The City has, since 2016, had a relationship with CGI Communications for a similar P3 to develop a community video series at no cost to the City.  Those videos can be accessed from the front page of the city's website under the "Video Tour of Hermiston" button in the bottom right of the page.  In exchange for producing these videos for the City, and updating them every 2-3 years, the City allows CGI to sell advertising space around the videos to local businesses.

The banner program being proposed uses the same partnership model.  CGI promises to produce, install, and maintain at least 25 decorative banners to go on city-selected poles in the downtown, in exchange for the right to sell sponsorships of the flags.  If CGI sells zero sponsorships, then the City is still owed the flags, installation, maintenance, etc. for the three years of the agreement.  However, based on the participation in the video series, that scenario is doubtful.  The video series has 48 local businesses participating in the advertising program.

In the likelihood that CGI will obtain more than 25 sponsorships, City Staff has identified 36 viable poles in the downtown core, with the opportunity for up to 58 sponsorships due to most of the poles being ideal for double-banners.

In addition to covering the production cost of the banners, CGI will install them and maintain them for the three year agreement.  Part of that maintenance includes annually replacing all banners with a new design to ensure that the banners remain in good condition and the imagery remains fresh, as well as replacing any banners damaged by wind or other factors throughout the year.

The City of Hermiston retains full artistic control of all banner designs; including the 30% of the banner displaying the sponsor.  City Staff has verified that part of this control includes limiting the sponsor display to simple text uniform to all banners; which has been done in other cities CGI works with.  This control will prevent any logos, wordmarks, etc. from conflicting with the City's branding.

CGI offers graphic design services to develop the banner designs at no cost to the city; however, due to the City's established relationship with PacWest Communications, CGI will allow the City to produce and submit our own banner designs.  Several of those possible design options are attached as conceptual renderings.  The purpose of the action tonight is not to pick one of the banner designs; but rather to just approve the concept of this partnership.

Part of the City's Wayfinding Signage planning work included a component on banners, and this proposed program falls in line well with the recommendations from that plan.  The biggest component of this effort is the concept of 'place-making,' which is a way of visually communicating that drivers and pedestrians have entered a distinct area; in this case, the downtown commercial core.  In following that concept, attached is proposed map of all 36 potential pole placements in the downtown core.  Aside from establishing a sense of place in the downtown core, these poles were also selected because they are fed by underground power.  Hermiston Energy Services, which owns almost all of the poles, does not allow attachments like this on poles which have overhead power coming to them for safety reasons.  This prohibition on poles served by overhead power eliminates the vast majority of poles in the city from consideration, and is entirely why the linear paths of banners shown on Main and on Hermiston Avenue begin and end where they do.

1.  Accept the terms of this Public-Private-Partnership.

2.  Reject the terms of this Public-Private-Partnership.