Arts Economic Impact Study OpportunityCopyrighted
June 21, 2021
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 12.
City Council Meeting
ITEM TITLE: Arts Economic Impact Study Opportunity
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending approval for Dubuque to participate in an
economic impact study of the arts in Dubuque.
SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Approve
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Arts Economic Impact Study Opportunity- MVM Memo City Manager Memo
Staff Memo
Staff Memo
Staff Memo (2) Staff Memo
THE C
DUUB_-_*._TE
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Arts Economic Impact Study Opportunity
DATE: June 15, 2021
Dubuque
*Amrin Cia
2007-2012.2013
2017*2019
Economic Development Director Jill Connors recommends City Council approval for
Dubuque to participate in an economic impact study of the arts in Dubuque.
The Iowa Arts Council is serving as a study partner for Americans for the Arts in their
next economic impact study. If Dubuque should participate in this study, the Iowa Arts
Council will contribute half of the cost of participation, reducing the City's cost to $3,000.
Sufficient funds are available from savings of not holding the Art on the River event in
the summer of 2020.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
v
Mic ael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Jill M. Connors, Economic Development Director
Jenni Petersen -Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator
THE CITY OF
E
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
Dubuque
AII•Amerin City
NniK���i rnz: u;v�ur
2007-2012.2013
2017*2019
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Jill M. Connors, Economic Development Director
SUBJECT: Arts Economic Impact Study Opportunity
DATE: June 15, 2021
INTRODUCTION
Economic Development
Department
1300 Main Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4763
Office (563) 589-4393
TTY (563) 690-6678
http://www.cityofdubuque.org
This memorandum serves to inform the City Manager of an opportunity for Dubuque to
participate in an economic impact study of the arts in Dubuque, and to request next steps.
BACKGROUND
In 2012 the City participated in an American for the Arts Economic Impact Study which
showed a $47 million economic impact from the non-profit arts and culture sector.
Americans for the Arts is preparing to launch another such study.
DISCUSSION
This year, the Iowa Arts Council is serving as a study partner for Americans for the Arts
in their next economic impact study. If Dubuque should choose to participate in this study,
the Iowa Arts Council will contribute half of the cost of participation, reducing the City's
cost to $3,000.
Our department has sufficient funds to pay for this opportunity, using funds from the
savings of having not held the Art on the River event in the summer of 2020. Director of
Finance and Budget, Jennifer Larson, has confirmed that these funds are available.
I believe this is a good use of these funds and an excellent opportunity to renew our
commitment to understanding how the arts improve our community in not just an aesthetic
way, but as an economic driver.
More details on the program can be found in the attached memo from Jenni Petersen -
Brant.
RECOMMENDATION/ ACTION STEP
With your concurrence, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator, Jenni Petersen -Brant will
officially express interest in participating in the program.
Cc: Jenni Petersen -Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator
2
Dubuque
THE CITY OF
ml•AMa'iii Ch
DUB TE
2007.2012.2013
Masterpiece on the Mississippi 2017*2019
TO: Jill Connors, Economic Development Director
FROM: Jenni Petersen -Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator
Economic Development Department
Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs
1300 Main St
Dubuque, IA 52001
Office (563) 589-4393
TTY (563) 690-6678
http://www.cityofdubuque.org
SUBJECT: Opportunity to Participate in Americans for the Arts' Arts & Economic
Prosperity VI Study
DATE: June 15, 2021
INTRODUCTION
This memo serves to notify Economic Development Director that the City of Dubuque
has been invited by the Iowa Arts Council to participate in the Americans for the Arts'
Arts & Economic Prosperity VI Study and requests next steps be taken as needed to
authorize participation in said study.
BACKGROUND
The Iowa Arts Council (IAC) will be serving as a study partner for Americans for the
Arts' (AFTA) upcoming Arts & Economic Prosperity VI Study (AEP6), which is the
largest study of its kind about the economic impact of the nonprofit arts and cultural
industry in communities.
The City of Dubuque participated in AFTA's Arts & Economic Prosperity VI Study in
2012. That study showed that Dubuque's arts and culture nonprofit sector generates
$47.2 million in annual economic activity, supporting 1,530 full-time equivalent jobs and
generating $5 million in local and state government revenues and $36.7 million in
household income to local residents. This previous study has been invaluable to the
City, the Council, the arts and culture sector, and private partners in securing funding,
grant making, advocacy, and benchmarking; participation in the new AEP6 provides a
timely opportunity to calculate and community current impacts to continue prioritization
and investment in the arts and culture sector to help foster an equitable community of
choice and a vibrant quality of life in Dubuque.
DISCUSSION
With the IAC's participation as the lead study partner, the City of Dubuque will receive a
50% discount on the study fee. For communities of 100,000 or less, the full study fee is
$6,000, half of which will be subsidized by the IAC; thus the study fee for the City of
Dubuque will be reduced to $3,000.
As part of the AEP6 study, the IAC is developing a complimentary survey to help better
measure, and tell the story, of the impact of for -profit creative industries and individual
artists in communities. There is no additional fee for this added survey effort. The for -
profit creative economy was not part of the 2012 study and provides a unique
opportunity to capture a more complete picture of the full creative sector's economic
impact on Dubuque.
Iowa communities who intend to participate in the study are asked to notify the IAC of
their preliminary interest by July 1, 2021 and will have until October 2021 to formally
sign up.
AEP data collection from organizations typically takes place in the spring. However, due
to the pandemic, for AEP6, this process will be moved to the late fall of 2022 and is
expected to continue into the early months of 2023. This will allow organizations to
collect budget and attendance information for 2022, rather than 2020 or 2021. We
anticipate receiving the results and reports from the study in late Spring 2023.
AEP studies are typically conducted every 5 years by Americans for the Arts. Our next
opportunity to participate in a study would not arise until 2026 or 2027 with no
guarantee that the IAC would be serving as a study partner and subsidizing the cost for
communities to participate.
The Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission voted unanimously at their May 25,
2021 meeting to recommend participation in the study and also recommended that
unspent FY21 funds available due to the cancelation of Art on the River in 2020 be
applied to the study fee. Staff has confirmed with the City's Director of Finance and
Budget Jenny Larson that a balance of $19,129 remains in the FY21 programming line
item for the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs; Larson communicated to staff that use of
these available funds for AEP6 participation was appropriate.
BUDGETIMPACTS
There are no new budget impacts associated with this request. The Commission's
recommendation is to utilize $3,000 of the FY21 balances within activity 10072500
resulting from the cancelation of the 2020 Art on the River program activities due to
COVID-19. The availability of these funds has been confirmed by Jenny Larson. A FY21
to FY22 carryover of $3,000 in line item 62669 for activity 10072500 will be required.
RECOMMENDATION/ACTION STEP
I recommend that necessary steps be taken with appropriate City leadership to allow
staff to notify the IAC via email of our preliminary interest in participating and approve
the FY21 funding carryover. A formal agreement will be forwarded in October 2021
requiring the City Manager's signature.
Cc: Jenny Larson, Director of Finance and Budget