Economic, Cultural, Tourism & Sustainability Grants Citizens Budget Subcommittee Meeting Agenda April 12, 2012, 6PM Civic Center Council Chambers 1175 East Main Street
Call to Order
The Citizen’s Budget Subcommittee meeting was called to order by Chairperson Stebbins at 6:06pm in the Council Chambers at 1175 East Main Street, Ashland, Oregon.
Roll Call
Committee members:
David Chapman, Douglas Gentry, William Heimann, Michael Morris, Russ Silbiger, Dennis Slattery, Roberta Stebbins, and John Stromberg were present.
Greg Lemhouse, Carol Voisin, Denise Daehler, Chuck Keil, David Runkel and Lynn Thompson were not present.
Staff Representatives: Lee Tuneberg, Adam Hanks, Mary McClary
Discussion of Applications
Chairperson Stebbins turned the meeting over to Adam Hanks to explain the excel spreadsheets he created from the scoring sheets.
Spreadsheets by category, Economic, Cultural, Tourism, and Sustainability ranked high to low and an overall combined total.
Spreadsheet by dollars allocated by applicant, ranked high to low, by summary total.
Chairperson Stebbins asked how the committee wanted to discuss the lower allocations of applicants under $1,000. (minimum grant was now $5,000) Silbiger explained the request could be less than $1,000, and the Committee could award a higher grant. Slattery, Heimann and Stromberg explained how they scored the grants and the breakdown of the dollar amounts. The members discussed how they would go forward in discussions of allocating the funds.
Chapman made a motion to drop everything below the $4,000 summary total and Silbiger seconded the motion.
Slattery wanted to clarify the motion would mean all applicants below $4,000 would be eliminated and not discussed. Chapman agreed that was his intent with his motion. Chairperson clarified the line would be below $3,500 but opened to discussion. Chapman stated if a member would like to discuss the applicant, that would be fine, but his preference would be dropped for good.
Gentry and Stromberg both spoke against elimination of applicants without discussion. Morris stated he would like to start at the top of the list and go through each one.
Roll Call Vote:
David Chapman---YES
Douglas Gentry------NO
William Heimann----NO
Michael Morris-------NO
Russ Silbiger-------YES
Dennis Slattery------NO
Roberta Stebbins---NO
John Stromberg----NO
Motion failed. Applicant Name
So Film Society/ Ashland Independent Film Festival Chapman moved to set the average on the top applicant, seconded by Stromberg.
No discussion. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Science Works Hands on Museum Heimann moved to accept the average.
Gentry spoke about being uncomfortable with funding operating costs, and would like to fund new ventures/projects that invest in the future. He would like to free up some of the smaller scored applicants. Heimann wanted to look at the amount of funds brought into the city and direct benefits to the community.
Chairperson Stebbins asked for a second on the motion, Stromberg seconded the motion.
Silbiger believed their funding should be higher because they had a much more year round
anchor, with a diversity of programs. Stromberg spoke to the amounts Science Works received
last year and he agreed with the other discussions, especially the traveling projects creating the
exact paradigm the committee wants to create and support.
Gentry believed the grants should be used for seed money investments, rather than continuing support. Slattery explained the Film Festival and Science Works were still in the developing stages. Stromberg pointed out non-profits don’t have a revenue model, with limited resources for grants. Chapman believes the top three applicants, So Film Society, Science Works and THRIVE deserve support every year.
Heimann changed his motion to give Science Works $29,000, seconded by Stromberg. Voice Vote: All Ayes with one exception, Gentry. The motion passed with a majority vote. THRIVE Slattery made a motion to give THRIVE $23,000, seconded by Stromberg. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Ashland Gallery Association Stebbins made a motion to give Ashland Gallery Association $13,000, seconded by Slattery. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Heimann made a motion to give the SO Film Society $29,000, seconded by Chapman, Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Ashland Art Center
Stebbins asked what they brought to the community. Silbiger explained they were a rather unique mutual benefit coop bringing in outside people supporting each criteria category.
Silbiger made a motion to give the Ashland Art Center $10,000, seconded by Chapman,
Stromberg believed the Arts organization was very well managed enabling people to benefit from the umbrella operation. Heimann concurred, in addition the business model was unique and it helped artisans to manage their money creating an economic stability. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Ashland Woodland Trails Association
Stebbins spoke to the Committee about granting the full amount of $15,000. She believed the Association would need the money as a one-time request for a specific project benefiting the community to develop the trails. Silbiger believed the money would be used by not just the group but also other groups and would resonate in other ways. Chapman explained the City has done a series of master plans for $350,000 each and this association does it for free.
