AGENDA #7a
FOR
THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
Presented June 9, 2003
Pam Hemminger, Chair
Prepared for the CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
Pat Evans, Mayor pro tem
Flicka Bateman
Ed Harrison
Mark Kleinschmidt
Bill Strom
Dorothy Verkerk
Jim Ward
Edith M. Wiggins
By the STREET FAIR REVIEW COMMITTEE
Colleen Black-Semelka (Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission)
Linda Convissor (University of North Carolina)
Mildred Council (Downtown Merchant)
Fabian Farrington (Street Fair Non-Profit Organization Representative)
Paul Hepp (Downtown Church Representative)
Joe Herzenberg (Neighborhood Representative)
Robert Humphreys (Downtown Commission)
Julie Jennings (Downtown Merchant)
Edward Lebetkin (Street Fair Artist)
Meg McGurk (Neighborhood Representative)
Joyce Preslar (Street Fair Entertainer)
Dr. Wylie Quinn III (Downtown Church Representative)
RESOURCES
Parrish Anderson, Chapel Hill Parks & Recreation Department
Chris Blue, Chapel Hill Police Department
Eva Cohn, Chapel Hill Transportation Department
Forrest Heath, Chapel Hill Public Works Department
Tony Oakley, Chapel Hill Police Department
Sonya Reddick, Chapel Hill Parks & Recreation Department
Kathryn Spatz, Chapel Hill Parks & Recreation Department
Jack Terry, Chapel Hill Police Department
Wes Tilghman, Chapel Hill Parks & Recreation Department
HISTORY
On August 26, 2002, the Council received and referred a petition from a citizen asking that the Council evaluate the costs and benefits of the current Apple Chill Street Fair and consider other options.
At its September 18, 2003 meeting, the Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously (10-0) to recommend that they be involved in any process to evaluate the Apple Chill Fair.
At its October 7, 2002 meeting, the Council adopted a resolution referring the citizen petition to the Parks and Recreation Commission and the staff. The Parks and Recreation Commission and Manager are authorized and encouraged to take the following steps in the evaluation of the Town’s street fairs:
· Evaluate both Apple Chill and Festifall Street Fairs.
· Hold at least two Public Forums to address issues related to street fairs.
· Meet with affected parties including business owners, church leadership, fraternities, sororities, street fair vendors, and artisans.
· Perform community surveys of user satisfaction including surveys taken on-site at the 2003 Apple Chill Street Fair, by telephone, or through the mail. Surveys should also determine where users live.
· Expand the study beyond the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community. How many vendors are from the community, and how many are from other areas?
· Invite Representatives of downtown churches, affected neighborhoods, and downtown businesses to participate on the committee.
· The Council will accept applications and a committee will be appointed to conduct the evaluation. The Parks and Recreation Commission will make a recommendation on the composition of the committee and the Council would then appoint members.
· Review financial information and the impact of the fairs on Town Departments, particularly the impact on police resources and police coverage of the remainder of the Town during the fair.
· Evaluate all impacts, including nuisances, safety, traffic, and cost.
· All Town departments affected by the fair will assign a staff person to the committee.
· Recommend whether either or both fairs should be eliminated or changed and, if so, how.
At its October 21, 2002 meeting, the Council adopted a resolution authorizing the Manager and the Parks and Recreation Commission to recruit members for a street fair review committee comprised of representatives from the following stakeholders:
· Parks and Recreation Commission (4)
· Chapel Hill residents at large (2)
· Neighborhood representatives (2)
· Downtown Commission (1)
· Downtown merchants (2)
· Downtown churches (2)
· Street Fair artist (1)
· Street Fair entertainer (1)
· Street Fair non-profit organization (1)
· University of North Carolina (1)
· Visitors Bureau (1)
On January 13, 2003, the Council completed appointments to the Street Fair Review Committee.
WORK OF COMMITTEE
The Street Fair Review Committee first meeting was January 14, 2003. Since then, the Committee has met nine times and held two public forums.
The Committee has reviewed materials related to all aspects of the street fairs provided by the staff from the Police, Pubic Works, Transportation, and Parks & Recreation Departments. We have particularly evaluated the financial impact of the fairs in relation to the perceived community value of the events. The Committee has also received and considered correspondence related to the street fairs from approximately 70 citizens and evaluated the results of participant surveys from the 2002 Festifall and 2003 Apple Chill events.
