The right to pour: Pepsi given edge in local cola wars

The winner in the latest round of Dodge City’s cola wars is ... Pepsi.
    The Dodge City Commission voted unanimously Monday to award soft-drink pouring rights at all city-owned properties, including All 4 Fun and the Civic Center, to Pepsi. The decision clears the way for the Parks and Recreation Department to negotiate a final contract with Pepsi.
    A pouring-rights contract gives the vendor exclusive rights to distribute its product at city-owned properties, plus some advertising privileges, in exchange for certain commitments. In this case, the city had asked vendors for set product prices, dispensing equipment and a financial sponsorship based on a five-year contract.
    The set product prices from both companies were similar, but in the end, Pepsi's financial sponsorship offer made the difference. The company proposed a $37,500 cash sponsorship, to be paid out annually over the life of the contract.
    Coke, on the other hand, offered a $20,000 cash sponsorship to be paid over the life of the contract.
    Parks and Recreation director Paul Lewis said that Pepsi's overall proposal would cost the city approximately $1,700 more a year in product expenses, but the company's cash sponsorship offer would offset those costs.
    "In evaluating both proposals, Pepsi has provided the financially superior proposal to us," he said. "They've provided services at different facilities in recent years in their contracts and have always provided excellent service."
    Lewis said the contract would place all Parks and Recreation facilities under a single pouring-rights contract, which would make ordering and distribution easier.
    Commissioner Monte Broeckelman wondered whether the profit margin would be higher if the city offered fountain service at its facilities instead of bottles.
    "Is that something we could look into?" he said.
    Lewis noted that the city offers fountain service at the Civic Center and at All 4 Fun, and he agreed that fountain service had a slightly higher profit margin than bottled service. But he said that demand wasn't enough to support fountain service at all facilities, especially at the athletic fields.
    "Our experience has been even at the Civic Center, bottles outsell fountain almost three to one," he said.
    The contract will not apply to Dodge City Raceway Park and the upcoming special events center, which are managed by private contractors.
    In other business, the commission:
    • Postponed a decision on buying playground equipment for the St. Mary soccer complex until the commissioners could see pictures of the equipment that Parks and Recreation staff had recommended.
    Parks and Rec recommended buying a GameTime XScape system from the firm Cunningham and Associates for $19,999.92. But Commissioner Kent Smoll wanted to know  why that equipment cost nearly $8,000 more than a similar system from a different company.
    The other commissioners said they wanted to see pictures of the XScape system before making a decision.
    • Authorized city staff to negotiate a contract with the engineering firm BHC Rhodes for extending the bicycle/pedestrian path in north Dodge.
    Lewis recommended BHC Rhodes for the bike trail because the company is currently working on the 14th Avenue reconstruction project, which will intersect with the extended trail.
    • Approved a new franchise agreement with Southwestern Bell, doing business as AT & T Kansas, which authorizes the company to continue providing local phone service in Dodge City.
    Under the agreement, the city will collect a fee of $2.50 per month for each access line from AT & T. The company will then recover that fee from its customers.
    The agreement will continue until Dec. 31, 2010.

Reach Eric Swanson at (620) 408-9917 or e-mail him at eric.swanson@dodgeglobe.com.