REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
September 24, 2015
FROM: ASHLEY SWEARENGIN, Mayor
Mayor's Office
SUBJECT
Title
Recommend City Council approve an extension to the current agreement between the City of Fresno and the Fresno Food Exposition, 501(c)(6), for the use of the Fresno Food Convention for five years, starting in July 2016 through 2021
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve an extension to the current agreement between the City of Fresno and the Fresno Food Exposition for the use of the Fresno Convention Center, New Exhibit Hall, for an additional five years, starting in July 2016 through 2021, for the primary purpose of continuing to enhance economic development and job creation activities in the food industry in the Fresno region through the efforts of the Fresno Food Expo.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Mayor and City Manager jointly recommend that the City Council approve an extension to the current agreement between the City of Fresno and the Fresno Food Exposition for the use of the Fresno Convention Center, New Exhibit Hall, for five years, starting in July 2016 through 2021. When the Swearengin Administration piloted the Fresno Food Expo in 2011, the expectation was that the City would house the initiative and "incubate" it, but that 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 Tulare Ag Show. After five increasingly successful shows, the Fresno Food Expo Industry Advisory Committee is ready to support the launch of the trade show as its own economic development initiative. The Fresno Food Expo Industry Advisory Committee was established as a means to continue the show and to serve our region's largest export oriented industry. The formation of a stand-alone nonprofit dedicated exclusively to the Food Expo is essential to ensuring the efforts for the Fresno Food Expo to be a continued driving e...
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