Our Town GrantMasterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Our Town Grant Letter of Support
DATE: March 30, 2011
Dubuque
hitil
ALAme lcacity
IV
2007
Assistant City Manager Cindy Steinhauser recommends City Council approval of a letter
of Support to the National Endowment for the Arts for the Our Town Grant.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
a elC.VanM
Mi Milligen
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Our Town Grant Letter of Support
DATE: March 29, 2011
Action
The requested action is for City Council to approve the attached letter of support.
Cc: Dan LoBianco, Dubuque Main Street
Jordan DeGree, Dubuque Arts Center
Jerelyn O'Connor, Neighborhood Development Specialist
Jan Stoffel, Arts Coordinator
Dubuque
hitli
AN- Amelcacfty
2007
Introduction
The purpose of this memo is to submit to City Council the letter of support for the Our
Town Grant.
Discussion
Dubuque Main Street as the manager of the Downtown Cultural Corridor and in
collaboration with Dubuque Arts Center, have submitted a Letter of Intent for the
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Our Town Grant. This grant program provides
funding to up to 35 organizations across the country to further arts initiatives. The focus
of the Letter of Intent submitted by Dubuque Main Street is to fund the "Arts in the
District" project. This project will implement new and enhance existing arts activities and
events in the Historic Millwork District (HMD); promote existing cultural assets in the
HMD; effectively engage artists and art organizations in place -based planning; and plan
for significant renovation, restoration and adaptive re -use of existing historic structures
in order to develop cultural facilities and artist live /work spaces.
This is a highly competitive grant application process that includes several rounds. The
first round is the submittal of a Letter of Intent. Following this round, selected
organizations will be invited to submit a full proposal. As part of the submittal process in
round one, a letter of support from the Mayor is required. Attached is a copy of the letter
of support that was provided by Mayor Buol for this application process.
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
National Endowment for the Arts
Our Town Grant Review Committee:
Dubuque
kilkid
*AmedeaCity
' ‚‚ Jo
2007
March 1, 2011
Office of the Mayor
City Hall
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001 -4805
www.cityofdubuque.org
I am pleased submit for your consideration the City of Dubuque's Letter of Intent (LOI), in
partnership with the Dubuque Cultural Corridor managed by Dubuque Main Street, for the
support of the Arts in the District Project.
Dubuque has been nationally recognized as a leader for its work in sustainability and livability
as referenced by the September 2009 visit by the Cabinet Secretaries Livability tour. In addition,
Dubuque has been a pioneer in the Midwest in understanding art as a critical component of a
community's livability and economic development strategy. Since 2003 the City Council has
made arts and culture a top priority and to date has funded over $1.5 million in operating and
special project grant programs. In addition, Dubuque established the first sustainability office in
Iowa and one of the first arts commissions in Iowa which is supported by an Arts and Cultural
Affairs Coordinator. Since 2006, the City Council has made sustainability a top priority and at
the heart of our sustainability model are three areas which include environmental integrity,
economic prosperity and social/cultural vibrancy. Our work as a leader in the arts was recently
acknowledged when Dubuque was selected to be one of 100 cities in the United States, and the
only city in Iowa, to participate in the Americans for the Arts Local Arts Index Survey. In addition,
Dubuque has contracted with Americans for the Arts to complete an Arts and Economic
Prosperity study of the non - profit arts sector of our community.
The Arts in the District project is a comprehensive plan to reclaim one million square feet of
historic warehouse space into the premier arts district in the region. At the core of this mission is
the complete integration of arts and culture into a live, work, play space that balance historic
preservation and sustainability. Our approach includes public engagement, arts and cultural
programming and conceptual design. Key to our project is the alignment of our objectives with
work already under way to convert these historic structures into art lofts and studios, exhibition
and performance space, artistic public space, commercial and retail space. Since the adoption
of the Historic Millwork District Master plan in 2009, which at its core includes the arts, the city
and private sector partners have begun work already investing over $40 million in Phase I.
Additional details regarding our vision can be found at the following websites:
www.sustainabledubuque.orq and http:// www. citvofdubuque .orq /index.aspx ?nid =116.
Our vision is bold and exciting and is imbued with community engagement, arts programming
and conceptual design to create a model for communities where arts and culture serve as a
catalyst to community livability and prosperity. I would welcome the opportunity to submit a full
application for your consideration of the Our Town Grant.
Sincerely,
,(Y /
Roy D. Buol, Mayor
Service
People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork
I
•