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By Jorge Casuso

July 7 -- The City Council Tuesday night is expected to approve $373,500 in new consulting fees to launch a panhandling education campaign, study how to add a new movie house to a proposed public parking structure and create a relocation plan for displaced mobile home park tenants.

The additions to the first two contracts, combined with the new $86,500 mobile home study, brings the total consulting fee for the three projects to $543,500.

The biggest contract increase -- $237,000 -- will help bankroll a $337,000 campaign to discourage the public from giving money to panhandlers and provide alternatives for those who want to help the homeless.

The additional funds will help GMMB “add focus groups to provide more extensive testing of the potential creative content, messages and alternative giving strategies for the campaign, and to implement phase two of the project,” according to staff.

Over the past four months, the consultants have gathered input from stakeholders and experts and surveyed more 300 residents and visitors to determine why they give money to panhandlers, staff said.

They also developed creative content and messages and tested ad campaigns with focus groups.

Phase two will include research to determine the scope of panhandling, develop ways to measure the success of the campaign and explore alternatives to handing out change, staff said.

The company also will launch an ad campaign that will include messages placed “in highly visible locations,” including the six Downtown public parking structures.

Consultants found that:

? Encountering panhandlers makes people feel annoyed, sad, sympathetic or uncomfortable,
? The public is highly receptive “to giving to alternative mechanisms located on or around the Third Street Promenade,” and
? Santa Monica residents and workers and frequent visitors to Downtown are less receptive to alternative giving

The City plans to launch the public education campaign in the fall

The council also is expected to add $50,000 to a $70,000 contract with IJM Enterprises for consulting services to help plan and develop new cinemas Downtown.

The added funding will be used to review proposals to develop a mixed-use cinema development project on the 30,000-square foot parcel of Parking Structure No. 3 at 1320 4th Street that would likely include a state-of-the-art cinema, ground-floor retail and subterranean parking. If a developer is selected, IJM could assist with the negotiations.

The Promenade Uses Task Force established in 2001 “concluded that the existing cinemas in the District are outdated and likely will become less competitive in the near future unless they can provide appropriate amenities such as stadium seating, state-of-the-art technology, and other amenities that new theaters offer,” staff wrote.

Entertainment, in addition to retail and restaurants uses, is seen as a key element of the Promenade’s success and it is viewed as a draw to help support other uses, the task force found.

Among the group’s recommendations was expanding the vitality of the Bayside District by encouraging cinema development outside of the Third Street Promenade, staff said.

The council also is expected to approve an $86,500 contract with Del Richardson & Associates for a tenant impact report and relocation plan for the anticipated closure of Village Trailer Park at 2930 Colorado.

The report, which is required by State law, will gauge the tenants’ relocation preferences, explain available relocation options and create a relocation plan.

The study also will determine the value of the mobile homes. ("Part I: Relocation Offer Raises Fears Among Trailer Park Tenants" and Part II: Negotiators Tackle Thorny Relocation Issues Facing Trailer Park Tenants," May 29, 2008.