Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Event Sponsorship Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves in‑kind support, conditional security funding for downtown Harvest/Spookfest; asks staff to draft event‑sponsorship policy
Summary
After a lengthy discussion about precedent, staff capacity and equity, the council approved the chamber’s request to waive park fees, authorize limited city involvement and direct staff to seek vendor funding for security; council asked staff to return with formal sponsorship criteria for future events.
The Soledad City Council on Oct. 1 approved a request by a downtown organizers’ group to close a portion of Andalusia for a fall Harvest/Spookfest event and to waive park reservation fees, while adding a condition that staff explore vendor fundraising to cover private security costs.
Council pulled Consent Item C‑13 for discussion and debated whether the city should underwrite security and staff time for privately organized events. Councilmember Anzaldo Sanchez said he supported street closures and the event’s safety needs but worried that the city’s paying security could create a precedent. City staff said the request came late this year; the police department is short‑staffed and had asked for outside security. Staff told the council they had negotiated a discounted vendor quote with Benitez Security through an existing city procurement relationship; staff reported the security quote received after the staff report was $192 for two officers for the event.
“We did let them know that this time we understand that they were used to having more support from our police department, but we’re also short staffed,” Recreation and Community Services staff said. Staff proposed contributing departmental funds to help cover security this year only and recommended the council approve the street closure and fee waiver while directing the applicant to pursue vendor fundraising for the security cost in future years.
Council members pressed staff on transparency and consistency. Multiple members asked that event sponsorship rules be formalized and that the council see a single annual calendar and budget for in‑kind city sponsorships rather than ad‑hoc approvals. Councilmember Gonzalo Sanchez recommended approving the request this year but asked staff to draft a clear sponsorship policy to govern future decisions.
Council approved the item after the mayor called for a friendly amendment directing staff to explore vendor funding for security first and to return with a formal sponsorship criterion and calendar for council consideration. The city’s finance and community development staff said they will bring the policy back in late fall; staff estimated the current partial support for security and staff time increases departmental costs by a few hundred dollars for this year’s event.
Council also asked staff to provide clearer accounting of in‑kind costs (police, public works, parks and recreation staff time) when such sponsorship requests come before the council so members can judge equity across applicants. The motion passed unanimously on a roll‑call vote.
