Title
Personal Services Agreement with the Downtown Oregon City Association for Oregon City Elevator Kiosk Staffing
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Staff recommends that the City Commission approve the Oregon City Elevator Kiosk Staffing Agreement.
BACKGROUND:
The Oregon City Elevator Kiosk Staffing proposal was reviewed by the Commission at the November 6, 2019 meeting. Staff has corrected the funding request to accurately reflect the hours that will be worked and clarified that the payment for services will be based on invoices provided for hours worked rather than averaged for the entire year. Language has been added to clarify that the kiosk will serve as a visitor engagement portal to Oregon City's historic downtown and will help visitors explore the historic McLoughlin neighborhood and numerous other historic and visitor opportunities throughout the City. DOCA will coordinate with the City to ensure that the Kiosk content and the materials distributed at the Kiosk represent tourism and visitor opportunities for the entire City and are consistent with the goals of the Oregon City Tourism Strategic Plan. Since this is a pilot program that was initially brought forth through a grant program with the City, it shows DOCA's uniquely qualified to undertake this project. Due to the qualifications demonstrated by DOCA to perform this service, the metro enhancement grant funding awarded to DOCA for the Elevator Kiosk and that this is a pilot program, this contract is being entered into without a competitive bidding process. Staff is requesting that the Commission aprove the Personal Services Agreement for an amount not to exceed $20,000 to allow for a small contingnecy amount should additional Kiosk staffing time be requested by the City for special events or similar tourism opportunities outside the staffing hours of the proposal.
The Downtown Oregon City Association (DOCA) received a Metro Enhancement Grant for the construction of an Elevator Kiosk, which has been completed and will be utilized to continue to promote the Oregon City Elevator and the City as a tourism destination. The Elevator Kiosk will be located at the top of the Elevator and will support many of the City's Strategic Initiatives, such as building tourism leadership capabilities, enhancing the brand of Oregon City, coordinating tourism assets through collaboration and cultivating and curating a portfolio of experiences. The Elevator Kiosk will serve as a visitor engagement portal to Oregon City's downtown, will provide an array of visitor-focused information and will help visitors explore the historic McLoughlin neighborhood, along with many other locations in Oregon City. In an effort to provide exemplary customer service and meet several of the Strategic Initiatives identified within the City's Tourism Strategic Plan, all Elevator Kiosk employees will participate in a Travel Oregon Gold customer service training program, which will be funded by the City. The cost of the program is $30 per person.
The Elevator Kiosk will be operated as follows in 2020:
March - May and October - December: Friday and Saturday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm (8 hours per week)
June - September: Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm (48 hours per week)
The Oregon City Kiosk Staffing Agreement is a one-year funding committment from the City of $17,991.54. The agreement will expire on December 31, 2020. The funding source will be from the Tourism Budget, which is funded through the Transient Room Tax, which is a dedicated fund for tourism related activities. Given the pilot nature of this program, DOCA will work proactively to develop a sustainable funding stream to support Elevator Kiosk activities beyond the lifespan of this proposal. Since this is a pilot program that was initially brought forth through a grant program with the City, it shows DOCA's uniquely qualified to undertake this project. Due to the qualifications demonstrated by DOCA to perform this service, the metro enhancement grant funding awarded to DOCA for the Elevator Kiosk and that this is a pilot program, this contract is being entered into without a competitive bidding process.
DOCA will explore additional funding sources, such as net proceeds from merchandise sales at the Elevator Kiosk, tourism development and implementation grants and collaboration with existing and new stakeholders.
DOCA will provide quarterly reports to the City's Economic Development Department on metrics tracked at the Elevator Kiosk, including the number of visitors to the Elevator, number of walk-ins assisted by the Elevator Kiosk staff and retail sale numbers.
BUDGET IMPACT:
Amount: $20,000.00
FY(s): 2019-20 and 2020-21
Funding Source: Economic Development - Tourism