Chapman made a motion to give the Ashland Woodland Trails Association $15,000, seconded by Slattery.
Stromberg was concerned about responsible spending and also concerned about giving away a lot of grant money to the top applicants. Slattery was concerned about project specific as opposed to funding organizations that may not complete their specific proposals.
Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Ashland’s Bed and Breakfast Network
Stebbins felt this applicant was project oriented. Gentry spoke to their lack of experience in
producing videos but believed it would be beneficial for Ashland. Slattery felt the money would
not be enough to produce a series of videos.
The members discussed the pros and cons of granting the Network in terms of their ability to complete the project, more than what they receive from member dues, giving them less than what was asked for, receiving assistance from the Chamber, having the applicants report back to the Council, enough seed money to fund 1-2 videos, and the ability to demonstrate completion of the project.
Chapman made a motion to give the Ashland’s Bed and Breakfast Network $10,000, seconded by Morris. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Ashland Historic Railroad Museum Gentry made a motion to give the Ashland Historic Railroad Museum $7,500, seconded by Slattery. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Rogue Valley Farm to School
Slattery felt the Farm to School program did a good job with their program and believed the community would receive a higher sustainability return. Stromberg believed they were straight forward with their proposals. Silbiger believed their fund raiser became an event that brought other people to the city, showing the multiplier effect.
Silbiger made a motion to give the Rogue Valley Farm to School $8,500, seconded by Gentry. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Rogue Valley Symphony Association Stromberg made a motion to give the Rogue Valley Symphony Association $7,500, seconded by Chapman. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon Slattery made a motion to give the Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon $6,000, seconded by Gentry. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Lithia Arts Guild of Oregon Silbiger made a motion to give the Lithia Arts Guild of Oregon $5,000, seconded by Slattery. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Stromberg spoke to the Committee in support of the Southern Oregon Pride parade. He believed the event could grow to be very profitable as well as bringing in tourism and community involvement.
SOPride, Inc. Slattery made a motion to give the SOPride, Inc $5,000, seconded by Stromberg.
Chapman believed the funding last year was in excess, and the city already reduced the event fees. Stebbins showed reservations about their fund raiser event. Slattery described it as a cultural celebration festival that would grow and bring in more people. He believed the city should help build the program.
Stromberg believed each year the event had potential to grow larger and larger. Gentry supported the event as a festival and hoped it would grow in the future to several days including education. Chapman stated the grant proposal was very poorly written.
Voice Vote: All Ayes with one exception, Chapman. The motion passed with a majority vote. Rogue Opera Silbiger made a motion to give the Rogue Opera $5,000, seconded by Morris. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Dancing People Company Chapman made a motion to give the Dancing People Company $5,000, seconded by Stromberg. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Southern Oregon Permaculture Institute
Slattery wanted to use this opportunity to do good things for small farmers. The members discussed the proposal as written would not function, excluded expertise, did not include a business plan but all agreed it was an interesting concept.
Heimann made a motion to give the Southern Oregon Permaculture Institute zero dollars, seconded by Chapman. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
St Clair Productions Silbiger made a motion to give the St Clair Productions $5,000, seconded by Chapman.
Silbiger stated they put on a lot of events consistently and Heimann believed they added a unique component. Gentry felt it did not seem like the other non profits and Stebbins agreed. Chapman stated folk and world music was interesting to the citizens of Ashland. Morris would have supported more funds and believed it was affordable entertainment.
Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Siskiyou Singers
Gentry stated he had a conflict with the Siskiyou Singer’s application and removed himself from the discussion. Heimann stated he had a conflict also with the Siskiyou Singers.
Slattery made a motion to give the Siskiyou Singers $5,000, seconded by Silbiger.
The members discussed the regret of not being able to support both, the Siskiyou Singers and the Southern Oregon Repertory Singers and/or other music venues. They talked about the $5,000 minimum.
Voice Vote: All Ayes with the exception of Gentry and Heimann abstained. The motion passed with a majority vote.
Multicultural Association of SO (KSKQ Comm. Radio)
Stromberg spoke in support of KSKQ.
Stromberg made a motion to give the Multicultural Association of SO $5,000, seconded by Chapman.
