Administration & Fiscal Arts Commission of San Mateo County Findings: Concur that: · arts are vital parts of our community · funding is a key element in ensuring that cultural activities are available in the County · ARTshare, as part of its two-year agreement with the County, is required to provide direct arts services to County residents as well as develop, implement and update the County's Cultural Plan · Arts Commission is in the process of developing a workplan that will include Cultural Plan activities · ARTshare is meeting the requirements outlined in the County's agreement, including implementing Cultural Plan goals The Board of Supervisors supports the findings made by the Grand Jury, however wishes to clarify that the goals identified in the Background Section of this report were not developed by the County Manager's Office but rather from community meetings/workgroups and are part of the Cultural Plan 2002 report. Recommendations: 1. The Board of Supervisors should develop and implement a policy of continued support for the San Mateo Cultural Plan 2002 with continued funding of its contract arts partner. Concur. The Board of Supervisors and County Manager's Office staff are working with the Arts Commission and ARTshare to develop a Cultural Plan progress measure for inclusion in the County's Vision 2010 Report. This progress measure will track the percent of Cultural Plan 2002 goals achieved. Once included in the Vision 2010 Report, the County Manager's Office will monitor progress and report findings to the Board of Supervisors on an annual basis. The County's agreement with ARTshare requires the organization to work collaboratively with the County's Arts Commission, whose members are appointed by the Board of Supervisors, to implement and update the County's Cultural Plan. In an effort to comply with this requirement, ARTshare, along with the Arts Commission and Board of Supervisors, has sponsored annual Cultural Plan community meetings. The most recent community meetings were held in March 2003 in Redwood City, San Mateo, South San Francisco and Half Moon Bay. Community input provided at the annual meetings will be used to update the Cultural Plan. Major areas of interest continue to be funding for the arts, additional facilities for artists and additional arts education programs. This fall County staff will renegotiate ARTshare's agreement, which is set to expire in December 2003. It is the County's expectation that ARTshare will continue to implement the goals identified in the Cultural Plan. The level of funding will be dependent on the availability of resources. The County Manager's Office will submit a recommended budget to the Board of Supervisors in May. During the County's Budget Hearings in June, the Board of Supervisors will determine an appropriate funding level for the arts partner. A quarterly status report will be provided to the Grand Jury.
2. The Arts Commission should set funding goals for ARTshare to supplement County funding. Concur. The Arts Commission is reviewing the availability of grants for the arts in an effort to recommend adequate funding goals for ARTshare. Upon the request of the Arts Commission, a representative of the Peninsula Community Foundation made a presentation at the Commission's March meeting on the availability of existing arts resources. The Arts Commission will also meet with ARTshare and members of the Board of Supervisors to obtain feedback on specific sources of revenue to pursue. It is anticipated that the Arts Commission's review will be completed within the next couple of months, leaving sufficient time to incorporate recommendations into ARTshare's renegotiated agreement. (The new agreement is scheduled to begin January 1, 2004). It should be noted that ARTshare is proactively seeking additional financial support. The organization has or will apply for grant funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, SF Foundation and Peninsula Community Foundation. ARTshare will continue to inform the Arts Commission of its efforts through quarterly status reports (which also provide a synopsis of the arts and cultural activities performed by ARTshare during the quarter) and at the monthly Arts Commission meetings, which ARTshare is required to attend. A quarterly status report will be provided to the Grand Jury.
| 