Grants Page 6 of 6 Funding Breakdown Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce $25,000 El Paseo Business Improvement District $10,000 Restaurant Outdoor Dining Decks $15,000 Total 1 $50,000 Fiscal Analvsis On May 14, 2020, the Council authorized repurposing $2M from the Palm Desert Incentive Program to fund the UNITE Palm Desert Economic Recovery program. $1M of the $2M has been allocated to the emergency loan program. $900,000 of the $2M was earmarked for the Hospitality Program. Another $50,000 was directed to Priority One CV, for CSU expansion efforts. All of the aforementioned programs are currently being implemented to assist our business and hospitality sectors. The remaining balance of $50,000 is earmarked for the Unite Palm Desert Economic Relief Program - Community Partners Funding, which is the subject of this staff report. Funds in the amount of $50,000 are available in the Economic Development Fund. LEGAL REVIEW N/A Robert W. Hargreaves City Attorney DEPT. REVIEW Martin. AL,vawea Martin Alvarez Director of Economic Development Interim City Manager: ,Zaa4 9"Wet FINANCIAL REVIEW Janet M. Moore Director of Finance ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER N/A Andy Firestine Assistant City Manager WAStaff Reports - Shared\Staff Reports 09-24-2020\3 - Randy 9-24-20\13 UPD Community Partners - Funding\SR 9 24 Community Partners -ma docx