Growing Sustainable Communities Contract with Sustainable City NetworkMasterpiece on the Mississippi
Dubuque
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AI- America City
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2007 • 2012 • 2013
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Growing Sustainable Communities Conference Contract with Sustainable
City Network
DATE: July 31, 2013
Sustainable Community Coordinator Cori Burbach recommends City Council approval
of an agreement with Sustainable City Network, Inc. and Woodward Communications
for co- management of the 6th Annual Growing Sustainable Communities Conference to
be held September 24 and 25, 2013.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
Michael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
Cori Burbach, Sustainable Community Coordinator
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: Michael Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Cori Burbach, Sustainable Community Coordinator
DATE: July 29, 2013
SUBJECT: Growing Sustainable Communities Conference Contract with Sustainable City Network
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INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memo is to request Council approval of the attached agreement with Sustainable City Network, Inc. and
Woodward Communications for co- management of the 6th Annual Growing Sustainable Communities Conference to be held
September 24 -25, 2013.
BACKGROUND
Since 2007, the City has hosted the Growing Sustainable Communities Conference with a goal of educating regional
community leaders about ways they can make their communities more sustainable. In2010,the conference was expanded
from a luncheon with a keynote speakerto a one -day conference with four tracts and over40 speakers in addition to the
keynote luncheon speaker. Last year's conference was attended by approximately 460 people from 92 different cities across
21 states.
Sustainable City Network, Inc. (SCN) was formed in 2010 as a business -to- government media and publishing company
based in Dubuque with a mission of providing municipal professionals with quality and timely information on sustainability
products, services and best practices. In 2011, the City partnered with SCN to host the conference. This partnership
allowed us to expand the target audience to a larger geographic region and include the private sector in a more prominent
way. SCN was a key partner in the success of the conference, managing all marketing of the event and securing
approximately 40 sponsors. Sustainable City Network is now owned and operated by Woodward Communications, Inc.
DISCUSSION
The attached agreement defines service, revenue and expense responsibilitiesforCity and SCN staff in order to conduct the
two -day conference. It also defines responsibilities of City and SCN staff. In summary, SCN will be responsible for all
activities related to the promotion of the event, signage at the event, attendee registration, securing of sponsorships, and
management of the exhibit hall. SCN would retain all revenue from sponsors in addition to $5 per registered attendee to
cover the e- registration costs.
City staff will be primarily responsible for determination of workshop content and will manage venue rental, food /beverage
arrangements, and speaker arrangements. The City will retain attendee registration costs with the exception of the $5 noted
above.
City and SCN will collaborate to secure keynote speakers and any sponsors required to finance those speakers.
This year, the City and SCN are working closely with the Iowa League of Cities, who will host their annual conference in
Dubuque September 25 -27. We hope that by coordinating and offering attendees and exhibitors special incentives to attend
both, we can achieve record registrations.
PROJECT COST - BUDGET IMPACT
A budget for the conference will be mutually agreed upon by City and SCN staff. Attendee registrations and sponsorships
are expected to cover expenses associated with the conference.
ACTION TO BE TAKEN
I respectfully recommend Council approval of the attached agreement with Sustainable City Network, Inc. and Woodward
Communications for the management of the 2013 Growing Sustainable Communities Conference.
CC:
Tom Woodward, Woodward Communications, Inc.
Karen Ruden, Sustainable City Network
AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
AND
SUSTAINABLE CITY NETWORK, Inc.
This Agreement, dated for reference purposes the day of 2013, is
made and entered into by and between the City of Dubuque, Iowa and Sustainable City
Network (SCN), which is owned and operated by Woodward Communications, Inc.
(WCI).
Whereas, the City of Dubuque (City) and Sustainable City Network (SCN), ,
successfully co- produced and co- managed the Growing Sustainable Communities
Conference (Conference) in 2011 and 2012, and in 2012 attracted approximately 460
attendees from 92 different cities across 21 states; and
Whereas, the CITY and SCN desire to continue their strategic partnership to
grow and enhance the Conference in order to further establish the City as a local and
national leader in sustainability, provide Dubuque with short- and long -term economic
benefits, and provide SCN the opportunity to grow its content offerings, brand, and
revenue sources to support existing and create new jobs; and
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS AGREED BY AND BETWEEN THE PARTIES AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The City and SCN will enter into an agreement to jointly plan and execute
the 2013 Growing Sustainable Communities Conference.
