Olympia approves early funding for start-up of the new Cultural Access Program Inspire Olympia!

The Olympia City Council approved two resolutions to expedite the implementation of the Inspire Olympia! Cultural Access Program.

At the city council meeting on Tuesday, August 16, Community Planning and Development Director Leonard Bauer discussed how the program might be able to move forward in the third quarter of 2022.

According to Bauer, the Community Livability and Public Safety Committee recommended the two resolutions – funding the program for 2022 to authorize a program manager position and creating an ad hoc advisory committee.

"If you adopt the resolution to fund the program for 2022, it can begin this year. The funding [allocation] could be distributed in 2023 through an initial pilot," Bauer said.

He added the initial grants would go out to the organizations and begin to deliver services in the third quarter of 2023.

"Without this early start, we would begin staffing and advisory board in 2023. The first funding allocation would not be able to occur until the first or second quarter of 2024," Bauer told the council members.

The second resolution is the creation of an ad hoc committee, which Bauer said would bring expertise on how to set up a grant program.

The ad hoc committee would be composed of not more than five technically-oriented members experienced in grants and knowledgeable about the cultural nonprofit sector. They would develop recommendations for consideration by the future Cultural Access Program Advisory Board.

In April, voters approved the increase of retail tax by one-tenth of one percent (a penny on ten dollars of retail purchases) to fund arts and cultural programs.

Bauer said the state code identified the requirements for implementing the program - 10% on administration, 10% on transportation to enhance access to cultural programs, and 80% of the funding will go to community programs and organizations, including public school programs.

"The ad hoc committee will establish criteria and guidelines for the grants and for distributing those grants, setting the standards for performance and evaluation on all of these activities so we can clearly show discernible public benefit of these programs as we go forward," Bauer added.

According to Bauer, the program budget for 2022 is $100,000. This includes $49,000 for a full-time program manager (salary and benefits); $40,000 for contracted services for 22 months; and $11,000 for office support costs.

"This is the funding needed to be essentially front-loaded by the city," Bauer said. "The code allows for repayment of start-up costs from the revenues we would begin getting in 2023."