Palm Clast Considers New Cultural Arts Grants Program

Arts and cultural opportunities are a big part of a community’s quality of life and there could be big changes ahead in how some of those opportunities are funded.

The Palm Coast City Council was briefed earlier this month on a plan to radically change the cultural arts grants funding program in the city since 2002.

Nancy Crouch, chair of the Flagler County Cultural Council, presented the new plan at a Palm Coast City Council workshop of what she said is “the reimagined cultural arts grants program.”

The Flagler County Cultural Council, also known as FC3, was created by the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners to serve as the local arts agency in the county, Crouch said in her presentation.

In her explanation of what the group does and how it operates, Crouch pointed to FC3’s participation in an Americans for the Arts study that found while nearly three-quarters of attendees at local non-profit arts and cultural events were local, non-resident attendees spent an average of 105% more while in the county, highlighting the economic impact arts and culture has in the community.

Crouch explained the new grant program, which is designed to encourage community arts and culture organizations as well as individual arts for programs and events and provide funding. Flagler County Cultural Council is requesting a minimum of $100,000 annually for a three-year commitment from the city to fund the grant program. In addition, the group is seeking a 10% service fee from the city to manage the grant program.

“The request today is a number that is significantly larger than either last year or the year prior to that,” said Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, who also sits on the FC3 board. “This is a very different approach to the arts and cultural and historical initiative.”

Alfin also questioned what, if any, relationship the city would have with Flagler County government as part of the grant program.

“If City Council decides to participate, I am not sure how that works with the county,” he said.

Crouch said FC3 has a service agreement with the county, and Flagler County provides $40,000 in annual funding as well as office space.

City Manager Lauren Johnston said the city’s Leisure Services Advisory Committee had overseen the grant application process before it was disbanded and since then city staff has handled the program.

“We reached out to FC3 to see if they would be interested in doing the city’s grant process for us,” she said.

Councilmember Theresa Pontieri said while she supports the program, she was not in favor of paying FC3 a 10% service fee, but the group could take that money out of the $100,000 for the program.

Since the presentation came at a workshop, no formal action was taken.

“Some of the important nuts and bolts have to be tightened and refined,” Alfin said. “Funding is not yet provided. Perhaps a phased approach is something staff may want to bring back to be able to get a consistent initiative in place.”