Submitted By: John Spencer
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Presentation By: John Spencer
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Department: Recreation and Parks
STAFF RECOMMENDATION (Motion Ready):
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Approve Exhibition Rental Agreements with the Omaha Children’s Museum for two professional educational traveling exhibits at the Discovery Center in the amount of $99,000
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OCALA’S RELEVANT STRATEGIC GOALS:
Fiscally Sustainable
PROOF OF PUBLICATION:
N/A
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BACKGROUND:
Historically, educational exhibits for the Discovery Center were created in-house by Discovery Center staff. In January 2024, the Discovery Center transitioned to renting professional educational traveling exhibits. Professional traveling exhibits provide unique interpretive displays and content that in-house staff is unable to create themselves. The overall intent for transitioning to professional traveling exhibits was to provide a better educational experience for patrons of the Center. Traveling exhibits are typically contracted one to two years in advance so the Licensor has time to schedule transportation and installations with various educational organizations and museums.
The Discovery Center has scheduled to rent two educational traveling exhibits from Omaha Children’s Museum for exhibits in 2025 and 2026.
• Bug Squad is scheduled for Summer 2025 (late May through August). Bug Squad traveling exhibit rental costs are $47,000.
• Forever Forest is scheduled for Winter 2026 (January through early May). Forever Forest traveling rental costs are $52,000.
City staff at the Discovery Center will install, facilitate, and maintain the traveling exhibits for the duration of each rental agreement.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS:
Approximately 18,000 people visit the Discovery Center each year. Since the transition to traveling exhibits, daily entry attendance has increased approximately 25% and is on target to reach over 21,000 entries this year.
These two traveling exhibits agreements provide a cost-effective approach to meeting the Discovery Center strategic plan goals of (1) Quality of Place: Customer Satisfaction Discovery Center and (2) Operational Excellence: Admissions to Discovery Center.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total rental cost for the two scheduled traveling exhibits from the Omaha Children’s Museum is $99,000. The Bug Squad traveling exhibit rental (Contract REC 240762) is $47,000 and the Forever Forest traveling exhibit rental (Contract REC 240767) is $52,000. The rental cost does not include in-bound shipping (based upon actual travel distances) for each of the exhibits.
There are not any significant operational expense changes since the general ledger funding previously used for in-house exhibit construction were transferred to renting of traveling exhibits. Future operational budgets submissions were based on solely renting traveling exhibits.
All rental and shipping costs will be budgeted in the Recreation and Parks Department’s budget in accounts 001-021-151-575-57-42010 and 001-021-151-575-57-44010.
PROCUREMENT REVIEW:
The agreement has been reviewed in compliance with the City's Procurement Policy.
LEGAL REVIEW:
This Agreement has been reviewed and approved for form and legality by City Attorney, William E. Sexton.
ALTERNATIVE:
• Approve with Changes
• Table
• Deny