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7. BID FOR ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPALITIES OF ONTARIO (AMO) 2014/15/16 CONFERENCES
OFFRE
POUR LES CONFÉRENCES DE 2014, 2015 ET 2016 DE L’ASSOCIATION DES MUNICIPALITÉS
DE L’ONTARIO (AMO) |
That Council direct staff to prepare a submission to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Request for Proposal to host its 2014, 2015, and 2016 conferences.
RECOMMANDATION DU COMITÉ
Que le Conseil de demande à ses
employés de préparer une offre à la demande de proposition de l’Association des
municipalités de l’Ontario en vue d’être l’hôte de ses conférences de 2014,
2015 et 2016.
DOCUMENTATION
1. Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability report dated 1 November 2011 (ACS2011-ICS-CSS-0015).
2. Extract of Finance and Economic Development Committee Minutes of 1 November 2011.
Report to/Rapport au :
Finance and Economic Development Committee
Comité des finances et du développement
économique
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy
City Manager, Directrice municipale adjointe, Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability,
Services d'infrastructure et Viabilité des collectivités
Contact Person/Personne ressource: Johanne, Levesque, Director,
Community Sustainability /
Directrice, Viabilité des collectivités
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SUBJECT: |
BID FOR ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPALITIES OF ONTARIO (AMO) 2014/15/16 CONFERENCES |
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OBJET : |
OFFRE
POUR LES CONFÉRENCES DE 2014, 2015 ET 2016 DE L’ASSOCIATION DES MUNICIPALITÉS
DE L’ONTARIO (AMO) |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Finance and Economic Development Committee recommend Council direct staff to prepare a submission to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Request for Proposal to host its 2014, 2015, and 2016 conferences.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des finances et du développement
économique recommande au Conseil de demander à ses employés de préparer une
offre à la demande de proposition de l’Association des municipalités de
l’Ontario en vue d’être l’hôte de ses conférences de 2014, 2015 et 2016.
BACKGROUND
Each summer in August, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) holds its Annual General Meeting/Conference over the course of four days. The purpose of this event is to provide an opportunity for municipal leaders to learn, share knowledge and experiences, and participate in local tours that showcase innovation and successes. This event is Ontario’s largest municipal conference and attracts approximately 2,600 attendees, which includes 1,600 delegates, 100 companions, 142 exhibit booths, senior provincial and federal government elected officials, staff, and opinion makers from across Ontario.
To host the Annual General Meeting/Conference, municipalities must submit a bid in response to AMO's Request for Proposals (RFP) to select a host city. Cities are often eager to bid given the opportunities the conference provides to delegates as well as the economic impact it provides to the host city. It is estimated the annual economic impact of this event is approximately 2,200 hotel nights and $4M spent in the local economy on costs such as accommodations, tourism attraction and restaurants.
The City of Ottawa has been the host to AMO's Annual General Meeting/Conference a number of times including conferences in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Most recently, the City won the bid to host both the 2012 and 2013 conferences. In September of this year, AMO released a RFP for submissions to host its 2014, 2015 and 2016 conferences. Staff are recommending to Council that a submission be made by the City to host these conferences in Ottawa with funding received from the Convention Development Fund, a fund which is led by Ottawa Tourism and overseen by the Ottawa Convention Centre and the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association.
DISCUSSION
The City of Ottawa was recently selected to host AMO's annual conferences in 2012 and 2013. To successfully deliver these conferences, the City has committed a significant number of resources, including staff time, volunteers and a cash contribution of $35,000 in 2012 and $30,000 in 2013. The funding for these two events will come from the operating budget of the Economic Development Branch.
The AMO Conference does have a significant economic impact on Ottawa's hospitality sector (Ottawa Convention Centre, tourism attractions, hotels and restaurants). Consequently, there would be benefit in the city continuing to host the conference, most specifically in a bid for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 conferences. There is an opportunity to fund these conferences from the Convention Development Fund, which is administered by Ottawa Tourism and overseen by the Ottawa Convention Centre and the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association rather than through the operating budget of the Economic Development Branch. The organizations leading this fund would see the direct benefit of hosting these conferences. As such, Ottawa Tourism has committed to support the City in its bid to host the AMO conferences with funding of $35,000 in each of the years of the conferences to offset the costs (see Document 1).
In the event that Ottawa is successful in its bid to host the 2014, 2015 and 2016 conferences, a dedicated FTE from the Economic Development Branch will be required for a pre-determined period of time prior and during the event. The ability to provide this resource from the Branch's existing contingent of FTEs may result in other Economic Development projects and priorities being put on hold.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no rural implications associated with this report.
CONSULTATION
Staff have engaged Ottawa Tourism, the Ottawa Convention Centre and the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association in the development of this report.
N/A
There are no legal impediments to approving the recommendation in this report.
RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
There are no risk implications.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no direct financial implications associated with this report.
N/A
This report is aligns with the following objective in the City Strategic Plan: EP3 - Support growth of local economy.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Letter of Support from Ottawa Tourism
DISPOSITION
The Economic Development Branch to prepare the submission to AMO’s Request for Proposal and advise Council of the outcome.
DOCUMENT 1
BID FOR ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPALITIES OF ONTARIO (AMO) 2014/15/16 CONFERENCES
OFFRE POUR
LES CONFÉRENCES DE 2014, 2015 ET 2016 DE L’ASSOCIATION DES MUNICIPALITÉS DE
L’ONTARIO (AMO)
ACS2011-ICS-CSS-0015
city-wide / À l’Échelle de la ville
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Finance and Economic Development Committee recommend Council direct staff to prepare a submission to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Request for Proposal to host its 2014, 2015, and 2016 conferences.
DIRECTIONS TO STAFF:
Staff was directed to pursue the 2017 Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference when submitting the Request for Proposal for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 conferences.
The report recommendation was then put to Committee and CARRIED as presented.