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BACKGROUND In 1998 the Community Services Department entered into an agreement with AMS Planning and Research to create a Cultural Plan that would provide a road map for the arts in the coming years. The plan was incredibly useful in highlighting the needs of the arts community and preparing the Department for that need. The Plan was instrumental in the creation of the Firehouse Arts Center. Since the implementation of the plan, the scope of cultural art programming has continued to expand. To address this situation, the City Council's Annual Work Plan includes a Cultural Plan Update that would summarize themes, trends, and community priorities, assess available resources, review existing and anticipated demographic conditions, and provide strategies for cultural planning and programmatic needs. To address the City Council's priority, staff circulated a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Cultural Plan Update on July 2, 2012. To review proposals received, staff formed an nine (9) member screening committee comprised of staff from both the Community Services and Operation Services Department(s), two (2) members from the Civic Arts Commission, a prominent member from the art community, the President of the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council, and the Executive Director from the Museum on Main. A total of nine (9) proposals were received in response to the City's RFQ. All proposals were reviewed by the screening committee and interviews were conducted with the top five (5) firms. In accordance with the RFQ, proposal evaluations included cultural master plan experience, overall project approach, individual qualifications of project team members and project scope. Based on these criteria, the selection committee identified The Cultural Planning Group as the most qualified to complete the project. Overall, the committee felt that The Cultural Planning Group had the most relative cultural master planning experience and that The Cultural Planning Group's approach to community outreach and how to obtain input from stakeholders, best aligned with the cities' approach. Staff and The Cultural Planning Group have completed a contract review, including project scope and an agreement is presented for City Council review and approval. As indicated in Exhibit A to the recommended Agreement, the proposed Cultural Plan Update process includes the following: • Project preparation and document review. • A public involvement process including stakeholder interviews, formation of a steering committee, community meetings (2), focus group meetings, and a web based community survey. • Inventory of Facilities and Programs looking at both frequency of use, ages served, attendance and other pertinent details. • Comparative research of up to six (6) cities. Page 2 of 5