The following highlights Festifall and Apple Chill street fair facts:
Location: Festifall West Franklin Street
Apple Chill East Franklin Street
Date/Time: Festifall 1st or 2nd Sunday in October, 1:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Apple Chill 3rd or 4th Sunday in April, 1:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Audience: Festifall 25,000+ attend the event
Apple Chill 35,000+ attend the event
Survey Results Where do you live? 61% Chapel Hill, 6% Durham, 13% Carrboro,
(485 Participants 1% Raleigh, 3% Orange County, 8% Other
Festifall 02 and
Apple Chill 03) Gender? 31% Male, 69% Female;
Ethnicity? 7% Asian, 12% African American, 70% Caucasian, 4% Latino, 2% Native American, 5% Other
Age? 2% 7yrs and younger, 7% 8-12 yrs, 9% 18-24yrs, 9% 18-24 yrs, 25% 25-35 yrs, 29% 36-50 yrs, 19% 51 yrs and older
Why did you attend? 25% Food, 27% Arts & Crafts, 25% Entertainment, 18% Community Event, 5% Other
How Many Street Fairs have you attended in Chapel Hill?27% First, 31% 1-3 yrs, 19% 4-7 yrs, 14% 8-11 yrs, 9% other
How do you rate the 2003 Apple Chill? 50% Same as previous yrs, 47% Better than previous yrs, 3% Worse than previous yrs
What do you find most successful about the street fairs? 21% Food Vendors, 24% Arts & Crafts Vendors, 16% Bands, 7% Group performers, 9% Kid Zone, 4% Volunteer Opportunities, 9% Non Profit Booths,
9% Location, 1% other
Vendor
Information: Apple Chill 2003 233 Total Vendors* _______
Orange County 134 vendors 57%
Rest of Triangle 46 20%
Rest of NC 46 20%
Out of State 7 3%
*Approximately 50 fewer vendors were accepted for the 2003 fair compared to the 30th anniversary 2002 Apple Chill event
Entertainment 48 performing acts ___________________
Orange County 37 77%
Rest of Triangle: 11 23%
Expenditures: 2003 Apple Chill Street Fair & Post Events $60,603
Fire: $300
Parks & Recreation: $11,084
Police (including post-fair events)**: $29,094
Public Works: $14,565
Transportation: $5,560
** The Police Department was unable to separate personnel time during the street fair from post fair personnel costs
Revenues: 2003 Apple Chill Street Fair $21,400
This includes approximately $15,400 in vendor fees
and $6000 in sponsorship revenue
Number of Apple Chill 2003 Fair Goers Using the Free Parks & Ride Service: 3,219
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee voted unanimously to adopt the following as a mission statement for the street fairs:
A festival that would bring whole families together to celebrate the diversity and the talent of the community, while strengthening the ties that often break down when towns grow and expand.
The Committee voted (13-3) to maintain 2 street fairs annually in the spring and Festifall in the fall. (Opposed: Hepp; Jennings; Quinn)
The committee voted unanimously to recommend that a Street Fair Steering Committee, comprised of representatives of all community stakeholders, be established as a means of continually developing, implementing, and evaluating the street fair planning process while reporting their findings to the Council annually. The committee stresses that pre-event communications regarding: parking, street closings and initial traffic plan with downtown churches, affected neighborhoods, and downtown businesses is essential to the success of any large downtown event. The committee also recommends the formation of a special subcommittee to the Steering Committee, to include public safety and traffic control experts with regard to the traffic flow issues.
The committee voted unanimously recommend that in recognition of its importance to our community, that the un-sponsored event that takes place during and after Apple Chill, be sponsored by the Town in cooperation with input from a Street Fair Steering Committee, including representation from local churches, business merchants, neighbors, youth/teens, the local chapter of the NAACP, and all other stakeholders, to ensure the safety and well being of all citizens of our community.
The Committee voted (14-2) to retain the current name of Apple Chill and Festifall for the spring and fall street fairs, respectively. (Opposed: Hepp; Jennings)
The Committee voted (14-2) to maintain the current locations for the Festifall on the west end of Franklin Street and Apple Chill on the east end. This was based on no discernable benefits to be gained with regards to challenges of traffic and public safety. (Opposed: Preslar; Jennings)
The Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the cost for providing free public transportation to and from the fairs from Town park and ride lots be covered by the Town rather than charging patrons for the trip, while expanding the incentives for patron participation by adding additional park & ride access locations.
The Committee voted (14-2) to recommend that the all vendors from Orange County or Town of Chapel Hill receive slightly discounted registration fees for future street fairs. The Committee believes this will support local artists and businesses while not severely penalizing non-locals. (Opposed: Battle; Bell )
The Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the staff experiment with putting vendors down the middle of the road, back-to-back when possible. The Committee believes this will clear pedestrian walkways on both sides of the Franklin Street and be more inclusive to the downtown merchants, subject to approval from the fire department.
The Committee voted (12-4) to recommend that the Town contact all community stakeholders in the University Mall/Estes Drive area as well as all Town departments to determine the feasibility of holding a fair at the Estes Drive site. (Opposed: Battle; Bell; Farrington; Hepp)
The following observations and concerns expressed by the committees:
We recognize multiple distinct events (including, but not limited to the Apple Chill Street Fair, a motorcycle event, a vehicular cruising, and a spontaneous cultural happening). The committee believes to simply attempt to manage the multiple events is not sufficient and recommend an attempt to establish communications with representatives among motorcycle event; vehicular cruising and a spontaneous cultural happening.
We recognize that it is speculative with regard to the idea that eliminating the Apple Chill Street Fair would end the after fair events. We understand that the Police prefer to continue the street fair so that they may adequately plan for the associated events rather than be surprised by them.
With respect to the expertise of our local and state public safety agencies, the committee recommends the Council seek the professional opinion of the Chapel Hill Police and other town departments with regards to how best to develop a comprehensive risk management plan ensuring public safety during and after the Apple Chill Street Fair.
Street Fair Committee Members Attendance for Final Votes
Present Absent
Fred Battle Paul P. Caldwell, Vice Chair
Chris Bell Mildred Council
Colleen Black-Semelka
Joe Blake
Terry Blalock
Linda Convissor
Fabian Farrington
Paul Hepp
Joe Herzenberg
Robert Humphreys
Julie Jennings
Edward Lebetkin
Meg McGurk
Joyce Preslar
Terri Tyson
Van Quinn
Present but not voting: Pam Hemminger, Chair