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Minutes Arts & Cult. Adv. Comm. 5 2 05 MINUTES ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS ADVISORY COMMISSION SPECIAL SESSION Monday, May 2, 2005, 4:00 p.m. Board Room, Carnegie Stout Public Library 360 W. 11th Street, Dubuque, Iowa Call to Order Meeting was called to order at 4:04 p.m. following staff assurance of compliance with the Iowa Open Meeting Law. Commissioners present: Jane Kenworthy, Sue Riedel, Paul Kohl, Mark Wahlert WI 4:05 p.m., RF 4:06 p.m. Commissioners Absent: Amy Link Staff Present: Jerelyn O'Connor, Kevin Firnstahl Citizens present: Jerry Enzler, Dubuque County Historical Society, Jan Hemmer, Grand Opera House. Approval of Minutes of April 26, 2005 Kohl moved to approve as corrected.Second by Riedel All approved. Old Business 1. Action on recommendation to City Council $200,000 FY 2006 Funding for Arts and Cultural Activities. The Commission reviewed the eligibility and guidelines document based on a draft document provided by staff person O'Connor. Motion By Reidel, Second by Kohl, The ACAAC recommends that the minimum number of years an organization should be in existence prior to submission be limited to one. Discussion Mark Wahlert questioned if one year is long enough to test their ability and that perhaps 2-3 years would be better. Riedel said that an organization's soundness would be tested within the first year. Intriligator clarified "years" as being prior to submission. Motion Amended by Riedel to 2 years, Second by Kohl Vote Kohl Aye Kenworthy Nay Riedel Aye Fabricius Aye Intriligator Aye Wahlert Nay Motion Passes 4/2 Kenworthy asked for consensus from the Commission on receiving input from citizens present. Jerry Enzler (Dubuque County Historical Society): Jerry discussed that the Dubuque Museum of Art, the Grand Opera House and,the Dubuque County Historical Society had requested that the City provide operational support. He pointed out that the Museum does not currently receive operating support from the City. While not wanting to draw distinctions between groups, Jerry noted that some groups have buildings and paid staff, and regular services whose costs have increased enormously. There is as much as a $500,000 gap between earned income and what is spent in their organization. The genesis of the request was to support the major organizations that are investing large amounts of money and have major assets, and jobs at risk as well as what the community has at risk if these organizations should fail. Jerry is in favor of a higher cap, $50,000 to $60,000 and urged for a higher percentage to those four larger organizations. He believes that this was the original intent of the ARTS Dubuque request. Jan Hemmer - Grand Opera House: Jan reminded the Commission that she was an original member of the ARTS Dubuque Group and helped organize support and distribute postcards. The Museum of Art, Grand Opera House, and the Dubuque Symphony each need $50,000 in order to operate. Jan conceded that DCHS is important and is concerned that the Grand does not have a voice. The Commission should look at organizations that bring in large groups of people and having $50,000 would greatly help toward budgeting and operating expenses. Sue Riedel noted that the Commission received a copy of the Arts Task Force recommending that 14-15 other groups that qualified for this type of support. Jan expressed opposition to this money being spent on controversial, impractical public art and not on operating support. Riedel again clarified the difference between funding for special projects and funding for operating support. O'Connor said that the Council specifically asked for a recommendation for the best way to spend the $200,000. Intriligator said that the ACAAC only makes a recommendation to the City Council. Kenworthy added that the Arts Task force did pole the percentage of operating costs for each group included in its original request. Riedel said that there seemed to be conflicting recommendations on funding between original ARTS Dubuque and Arts Task Force information. Jan Hemmer expressed her concern as to why the Grand Opera House is not represented on the Commission. Staff member O'Connor clarified that no Commission seat was reserved for anyone group. The ordinance establishing the commission specifies that four of the appointments be persons who have demonstrated interest and knowledge in the arts. The City Council made the commission appointments after receiving 26 applications. ARTS Dubuque was represented on the original Arts Task force and helped formulate the original recommendation for support to City Council. Mark Wahlert reminded everyone that Group #4 in the original Arts Task Force document was a compilation of all Cultural Alliance groups