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Council approves second amendment to Zumwalt Park amphitheater operator agreement; city to cover certain event costs and defer artist deposit
Summary
The Tulare City Council voted 4–1 on Jan. 7 to amend its operator agreement with Spade Entertainment for the Zumwalt Park Amphitheater to cover costs from three promotional concerts staged before construction was complete and to defer the operators artist deposit obligation.
The Tulare City Council on Jan. 7 approved a second amendment to the Zumwalt Park Amphitheater operator agreement with Spade Entertainment to reconcile costs from three promotional concerts staged while the venue was still under construction (item 8.1). The motion passed 4–1.
City Manager Mark Mondell and Spade Entertainment's Todd Spielman summarized the promotional shows as a market test that demonstrated demand, helped operators work through logistics and identified operational needs such as power, temporary sanitation and parking. Because the venue was not fully finished, the city and operator incurred additional production costs: temporary generators, portable restrooms, temporary surface material and other items.
Under the amendment the council approved several measures to reconcile those costs: - Waive the operators 20% share of police overtime for the three promotional concerts (staff estimated the operators share at about $4,808), to be absorbed by the police overtime budget; - Waive the operators 20% sponsorship-fee remittance to the city for sponsorships received to date (staff estimated that fee at roughly $34,000); - Defer the $150,000 artist deposit requirement to the back end of the contract; Spade must repay the deposit over the life of the contract in cash or agreed in-kind sponsorship/items of verifiable value; - Pay about $50,000 in outstanding vendor invoices by reallocating $50,000 that would have otherwise been used for yearly park maintenance; - Establish a 2025 artist deposit account of $150,000 using $75,000 in naming-rights revenue from Adventist, $50,000 in maintenance funds and $25,000 from the general fund.
Councilmates debated the in-kind repayment option for the deferred deposit. Some members and the operator argued in-kind donations (for example furniture or equipment) can materially reduce future rental and production costs and represent real value; others said they preferred repayment in cash so the city could use funds for capital or other park projects.
Council voted 4–1 to authorize the amendment and an increase to general-fund appropriations as necessary to cover previously unbudgeted expenditures associated with the amendment. The mayor declared the motion carried.
