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Cultural Development Board Meeting of December 05, 2017.
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CORAL GABLES CULTURAL GRANTEE REQUESTS, UPDATES & REVIEWS:
Ms. Cathers stated that the Opera Atelier FY16-17 programs have been completed as requested by the Board and a Final Report is expected for their review at the next Board meeting.
Ms. Cathers advised the Board that the Hispanic American Lyric Theater was a fiscal sponsor in FY15-16 for the Mainly Mozart Festival through the Miami Chamber Music Society. The festival submitted a final report under the Miami Chamber Music Society name (and EIN) and a report was not submitted by the Hispanic American Lyric Theater as the fiscal agent. Miami Chamber Music Society applied in FY16-17 for the Mainly Mozart Festival, having received their Federal non-profit designation and has not submitted a final report as of this date. Ms. Cathers advised the Board that a final report has been requested for FY15-16 from the Hispanic American Lyric Theater as the fiscal agent and they were informed that when the final report is received they will again be eligible for funding. Ms. Cathers advised that, per the guidelines, the Miami Chamber Music Society will be eligible for funding in two years following the acceptance of their FY16-17 Final Report.
ARTS ADVISORY PANEL NOMINATIONS:
Board members were provided with nominations received by the City for vacancies on the Arts Advisory Panel. Background information was included for each nominee and Ms. Cathers advised the Board that currently serving members have expressed interest in remaining on the Panel.
The Board discussed the distribution of experience currently represented on the Panel and agreed that having a professional with architectural experience would be helpful. The Board also discussed the merit of having a gallery representative and strongly agreed that doing so would have the appearance of a conflict of interest and should be avoided. With no further discussion, the following motion was made:
Dr. Mayorga made a motion recommending Jacek Kolasinski (and reinstatement of current Arts Advisory Panel members Dr. Carol Damian, Dr. Jill Deupi, Lauren Hall, Juan Roselione-Valadez, and Freda Tschumy) as memebers of the Arts Advisory Panel. Ms. Burgos seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Mr. Pantin made a motion recommending Julio Grabiel as a member of the Arts Advisory Panel. Dr. Alvarez-Perez seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. (It was later noted that Mr. Grabiel is currently serving on the City’s Planning and Zoning Board and unable to serve on two Boards/Panels).
CORAL GABLES CULTURAL GRANT FY2017-2018:
Ms. Cathers reviewed the process for review of the FY2017-2018 Cultural Grant applications following the Board meeting at 9:00 a.m. She stated that the Board will go in order starting with the Community category, followed by Coral Gables Based organizations and Cultural Series categories.
NEW BUSINESS:
There was no new business.
OLD BUSINESS:
There was no old business.
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
Ms. Cathers reminded Board members of the Art Basel VIP reception on Sunday, December 10th at 8:30 a.m. Board members responded enthusiastically and all expressed their intention to attend if possible. Board member unanimously expressed how wonderful the Carlos Cruz-Diez painted crosswalks look with Mr. Pantin expressing interest in making them permanent.
ITEMS FROM THE SECRETARY:
There were no items.
FY2017-2018 CULTURAL GRANT REVIEW & SCORING:
Members of the community arrived and Dr. Roth called the FY2017-2018 Cultural Grant Review & Scoring meeting to order at 9:05 a.m.
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Board members then commented on each of the thirty-seven (37) applications meeting the eligibility criteria, giving a brief overview of the program/project requesting funds. Comments provided by Board members at the meeting were also submitted with their application scores online. (Additional comments made will be added to the online application by staff). Board members recusing themselves from an application left the meeting during that applicant’s discussion.
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It was noted that the combined request from the University of Miami exceeded the maximum funding request allowed and that both applications were submitted in the same category. Dr. Roth expressed concern about moving one of the applications to the Coral Gables Based organization category. The Board agreed and after brief discussion made the following motions:
Ms. Burgos made a motion to move the UM, Flaming Classics to the Community Category. Dr. Alvarez-Perez seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Ms. Burgos made a motion to change the UM, Flaming Classics and UM, Frost Music Live requests to $5,000 each. Dr. Mayorga seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
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After the break, scores and initial funding calculations were projected on a large screen. Staff stated that scores could be accepted as presented or the Board could decide as a whole to make adjustments. The Board discussed briefly and the following motion was made:
Dr. Alvarez-Perez made a motion to lower the minimal threshold to receive funding from a score of 80 to 75 with a condition for organizations scoring between 75 and 80 to meet with staff prior to the end of January, 2018. Ms. Burgos seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
The scores and funding allocation was re-calculated with a remainder of funds to distribute. The following motion was made:
Ms. Burgos made a motion to split the remaining funds between the two UM organizations. Mr. Perez seconded the motion, which failed.
The Board discussed how best to determine the greatest need while maintaining the integrity of the competitive scoring process. Board members generally agreed that placing the funds in the Community category may fulfill this intent and the following motion was made:
Ms. Burgos made a motion to place the remaining funds in the Community Category and distribute the amount evenly. Mr. Perez seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
With no further discussion, the following motion was made:
Mr. Perez made a motion to accept the Board’s scoring and recommended allocations for distribution of FY2017-2018 Cultural Grant funds. Ms. Burgos seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Attendees were advised that a notice will be sent announcing when the City Commission will consider the recommendation of the Cultural Development Board.