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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 � r � Katheri e K seman, ecretary