Background on the Birthday Package Offering
In 2017, a resident contacted the city saying that her young son loves trucks and wondered if the city could host a birthday party in the new public works facility. While the use of the public works facility was not feasible, city staff saw young children’s birthday parties as an opportunity to perform outreach in the community, build awareness of public works and help support a fun event.
While developing a “
Birthday Party Package,” the goal was to keep the cost reasonable, but to not cost the city any money for the event, all while providing something of value. The public works equipment was the focus of the package, and an operator was needed for transportation. Because there are a limited number photos that can be taken around a large piece of equipment, it was decided that one-hour was an appropriate length of time at the party. Per union contract, any staff who work overtime are guaranteed a two-hour minimum; therefore, the one-hour event time leaves one hour for cleaning the equipment and transporting it to and from the event. Since drive time was another consideration, only equipment that can easily be driven down the street at a reasonable speed will visit the parties. Currently, these options are a single axle dump truck, loader or street sweeper.
Finally, Gopher State One Call and the Minnesota Safety Council have free training and educational materials for children. Since these groups are looking for opportunities to share their information, the materials are provided at no cost to promote safety.
The Birthday Package
For current pricing, email the
public works department. The package covers the two-hour overtime minimum for staff and the equipment drive time to and from the site (the equipment is parked and turned off while at the event). The link below includes an agreement form that was prepared by the city attorney that must be signed by the host. It covers liability, supervision and other specifics related to the event.
Some additional items can be included with the package for extra cost, including children's plastic hard hats, plastic cones and children’s safety vests with the City of Crystal logo with the text “Junior Public Works." Some of these items can be purchased, while others can be rented. These items have a markup and are listed on the Birthday Party Order Form.
City staff are not aware of these "Birthday Party Packages" being offered in other communities. The city is offering them to build awareness of Crystal Public Works and to provide a unique birthday party opportunity for residents at no added cost to the city.
Click
here for the Birthday Party Package order form.