Stebbins stated the money would go to hire a manager and didn’t believe that would cover the position. Stromberg believed having a manager would help them to receive underwriting that could propel the Association. Silbiger stated their membership was only 70 people, which indicated little support and only $3,500 for fees. Slattery felt there were people left on the list to be funded that would benefit greatly from the grants. Chapman stated he did not want to fund the manager, but would like to support the station.
Roll Call vote:
David Chapman---YES
Douglas Gentry---NO
William Heimann---NO
Michael Morris---NO
Russ Silbiger---NO
Dennis Slattery---NO
Roberta Stebbins---NO
John Stromberg---YES
Motion failed.
Rogue Farm Corps Heimann made a motion to give Rogue Farm Corps $5,000, seconded by Stromberg.
Slattery wanted to amend the motion to give the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy $6,001 and Rogue Farm $5,000. No second, amendment died for lack of a second.
Chapman believed they were a good program for the Valley , but when asked directly about serving Ashland there was no involvement. He believed they were going down the correct path, and Stebbins agreed they did not need the tax payer’s money. Stromberg believed local agriculture and organic farming would not necessary be within the city limits. He also liked the training of a new generation of farmers and soil fertility. Stebbins believed THRIVE provides and outlet for an educational system and helps small farms. Morris believed THRIVE benefits Ashland more.
Roll Call vote:
David Chapman---NO
Douglas Gentry---NO
William Heimann---NO
Michael Morris---NO
Russ Silbiger---NO
Dennis Slattery---NO
Roberta Stebbins---NO
John Stromberg---YES
Motion failed.
Southern Oregon Land Conservancy Slattery made a motion to give Southern Oregon Land Conservancy $5,000, seconded by Gentry.
Voice Vote: All Ayes with the exception of Chapman and Morris opposed. The motion passed with a majority vote.
The Committee felt the motion, vote was too fast. Chapman supported the Conservancy but believed the applicant was not warranted. Morris felt it was for leading hikes instead of developing the organization. The members discussed the hikes and the ability for the public to have access. Stebbins asked which hikes were private and it was discussed only one was without access.
Morris moved to reconsider the last vote motion and Chapman suggested a revote.
Roll Call vote:
David Chapman---NO
Douglas Gentry---YES
William Heimann---YES
Michael Morris---NO
Russ Silbiger---YES
Dennis Slattery---YES
Roberta Stebbins---NO
John Stromberg---NO
Motion failed.
Ashland New Plays Festival Chapman moved to give the Ashland New Plays Festival $5,000 and Slattery seconded the motion. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Southern Oregon Sustainable Business Network
Stromberg and Stebbins discussed the organization and their operations believing they were effective with their efforts in sustainability.
Slattery made a motion to give the Southern Oregon Sustainable Business Network $5,000, seconded by Stromberg.
Chapman did not believe their effectiveness had been proven. Chapman did not believe the survey was creating that much change in business practices and stated the application was confusing. Silbiger believed it would be considered a simple check list and the City provided free energy audits.
Roll Call vote:
David Chapman---NO
Douglas Gentry---NO
William Heimann---NO
Michael Morris---NO
Russ Silbiger---NO
Dennis Slattery---YES
Roberta Stebbins---YES
John Stromberg---YES
Motion failed.
Chapman made a motion to give THRIVE an additional $6,001, seconded by Gentry. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Allocations
Lee Tuneberg spoke to the Committee about the allocation of dollars by categories.
Slattery suggested the allocation be applied as the percentage of the applicant’s request.
Tuneberg asked for a motion, Silbiger so seconded the statement.
Chair Stebbins restated the motion to apply the allocation as the applicant’s percentage as requested. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Tuneberg reminded the Committee allocations would need to meet the State requirement and asked for latitude to give preference to Tourism if needed. He would therefore bring back to the Committee for approval. Slattery was not in favor and asked staff to work up the allocations to see how much was allocated to Tourism, if not, the subject could be brought back to the Committee.
Heimann made a motion to allocate the monies as presented, seconded by Silbiger. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Tuneberg asked the members to submit their recommendations as to this year’s process.
Slattery encouraged the participants to make suggestions also. Heimann thanked the applicants for their participation and for their support in attending the meetings.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:03pm.
Respectfully submitted by: Mary McClary Administrative Assistant for Electric, Telecommunication and the Conservation Departments.
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