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Public Works Agency <br />www.santa-ana.org/pw <br />Item # 13 <br />City of Santa Ana <br />20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br />Staff Report <br />February 17, 2026 <br />TOPIC: Award an Agreement to Creative Outdoor Advertising of America, Inc., for <br />Management of Advertising Services at Bus Stops <br />AGENDA TITLE <br />Award an Agreement to Creative Outdoor Advertising of America, Inc., for Management <br />of Advertising Services at Bus Stops (Specification No. 25-107) (General Fund) <br />RECOMMENDED ACTION <br />Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute an agreement with Creative <br />Outdoor Advertising of America, Inc., to sell space to advertisers at bus stops throughout <br />the City for a term beginning February 17, 2026, and expiring February 16, 2029, with <br />provisions for two, one-year extensions (Agreement No. A-2026-XXX). <br />GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: Yes <br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br />On January 18, 2022, the City entered into an agreement with Focus Media Group, Inc. <br />(FMG) for bus stop maintenance and advertising, with provisions for the City to receive <br />revenue after deduction for maintenance costs. FMG generally performed contract <br />maintenance well, however, it failed to generate sufficient advertising revenue, resulting in <br />no revenue share to the City. After FMG was acquired by Creative Outdoor Advertising <br />(COA) in June 2024, COA demonstrated strong advertising expertise but limited <br />maintenance capacity. Efforts to increase sales have been successful, yet insufficient to <br />fully cover the maintenance costs. <br />As a result of a competitive procurement process, Staff recommends the City enter into <br />a new agreement with COA to solely provide advertising at City bus stops throughout the <br />City. The agreement would replace the existing advertising and maintenance agreement <br />with FMG. Staff recommends terminating the existing agreement with FMG (now COA) <br />because: 1) the maintenance service levels provided did not result in sufficiently clean <br />locations, 2) none of the expected revenue materialized because the revenue share was <br />net of FMC's maintenance costs, and 3) resulted in additional expenditures by the City to <br />pay for enhanced maintenance services. <br />The new agreement with COA would allow COA to advertise at bus stops in the City and <br />provide the City with guaranteed minimum revenue of $160,000 per year, however, it will <br />