REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
November 17, 2016
FROM : BRUCE RUDD, City Manager
BY: WILMA QUAN-SCHECTER, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT
Title
Approve and ratify a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fresno Food Exposition for $125,000
Body
RECOMMENDATION
The Mayor and City Manager recommend that the City Council approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Fresno Food Exposition (Expo) for a $125,000 sponsorship as budgeted in the FY 2017 budget approved by the City Council. The sponsorship is for the 2016 and 2017 annual marketing efforts and trade shows for the purpose of expanding the promotion and marketing of all food industry related companies in the greater Fresno area to new local, regional, national and international markets through the efforts of the Expo. Furthermore, these marketing efforts will continue to position the City of Fresno as the lead agency heading the efforts for branding our region as the undisputed food capital of the world.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Mayor and City Manager recommend that the City Council approve an MOU to continue sponsorship of the Expo for 2016 and 2017 as approved in the FY 2017 budget. When the City piloted the Expo in 2011, the expectation was that the City would house the initiative and "incubate" it, but as soon as the concept had been proven, the show would launch as a stand-alone, non-profit with the ambition of growing the show to the size of the World Ag Expo in Tulare. After five increasingly successful shows, the Fresno Food Expo Industry Advisory Committee supported the launch of the trade show and established its own 501c-6 entity in October of 2016 as a means to continue the show and to serve our region's largest export-oriented industry.
While housed at the City, the City annually provided approximately $125,000 of in-kind staff and services to organize, manage and raise the necessary funding to execute a successful trade show. The City no longer provides those in-kind services ...
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