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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - COTA Meeting Minutes 02/26/2017MI NUTE S COMMISSION ON THE ARTS Conference Room 135 City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue Monday, February 6, 2016 Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Chair Steve Sullivan. Members present were Jon Foley, Jason Paull, and Tom Lockhart. Connie Garnett was not present. Public Forum Jennifer Brockphaler announced that ACAC would be doing a Toast Your Local Arts Council event on February 17. Approval of December 19, 2016 Minutes Moved by Tom, seconded by Jason, to approve the minutes of the December 19, 2016 meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Paragraphs for Council Steve noted there was inconsistent use of the acronyms for the group names. He asked that Brian revise the paragraphs to denote the acronym after the full group name in each paragraph. Jason noted that the Octagon’s paragraph should reflect 32,000 people being reached by its services, not 3,200. It was moved by Jason, seconded by Tom, to approve the paragraphs as corrected. Motion carried unanimously. Steve offered to attend the Council meeting on February 14th. Annual Grant and Special Project Grant Application and Report Documents Steve reviewed the COTA forms with the group. Annual Grant Form: On page 3 of the application, Jason asked that the organization list the event(s) held with no cost to the public. Steve mentioned that on the first page of the Process and Deadlines, the first paragraph states compliance with the following is required, but the first bullet indicates COTA only “strongly encourages” attendance at the workshop. He suggested attendance should be required. Jason asked whether COTA should require incorporation as a 501(c)3, in addition to being registered as an Iowa non-profit. He noted later that the document requests federal tax exemption, which resolves this. Steve asked whether it was necessary to have a balance sheet submitted by the agency. Jason suggested it was helpful to be able to understand the fiscal health of the agency, but perhaps it could be simplified. Steve suggested that Jason look at condensing the budget and balance sheet if possible. Jason agreed to do so. Jason raised the suggestions from ACTORS. He indicated he liked seeing the detail required related to advertising. Brian mentioned one of the challenges from groups is in having different budget categories in the report versus the application. Steve will review the participant information required in the final report. Jason will incorporate the budget information in the final report into his analysis of the application budget. Special Projects Grant Form: Steve asked to clarify that someone must attend the workshop to be eligible for funding. He also asked whether it was acceptable to raise the $750 limit to $1,000. The sense of the group was to prepare the application document to provide a limit of $1,000. Jason mentioned the distinction between operational funding and special projects. He raised his interest in prioritizing special projects over general operational support, and creating a rubric to score the applications. Jennifer Brockpahler expressed concern about being required to invent something new each year if the ongoing programs are going well. Tom asked if more funding should be provided through the Special Projects Grant program. The Commission discussed the concept of modifying the special project grant into an innovation grant. Steve concluded that the Commission has some thinking about how to proceed with this concept. Jason asked that this be a standing agenda topic into the future as it is hashed out. Brian will take Steve’s and Jason’s proposed modifications and consolidate them. Upcoming Important Dates Steve reviewed the upcoming meeting dates. Jason asked about a potential conflict of interest regarding participating as a director in a show put on by a COTA agency. He asked for feedback from the Commission. Steve suggested that he didn’t see it as a problem. Jason clarified he would not be an agency officer or part of the board, and that he declined this immediate offer to participate. Adjournment Jason moved the meeting be adjourned. Tom seconded. The meeting adjourned at 6:01 p.m.