From the Winston-Salem Journal (9/6/09): The Arts Council of Winston-Salem hopes to grab a $1.2 million grant from a national foundation, but needs $1 million from Forsyth County, Winston-Salem and other government sources of money to get the money.
Arts council officials asked the county Thursday for a $200,000 donation, and said they would be approaching Winston-Salem for $400,000. Other government money, including state Department of Transportation funds, would make up the difference needed to get to $1 million. DOT is making some street improvements near the council’s new downtown arts center that can count as matching money for the grant.
The arts council has submitted its $1.2 million grant request to the Kresge Foundation, based in Troy, Mich., said Christine Gorelick, the vice president of external relations for the arts council.
“Timely participation by Forsyth County is essential at this time,” Gorelick told commissioners last week.
The arts council has raised $22.7 million toward a goal of $26 million for its capital campaign. The council is spending $11 million for its expanded downtown arts center, $9 million to increase the size of the annual fund, $5 million toward an arts endowment fund and $1 million for marketing.
Gorelick said that the Kresge Foundation makes “top-off” grants that allow organizations to get the last dollars toward their fundraising goals. But to get that grant, organizations have to demonstrate community support by getting money from government entities. She said the foundation has deferred voting on the arts council’s grant request three times to give the group more time, but that time is running out.
Gorelick said that the arts center would create 24 full-time and 50 part-time jobs, and would bring more business downtown.
County officials say that commissioners are inclined to support the request for $200,000, although the board will have a public hearing Sept. 28.
Commissioners went behind closed doors Thursday to discuss the request on the advice of County Attorney Davida Martin, who said that putting public money into a privately owned building project makes it an economic-development matter that can be considered in closed session.
N.C. Press Association attorney Ashley Perkinson said that the closed session for an arts-council contribution “doesn’t fit with the spirit” of the law that gives county boards the right to close meetings to discuss economic development. She was not prepared to say that the board had broken the open-meetings law, though.
“They have a different interpretation of this section than I have,” Perkinson said. “Citizens should be able to participate and be aware of the discussions of a public body. Anytime you have an exception to a rule you have to look at that in a narrow fashion.”
But Martin said that considering the contribution as an economic-development matter invokes a public-hearing requirement that gives people input.
“We publicize the public hearing and give the public the opportunity to come in and talk to the board about the expenditure of their tax dollars,” Martin said.
Dave Plyler, the chairman of the county board, said he didn’t see the need for a closed session but followed the attorney’s advice.
“There was nothing that went on during that session that couldn’t have been discussed in open session,” he said. “Nobody is trying to hide anything.”
County Manager Dudley Watts said that although the board took no vote on the arts council request, the consensus he heard from commissioners was to find revenues apart from the property tax that could pay the request. One source under consideration is some of the county’s occupancy tax revenue, Watts said.
by Wesley Young, Journal Reporter