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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008 - Cultural Resources Board - Annual Report"�I`tt of Cultural Services Fort Collins Lincoln Center 417 W. Magnolia St Fort Collins, CO 80521 970.221-6735 970.221-6373 — fax .LCTIX.com CULTURAL RESOURCES BOARD ANNUAL REPORT - 2008 BACKGROUND The Cultural Resources Board (CRB) consists of seven members. Regular meetings were held on the last Thursday of February, March, May, July, August, September, October, November and December from 12:00 p.m., to 2:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Center. The Board held three Fort Fund funding sessions on the fourth Wednesday of January, April, and June. The Board receives monthly updates from staff and acts in an advisory capacity to City Council for the Cultural Services Department that includes Lincoln Center, the Fort Collins Museum and other responsibilities as needed. The Board reviews and advises staff on the following: biannual budget, facilities improvements, projects and other issues as they arise. The Board continues to gather community input on cultural issues and to represent the ideas expressed. Members who served in 2008 were Ms. Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Dr. Diane Gaede, Ms. Carol Ann Hixon, Ms. Anne Macdonald (appointed in August) Ms. Susan Marshall, Mr. Patrick Moran, Mr. Jack Steele (resigned in June), and Ms. Ann Wilmsen. Mr. Moran served as Chairperson. Ms. Beck-Ferkiss served as Vice -Chairperson. Council liaison: David Roy Staff Liaisons in 2008 were Marty Heffernan, Jill Stilwell, Cheryl Donaldson, and Gail Budner. Liaisons from the Fort Collins Convention & Visitors Bureau were Jim Clark and Cathy Jones. YEARLY HIGHLIGHTS - 2008 The Cultural Resources Board (CRB) outlined four strategies for 2008 to work towards the overarching goal: "To serve as a catalyst in making Fort Collins a cultural center and destination." 1. Serve as a catalyst for the development of a common vision by working with various organizations. 0 CRB members served as liaisons and committee members for various groups to gain a Fort Collins broader understanding of the cultural activities in Fort Collins. The CRB was represented with the following groups: - DDA's Beet Street Committee — Patrick Moran - Task Force for Scientific and Cultural Facilities District — Sue Beck-Ferkiss - Fort'Collins Museum — Jack Steele - Convention/Visitors Bureau — Diane Gaede - Art in Public Places — Carol Ann Hixon - Downtown Business Association — Susan Marshall/Anne Macdonald - Arts Alive — Ann Wilmsen - UniverCity Connections — Patrick Moran and Carol Ann Hixon • CRB members served as liaisons to events funded by Fort Fund, attending approximately 40 different cultural events in the community, lending support and assuring that the Fort Fund monies were being well spent. • Recommended to City Council the adoption of the Cultural Plan, including the Cultural Facilities Plan. Council adopted the plan in August 2008. • The Board recommended to Council the approval and signing of the Partnership Agreement between the Fort Collins Museum and the Discovery Science Center to form a new museum. The agreement was signed in March 2008. • The Board hosted a presentation on the Way Finding Project and provided input as to how the project could incorporate cultural elements, specifically through Art in Public Places. • The Board was actively involved in discussions regarding the closure of Arts Alive at the end of 2008, and the future of a new entity to serve as an arts council. A task -force of the Board members researched and developed a proposal for activities a future arts council could perform and possible structures and funding mechanisms. 2. Enhance regional awareness of arts and cultural events and activities • The CRB continued to support the Fort Collins Convention and Visitor Bureaus on-line cultural calendar and encouraged Fort Fund grantees to submit their events to the calendar. • The Board submitted and accepted Mayor Hutchinson's proclamation of October as Arts & Humanities Month. The Board supported the Fort Collins Museum's October 5 Kick -Off event to celebrate Arts & Humanities Month. • Two CRB members participated in the UniverCity Connections initiative. 3. Use and grow resources available to the Board to forward the overarching goal. • Fort Fund: The Board monitored the impact of the four -tiered funding system that was instituted in 1998 and made changes as needed. The Board administered three funding sessions for Fort Fund and recommended grants for distribution as follows: January 2008 Session $30,696 to 18 organizations April 2008 Session — Tier 1 $133,550 to 16 organizations April 2008 Session — Tier 4 $17,000 to 1 organization June 2008 Session $54,600 to 23 organizations Totaling $235,846 to 54 organizations • Fort Fund grants supported over one hundred community cultural and recreational events in 2008. • The Board recommended the first Tier 4 Cultural Entrepreneurial Innovation fund grant and it was awarded to the TriMedia Film Festival. Fort Collins • Over 135,000 people attended an event supported by Fort Fund in 2007. • The Board continued to work cooperatively with the Convention and Visitor's Bureau in making recommendations for Fort Fund dollars, including Tier 4. 4. Provide networking opportunities for the exchange of ideas and resources. • The CRB continued to serve as liaisons to appropriate groups in meeting the CRB's overarching goal, including the Art in Public Places Board, Fort Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau, Arts Alive, UniverCity Connections, SCFD group, Beet Street, and the Downtown Business Association.