SECTION 2. SERVICES PROVIDED BY SCN. SCN agrees to provide to City the
following:
1. Conference promotion, including editorial coverage and banner ads on
sCityNetwork.com, SCN e-mail newsletter advertising, direct e-mail invites to
SCN's 25,000 subscribers, print ads in SCN's publication and other promotion
as guided by the agreed upon promotion schedule and plan.
2. Conference collateral, including overall brand /creative, signage, name tags,
and program.
3. Conference website, including attendee e- commerce registration.
4. Assistance in the determination of Conference programming tracks and
related workshops, identifying workshop presenters and related logistics.
5. Assistance in identifying keynote presenters.
6. Assistance with attendee check -in and registration, technical support for
presenters, and moderator scripts.
7. Sales and sales support, including exhibit space of Conference sponsors.
8. Provide two (2) laptop computers to be utilized by presenters.
SECTION 3. SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE CITY. The City agrees to provide the
following:
1. Serve as the primary contracting and planning agent for the Conference's
hotel(s), venue(s), food & beverage, and A.V. needs.
2. Primary responsibility in the determination of Conference programming tracks
and related workshops, identifying qualified workshop presenters, and
fulfilling lodging reservations for presenters.
3. Primary responsibility in the selection and securing of keynote presenter(s).
4. Network with peers and colleagues, including sending personal invites to
attend the Conference to achieve targeted attendee goals as well as send
press releases to media and identified associations.
5. Provide staff or volunteers to assist at the Conference for check -in,
registration, and technical support during the Conference.
6. Secure moderators for Conference Workshops.
7. Provide four (4) laptop computers to be utilized by presenters.
SECTION 4. Additionally, the City and SCN agree to the following:
1. The City and SCN will establish an Implementation Team (TEAM) comprised
of City staff and SCN staff, with a designated representative from each
organization with decision making authority. The TEAM will coordinate to plan
and execute the 2013 Conference and shall meet in person twice (2) monthly
for one (1) hour, and, six weeks prior to the Conference, once a week for one
(1) hour. The designated representatives with decision making authority will
be present and available throughout the Conference.
2. All promotion and branding collateral will display the City of Dubuque's and
SCN's names as partners in hosting the Conference.
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3. SCN is solely responsible for the determination of sponsorship packages and
rates.
SECTION 5. CONFERENCE BUDGET. The CITY and SCN will develop an agreed
upon Conference Budget no later than August 15, 2013 that includes a targeted number
of attendees and associated registration fees, sponsorship revenue sources and related
goals, and overall Conference expenses. The CITY and SCN agree not to vary from
Conference Budget unless agreed upon in writing.
SECTION 6. REVENUE and EXPENSE RESPONSIBILITES. Revenue and
Expenses generated from the Conference will be divided in the following way:
1. All revenue generated from secured sponsorships will be retained by SCN in
order to cover the cost of providing the services identified in Section 2 of this
Agreement. Additionally, WCI will retain $5.00 per registered attendee, not
including registered attendees who are speakers, sponsors and City of
Dubuque employees, to cover the e- commerce set -up, transaction, and
management costs.
2. Expenses associated with the paid sponsorship Exhibit Space shall be the
responsibility of SCN, either paid directly to the venue or reimbursed to the
CITY. Additionally, actual food and beverage expense associated with
registered attendee sponsor(s) shall be the responsibility of SCN and be
reimbursed to the CITY.
3. All revenue generated from attendee registrations will be retained by the City
in order to cover the cost of providing the services identified in Section 3 of
this Agreement.
4. Expenses associated with presenter(s), including speaking fees, travel and
lodging, are the responsibility of the CITY. Expenses and potential
sponsorships associated with keynote speaker(s) will be mutually agreed
upon by the City and SCN.
SECTION 7. TERM. The term of this Agreement shall commence on the day of
2013 and shall continue until December 31, 2013. Following completion of
the Conference, both parties will meet to discuss future opportunities for partnership
and Conference expansion.
SECTION 8. NOTICES. Any notice required by this Agreement shall be provided to
the parties at the following addressed:
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CITY:
SCN:
City of Dubuque, Iowa
c/o City Manager
City Hall
50 W. 13th St.
Dubuque, IA 52001
Attn: Karen Ruden
Sustainable City Network.
801 Bluff St
Dubuque IA 52001
CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA SUSTAINABLE CITY NETWORK
Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager Karen Ruden, Publisher
WOODWARD COMMUNICATION, Inc.
Tom Woodward, President/CEO
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