CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the Calendar Year (CY) 18 Special Events Cultural Amenities (SECA) Grant Program Allocations.
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DEPARTMENT: City Clerk’s Office
SUBMITTED BY: Dawn Portner, Special Events Coordinator
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
SECA Commission review on September 16, 2017, October 4, 2017, October 21, 2017 and January 17, 2018.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Naperville received 62 applications for the CY18 SECA Grant program, with requests totaling nearly $1,830,000.
On June 20, 2017, the City Council approved 13 City Obligation awards totaling $1,018,539. After the allocations were made, $910,461 remained for CY18 discretionary SECA Grant program funding. A FY17 underspend of $29,000 is included in the CY18 total.
At their November 21, 2017 workshop, Council discussed the SECA Commission review process, the appropriateness of fully funding the Legacy Event category celebrations, pro rata reductions to remaining events, and the overall impact to SECA.
By consensus Council directed staff to prepare an agenda item for December 19 reflecting full funding/pro rata allocations for further discussion and to schedule a Comprehensive SECA Grant Fund Review workshop in early 2018.
Prior to the December 19 meeting, the SECA Commission met to discuss a number of year-end items as well as begin preparing for the 2018 workshop. By consensus the SECA Commission directed staff to edit the agenda item to respectfully request that the City Council return the allocations to it for further review and include the instruction to fully fund Ribfest and the Last Fling in the amount of $418,231.
DISCUSSION:
In a meeting on January 17, the Commission heard public comment regarding the CY18 awards. The Commission balanced requests in all grant categories with the 2016 SECA Grant Fund mission of “creating opportunities to provide social events and artistic experiences.” Given the importance that the mission places on both celebrations and the arts, the Commission, while adhering to Council direction regarding the Legacy Events, redistributed the remaining $492,230 and awarded partial funding to worthy requests in both categories. Attached is the revised unified recommendation for Council review.
FISCAL IMPACT:
$1,929,000 allocated from the Food and Beverage Tax revenue, and previous grant year underspend, to the SECA Grant Program to be awarded as follows:
• City Obligation: $1,018,539
• Legacy Events: $418,231
• Discretionary Funding: $492,230