and asked the Commission if a percentage should still be used to make a fairer playing field for smaller groups. Mark also questioned if groups should be allowed to receive both operating and project funding. Kohl asked if $200,000 is set in stone depending on inflation and the number of organizations and if the amount would ever increase. O'Connor noted that it is budgeted only one year out. Motion by Kenworthy, Second by Wahlert. Delivering year-round services will be one of the criteria. Vote Wahlert Aye Intriligator Aye Fabricius Aye Riedel Aye Kenworhy Aye Kohl Aye Motion Passes 6/0 Kenworthy asked if an organization should have a minimum annual budget in order to apply for funding and noted the impact on the community is certain organizations failed. IntriJigator mentioned that requiring a minimum budget size would take many organization out of the equation. Wahlert suggested taking a portion $200,000 to fund the minor, smaller organizations, but is not sure what that amount should be and who it would exclude. Riedel suggested giving the top four major organizations the same amount. Kenworthy said that the larger organizations maintain large buildings that puts them at risk. Fabricius felt it should be on a formula basis and not give the top four one amount and the minor organizations another. Intriligator suggested a 4% formula basis. Riedel said that the largest-budgeted group would take the full amount if only a percentage basis was used. This will have to be revisited each year based on City budget. She also stated that many minor groups are established organizations with have year-round services, funding, and a volunteer base. This Commission has previously said that groups could apply for both types of funding, and it is now being suggested that application for projects be limited if they are receiving operating funding. Intriligator provided his notes on the draft document: Kohl noted that applicants have already been asked to supply a budget and an audit. Intriligator suggested that an organization's previous two year's budgets be provided. Kenworthy suggested that the budget and actual budget be provided for a realistic comparison. The Commission agreed to include wording indicating that the percentage of distribution would be decided upon after request information if gathered. Selection criteria should be incorporated into the eligibility section so groups that meet the requirements would be included in the pool. The Commission was in favor of a cap larger than $20,000 for minors, but that $25,000 set aside for smaller organizations could leave some unspent funds. Kohl reiterated as to whether or not majors groups would be ineligible for project funding as well. The Commission agreed that groups are eligible for both types of funding. Riedel stated that by giving some operating funding to the minor groups, we create accessible art. Wahlert suggested reserving $170,000 for organizations with a budget of $500,000 or more and reserving $30,000 to be distributed to the minor groups based on application information. Intriligator questioned if that budget level would then open up the larger cap funding to other majors groups with substantial budgets, such as the Colts. Kenworthy said that City money should fund services to Dubuque. Riedel stated that she wouldn't question a program for Colts vs. organization based in Dubuque. Such as those that maintain and staff a building. Intriligator was excused at 5 p.m. for a previous appointment. O'Connor added that the Arts Task Force perspective did not eliminate anyone from applying for both project and operating. The Cultural Alliance talked about operational support for small groups as well. She noted the administrative difficulty if you have different criteria for larger organizations than for smaller ones. Setting special criteria eliminates some groups. Wahlert suggested 10% with cap and minors would not be able to hit 10%. Kenworthy said that the idea is to create innovative projects and to set cap so one or two groups aren't getting the bulk of the funding. It should include as many organizations as possible. Fabricius suggested a total1 0% cap in one year. Motion by Wahlert, Second by Riedel DCHS, Grand, DSO, DUMA, receive 10% of their operating budget not to exceed $50,000. The remaining funds would go to other qualified applicants based on a percentage of their budgets, number of applicants, and available funding. Discussion Kohl said that major organizations should still have to go through the application process in order for the Commission to review budget changes, audits. Amended Motion by Wahlert, Second by Riedel Wording to include II pending a qualified application." Discussion O'Connor said that it be based on last completed fiscal year audit. Wahlert