City Council Meeting: Date

Agenda Item: 8-A

To: Mayor and City Council

From: Barbara Stinchfield, Community and Cultural Services Dept. Director

Subject: Beach Butler Service at Perry’s Café Beach Concession

Recommended Action

Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to amend the City’s beach concession contract for Perry’s Café to pilot a Beach Butler service for the public.

Executive Summary

Staff recommends that the City’s beach concession contract be amended to provide a new service, the Beach Butler, to be offered as a pilot program over the summer of 2008 at three of the Perry’s Café concession stands on Santa Monica State Beach. The proposal is one of many strategies identified through the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau’s “Best at the Beach” initiative. The Beach Butler service includes the option to have rental equipment such as chairs and umbrellas placed anywhere within a designated area of the beach and Beach Green. Box lunch delivery and beach towel sales also would be available. The concessionaire would pay to the City as rent 15% of gross sales from the service. The pilot program will be evaluated in the fall of 2008 and modified, continued, and/or terminated based on its relative success and impact on other beach goers and activities.

Background

The Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) established the “Best at the Beach” campaign to promote Santa Monica as a world-class beach destination. Through two annual summits comprised of stakeholders from the City, local businesses, and residents, a variety of strategies have been developed to improve and develop the services available at the beach and the public perception of Santa Monica as a beach destination. One of the identified services that would contribute to the goals of the campaign provides delivery and set-up of rented beach chairs and umbrellas, commonly known as a “Beach Butler”. Such services are common on many beaches of the world and would be particularly valuable on Santa Monica State Beach due to the large expanse of sand and the associated difficulties some people encounter when trying to carry-in and set-up beach equipment. In particular, this service may greatly improve access for disabled visitors.

Discussion

In the summer of 2006, the City entered into a concession agreement with Chaos Enterprises, Inc., DBA Perry’s Café and Rentals, to operate four beach stand concessions including food service and equipment rentals for a period of five years with one five-year extension option. As part of the CVB’s Best at the Beach campaign, the concessionaire proposed a pilot expansion of its concession services to include a Beach Butler service. The proposal retains the option for visitors to rent and set up their own beach chairs and umbrellas. The additional Beach Butler service would be offered from three of the four concession stands (930 Pacific Coast Highway, and 2400 and 2600 Ocean Front Walk) during the summer of 2008. Continuation of the program would be dependant on an evaluation of the pilot service next fall. The proposed amendment is consistent with the requirements of the City’s Beach Operating Agreement with the State.

The proposed pilot service would include the option to have rental equipment placed anywhere within a designated area at the beach. An example of the proposed equipment is illustrated in Attachment 1. The designated areas include the stretch of sand between each concession stand and the ocean, as well as on the new Beach Green, as illustrated in Attachment 2. Restrictions on the number of umbrellas would be imposed to limit the visual and physical impact to the beach, including a limit of ten Beach Butler umbrella set-ups per concession stand, and a maximum of three umbrellas in a grouping.

Two levels of Beach Butler service would be available during the pilot period. The Basic Service would include installation and removal of one deluxe umbrella, two deluxe beach chairs, and one small service table for one day at the price of $50. (Rental of a chair or umbrella without the Beach Butler Service is $15 each.) A second “Custom” Service also would be available and would include the Basic Service plus two beach towels and two boxed lunches at a price to be negotiated between the City Manager and the concessionaire. “Beach Wheelchairs”, which enable wheelchair users to access the sand, are available for use free of charge from two of the three locations. No other services would be delivered outside of the concession beach stands.

The pilot period is proposed to extend from the date of amendment execution (approximately July 1, 2008) through Labor Day 2008. The concessionaire would be responsible for reporting revenues as part of its gross receipts, and paying the City 15% of gross receipts in accordance with the terms of the current concession contract.

Financial Impacts & Budget Actions

There would be no cost to the City associated with this service. Pursuant to the terms of the concession contract, the concessionaire would pay to the City 15% of gross receipts from this pilot service. If the maximum number of rentals ($50 for two umbrellas, ten umbrellas per location, three locations total) is made once each day, total gross receipts for the two month period would be approximately $6,000, of which $900 would be returned to the City’s Beach Fund in the form of concessionaire rental payments.

Prepared by:

Callie Hurd, Open Space Manager

Attachments 1 and 2

Approved:	Forwarded to Council:
Barbara Stinchfield Director, Community and Cultural Services Department	P. Lamont Ewell City Manager