Minutes_Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission 5 27 14Minutes
ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS ADVISORY COMMISSION
May 27, 2014
Lacy Board Room, Carnegie Stout Public Library
Dubuque, IA
The meeting was called to order by Chair Ellen Henkels at 4:30 p.m. following
staff assurance of compliance with the Iowa Open Meeting Law.
Commissioners present: Ellen Henkels, Katherine Kluseman, Marina O'Rourke, Sue
Riedel, Gina Siegert, Julie Steffen, Jessica Teckemeyer
Staff present: Jerelyn O'Connor, Megan Starr
Approval of Minutes of April 22, 2014. Motion made by O'Rourke and seconded by
Siegert to approve minutes. Motion carried 6-0.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Approve funding levels of FY2015 Operating Grant Applications
2. The Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission has reviewed funding
requests from sixteen Dubuque arts and culture organizations requesting
$290,295 in funds from the FY 2015 Arts and Culture Funding Program for
Operating Support. Total funding available in the FY 2015 budget is $210,000.
Budget constraints have limited the Commission's ability to fully fund the eligible
organizations. Staff presented a funding scenario which would reduce the
maximum funding cap this year from $50,000 to $40,000, or 4.4% of an
organization's operating expenditures and that organizations be funded at the
following percentage of operating expenditures based on their score:
>90 4.4% of organization's operating expenditures
85-90 4.0% of organization's operating expenditures
80-85 3.3% of organization's operating expenditures
<70 3.0% of organization's operating expenditures
A motion made by O'Rourke and seconded by Siegert to approve the funding formulas.
Motion carried 7-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Dubuque County
Historical Society $40,000. Motion carried 7-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Dubuque Symphony
Orchestra $37,259. Motion carried 7-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Northeast Iowa
School of Music $10,061. Motion carried 7-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Siegert to fund Bell Tower
Productions $12,477. Riedel recused. Motion carried 6-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Dubuque Arboretum
$7,285. Kluseman recused. Motion carried 6-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Grand Opera House
$16,394. Motion carried 7-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Colts Drum & Bugle
$40,000. Motion carried 7-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Dubuque Museum of
Art $18,239. Steffen recused. Motion carried 6-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Dubuque Arts Council
$3,821. Siegert recused. Motion carried 6-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Fly -By -Night -
Productions $987. Kluseman recused. Motion carried 6-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Dubuque Main Street
Ltd. $5,440. Siegert recused. Motion carried 6-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Rising Star Theatre
Company $2,984. Motion carried 7-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Dubuque Chorale
$1,139. Motion carried 7-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Julien Dubuque
International Film Festival $4,887. Motion carried 7-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Matter Creative
Center $6,199. Motion carried 7-0.
A motion was made by O'Rourke and seconded by Riedel to fund Dubuque County Fine
Arts $2,828. Steffen recused. Motion carried 6-0.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Review and Scoring of FY2015 Special Project Grant Applications.
There are 12 applications this year with a total request of $61,325.25. There
were 16 applications in FY14, 14 applications in in FY13, 9 applications in
FY12, 14 in FY11, 13 in FY10, and 8 applications in FY09. Applications were:
The Children of Abraham -Laughing Together
This proposal was well written and innovative and increases cultural awareness
among diverse groups. The application did an excellent job of ensuring barriers to
attendance were addressed. The marketing efforts could be broader.
Julien Dubuque International Film Festival- Getting' Down in the District
Commissioners expressed their concern that this application was over the allotted
word count on many of the questions. The commissioners discussed disqualifying
the application on the grounds that the character limit rule was not followed. A
motion by Steffen, Kluseman second to disqualify the application passed the
commission, 7-0.
Rising Star Theater Company- Rising Star Theater Company's Annual High
School Production
The scope of the project was clearly outlined. The application did not specify any
partners. There was a disparity between the earned income and cash match. There
should have been an example of how the group connects to diverse populations.
Voices Production- Storytelling on the Mississippi
There was concern that 20% of operating expenses were being rolled into this
special project application. There could have been more clarification about the nuts
and bolts of programming itself instead the emphasis was on the cultural value; the
scope and location of the project was unclear.
Bell Tower Productions- Free Summer Musical Program
Overall a very strong grant application and great breakdown of budget. The program
is inclusive of Novus actors and those want to perform at a professional level. The
application could have showed where the city goals are followed.
St. Elias the Prophet Orthodox Church- Greek Architects of Istanbul in the Era
of Westernization
The collection itself and collaboration efforts demonstrated in the application were
strong, however the venue may limit the diversity of the audience and could benefit
from a larger more public venue.
Dubuque Museum of Art- Iowa Public Art Network Conference
This project will draw a regional arts audience and offers a strong variety of
programming that lends itself to a creative dialogue and showcases Dubuque as a
strong arts community.
Dubuque County Historical Society- Engaging Enactors!
Overall this application was strong, commissioners appreciated that a final report
was included in the timeline and there was strong attention to detail.
The Downtown Dubuque Cultural Corridor- A Year of Creative Place making
Campaign Video
This project will be valuable to promote Dubuque as an arts community and could be
very valuable to helping the commission to showcase art offerings. How this project
would create opportunities for underserved populations was not specifically
addressed and more details about the campaign elements of the project could have
been addressed.
Downtown Dubuque Christian Outreach (DDCO)- Ghost People Seeing all the
people in our community.
This application identified good partnerships and showed a good connection
between partners and their specific roles. This application could have researched
additional resources for outreach such as the Multi -Cultural Family Center and the
Carnegie Stout public Library. This application could have addressed how the
audience will be guided to take action.
St. Mary Church Corporation - Community -building through culture at St.
Mary's revitalized campus
This application demonstrated strong partnerships and emphasized early community
involvement as the campus transforms. The application was somewhat unclear
about whether the focus was on the organ or the larger campus project. There was a
missed opportunity to further elaborate on the benefit of the organ.
Trainwreck Productions - 'RED'
The play itself is a strong project. The city goals were vaguely addressed. The
application should have addressed how the play will reach new audiences.
Commissioners took a short break to tally their scores. The votes were as follows:
(See attached)
Commissioners requested that staff double check the final scores and decided that
funding recommendations would be made at the June commission meeting.
INFORMATION SHARING
1. Iowa Arts Summitt
Henkels and Kluseman reported that they planned to attend the Iowa
Arts Summit. Staff noted that Mayor Buol was invited to be a part of a
panel about investing in communities through the arts.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion by Henkels seconded by Siegert to adjourn, Motion carries 6-0. Meeting
adjourned at 7:14 PM. The next meeting is scheduled for June 24, 2014, at 4:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Megan Starr
Economic Development Coordinator
These minutes were passed and approved on
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