questioned if cap should be set lower. Riedel recommended lowering the percentage to bring the cap down. Fabricius agreed with changing the cap. Wahlert proposed $40,000 cap as the four larger groups will easily hit that, if the cap is $42,500 for a total of $170,000 at present budge level, leaving $30,000 for minor groups. Kohl proposed that the four major groups receive a set percentage of the $200,000 with remainder going to minor organizations. O'Connor suggested establishing funding levels based on established criteria and set percentages and/or caps rather than calling out specific organizations. Fabricius further suggested an allocation based on tiered budgets. O'Connor advised, the Commission concurred, that doing so might cause organizations to manipulate their budgets so as to place them in a higher allocation bracket. O'Connor summarized that for an organization to be eligible, it must be an arts and cultural organization despite the size of its budget and that the portion of an organization's budget which is spent locally not be available in its certified budget information. Riedel stated that there is the risk that a request from another large- budget group will knock out the four major groups mentioned. The Commission discussed percentage and cap scenarios. O'Connor pointed that the current draft specifies only arts and cultural organization for the operating support program as opposed to the broader definition used for special project grants. Kenworthy believed that the Commission will not be able to avoid ranking requests, and Fabricius suggested that it be stated in the motion. Kenworthy also said it is worth noting that eligible organizations deliver services to Dubuque. O'Connor referred commissioners to the Dubuque Cultural Alliance member database distributed on April 13, which noted member budgets and state funding examples. Kenworthy suggested that in addition to ranking requests, they should include what percentage of an organization's programming is going to City residents and Dubuque-based operations vs. touring programming. Selection criteria asks what impact will there be on broader Dubuque area. Kenworthy asked that selection criteria include whether or not the organization is a year-round organization offering services within Dubuque. Motion Withdrawn by Wahlert Motion By Wahlert, Second by Fabricius The ACAAC recommends that money be distributed at six percent of the organization's previous year's actual operating expenditures with the award not to exceed $50,000. Applications will be judged based on criteria as described in the operating support application. Vote Kohl Aye Kenworthy Aye Riedel Aye Fabricius Aye Wahlert Aye Motion passed 5/0 Jerry Enzler and Jan Hemmer exited the meeting. Kenworthy asked for suggestions regarding language pertaining to an organization's services being delivered in Dubuque and proposed: "Year round operation that delivers majority program and services within Dubuque." Wahlert referenced Intriligator's ideas for under "ineligible applicants" heading that include, "academic and social services organizations and agencies." Kenworthy said that applicants are encouraged to include attachments that give evidence of their artistic excellence, leadership, and range of program services. Riedel suggested that it be stated that this is for general operating support and not capital expenses. The Commission agreed to remove fundraising wording. O'Connor stated that it may not be necessary to specify ineligible expenditures. The commission agreed that it only be state that the money not be spent on capital improvement. Additional quick edits suggested: Include a section for describing programming was recommended by Kenworthy. Eliminate Section C. Attach list of board members, their affiliations and key staff. Attach a current operating budget and the last two year's financial statements. Remove "project" from assurances pages. Keep budget page for consistent review and add ticket sales/admissions to #1. Remove Section D recommended by Kohl. Delete Page 6 entirely. Scrap questions and give two- to three-page narrative of the organization using criteria as a guideline was suggested by O'Connor. Attachment #8 will be long-range plan if available. Eliminate goals page. Remove amount requested. Motion By Riedel, Second by Kohl Adopt operating support application as revised and recommend to City Council. All in favor Motion to Adjourn By Riedel, Second by Kohl All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 6:38 p.m. Next Meeting: May 24 at 4:30 p.m. in the Library Board Room. Respectfull . . (Jbmitted./ ,:..<<// y/' ,.-- ---'.'.--., These minutes passed, approved and adoPt;.? O~ry 24,2005. /A/\ ~~~ Mark Wahlert, Secretary City Clerk: City Council: City Manager: File: 5196 ~