Consideration and Approval of Street Closure(s):  2015 Dew Downtown Flagstaff Urban Ski and Snowboard Festival and Consideration and Approval of Amplification Exception:  2015 Dew Downtown Flagstaff Urban Ski and Snowboard Festival

• Approve the street closure on San Francisco Street between Birch Avenue and Dale Avenue on January 22, 2015 at 8:00 pm through January 25, 2015 at 11:59 pm; and
• Approve the street closure at Birch Avenue between Agassiz Street and San Francisco Street on January 23, 2015 at 8:00 am through January 25, 2015 at 11:59 pm; and
• Approve the amplification exception (to allow start box commentary, play-by-play commentary) on Sunday, January 25, 2015 between the hours of 9:00am - 12:00 pm noon.

By approving the Dew Downtown Flagstaff Urban Ski and Snowboard Festival street closure and amplification exception, the City is providing a safe location and promoting economic activity during the traditionally low sales performing month of January. 

Subsidiary Decisions Points: No subsidiary decision points.

Street closures change traffic patterns for local businesses and may have the potential to affect sales.  Based off of feedback from the 2012-2014 events, many businesses reported a significant increase in sales over the previous years and years prior to the creation of the Dew Downtown event.  Review of the sales tax data for the downtown area showed a comparable increase in February sales over previous years, which staff believes could be attributable to the Dew Downtown Flagstaff Urban Ski and Snowboard Festival.

Livability through good neighborhoods, affordable housing and varied recreational activities.

City Council approved the street closure for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 Dew Downtown Flagstaff Urban Ski and Snowboard Festivals.  Additionally City Council approved the amplification exception for the 2013-2014 festivals.

1) Deny the request to close the proposed downtown streets and not hold the event.
2) Deny the request to approve the amplification exception with play-by-play announcements as part of the special event permit packet.

The event features snowboarding and skiing on an urban course in the heart of historic downtown.  Snow is packed onto San Francisco Street between Birch and Dale Avenues, allowing skiers and snowboarders the opportunity to complete "tricks" while maneuvering various urban obstacles.  The event will run from 9:00am-8:00 pm on Saturday and 9:00am-3:00 pm on Sunday.

In addition to the activities on the course, vendors will set up on the street and on the County Courthouse lawn.  Types of items sold at the event include food, beer, ski and snowboard related items, and sponsors' wares.  The festival component of the event is managed by R Entertainment had will be moved to Birch Ave (Agassiz St to San Francisco St), contingent upon City Council approval.  The festival will focus on family friendly activities.

In August of 2012, the Dew Downtown Flagstaff Urban Ski and Snowboard Festival received the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association's award for "Most Outstanding Community and Neighborhood Event for a population of 25,000-100,000".

Street closures are permitted by Council action under the Special Events rules and regulations.  Of note, Cherry Avenue is a two-way street and its closure is allowable under the special event permit guidelines, without requiring permission of the City Council.

In 2012, this event drew roughly 10,000 spectators to the downtown area, increasing sales tax revenue.
In 2013, despite a blizzard, the event drew comparable numbers to 2012.
In 2014, this event drew roughly 15-20,000 spectators to the downtown area, increasing sales tax revenue.

The Dew Downtown Urban Ski and Snowboard Festival has become one of the centerpieces of the WinterFest activities.  This event will be advertised throughout Arizona and the Southwestern states.

The date for the 2015 festival was strategically chosen to occur slightly before the Phoenix Open and prior to the Superbowl in order to draw the crowd that will be in Phoenix for those events.

The special event is managed by the City of Flagstaff for the threefold purpose of (1) providing an economic stimulus for the community during the traditionally low performing month of January; (2) continue to brand Flagstaff as a four season tourism destination; and (3) provide a family-friendly winter event for all ages.

INFORM, CONSULT, and INVOLVE: City staff held a public meeting on July 28, 2014 and August 26, 2014.   The date and times of the July public meeting were posted in the July issue of the Downtown Newsletter.  The dates and times for the August public meeting were posted in the August edition of the Downtown Newsletter.  Additionally, door hangers were hand delivered on August 18th with the public meeting date and City Council date.  The Downtown Newsletter posted the time of the City Council meeting in the August and September edition.  The Downtown Newsletter is posted on the City of Flagstaff website (www.flagstaff.az.gov/downtown) as well as in the Heritage Square kiosk, library facility downtown, City Hall, and the Aquaplex.

No one attended the July 28th public meeting.  Approximately 6 people attended the August 26th meeting.  Comments from the August 26th meeting are as follows:

• Keep up the great work-the event is awesome & brings much needed $ to downtown Flag.
• This event wastes our precious water and closes down streets and access for downtown business in order to promote a single business which is outside City limits. 35,000 gallons of City drinking water was wasted and poured down the drawn last year. Our water in the Southwest is much too precious for this-Dawn Dyer
• Ditto
• You need to look at having different venues so the residents in the area are not disrupted every year. The noise level of the music and announcer was unbearable last yr (2013). I couldn't even walk down the sidewalk because of the snowboarders smoking.
• Keep ambassadors for directing cars to parking lots (County lot @ Leroux) & Cherry) and Catholic School. I like the changes this year.  -Gordon
• After labor (staff time) is calculated the City is losing or making money from this event.  including pre-event labor. -Moran (Friends of Flagstaff's Future)
• Is there a policy in place to direct snowmaking for new events? Meaning can anyone request snowmaking?  What was the decision process for granting snowmaking for this? -Moran (Friends of Flagstaff's Future)
• If Mt Dew is no longer a sponsor why are we giving corporate publicity by calling it Dew?  If they are a sponsor, it is a positive one for the health of the community (being a soda company). -Moran (Friends of Flagstaff's Future)
• Is there a difference between this event and other Winterfest events?  Meaning when we have snow they are a go and when not they don't?  Is this a fair process? -Moran (Friends of Flagstaff's Future)
• If the ?????? for this event financial has the City blocked at other downtown events options that don't require snowmaking, such as a marathon, carnival, etc. -Moran (Friends of Flagstaff's Future)
• Is this a good use of our precious water resources? -Moran (Friends of Flagstaff's Future)

1. Deny the request to close the proposed downtown streets

• Pro: No impact to the traffic flow in the north downtown area
• Con: Economic benefit may not be seen by Flagstaff businesses during a traditionally slow sales period.

2. Deny the request to approve the amplification exception to the special event permit packet

• Pro: No impact to surrounding businesses and residents
• Con: The ability to provide play-by-play commentary for the contestants and to call participants to the starting box for the competition portion of the event would be compromised.