Jan 23: Community Development Committee, Cuyahoga County Council
Covered by Documenter Tina Scott (notes)
African American Cultural Garden set for county funding
Cuyahoga County Council’s Community Development Committee approved legislation Jan. 23 that would put $10,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money toward the African American Cultural Garden. About $2.2 million is still needed to construct long-planned designs.
Lavita Ewing, development chair of the garden’s sponsor organization, said garden representatives will be meeting with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb soon, saying the mayor “has given us his support in helping us get to the finish line.” They met a few weeks ago and Bibb assured them that he is working hard to get the garden a “significant amount of money” from the city, Ewing said.
In December, Ward 16 Cleveland City Council member Brian Kazy urged the mayor’s administration to find the money to cover the remaining balance. In that meeting, Obie Shelton, executive director of the garden’s sponsor organization, shared details with Cleveland City Council members about the remaining designs. They include a terrace with seating for up to 300 people. They also include a water element intended to reflect the Ohio River and the Great Lakes as symbols of freedom.
Ewing told this committee that construction to complete the African American Cultural Garden will begin as soon as all the funding is secured.
County Council is set to vote on the legislation at its Feb. 11 meeting.
‘Might not be what we as legislators intended’
Cuyahoga County Council District 11 Representative Sunny Simon sponsored legislation that would prioritize cities and townships in the county over nonprofits for grants funded by the county’s casino tax revenue.
Simon expressed concern that although the current code states that all applicants must be municipal corporations, townships, or not-for-profit community development corporations (CDCs), the county is instead funding “unofficial nonprofits.”
“What’s happened here, in the evolution of these awards, is that the casino revenue money now is being given to nonprofits that are not official CDCs, and cities themselves are being denied the funding,” Simon said.
Michael King, special counsel to Cuyahoga County Council, said there is no legal definition for a CDC. Any nonprofit with community development in its mission can apply for this county funding.
Simon said that “potentially this money now is going to be flowing into unofficial nonprofits that perhaps might not have a track record, perhaps might not be what we as legislators intended.”
Council President Dale Miller said he agreed with tightening the definition of a proper applicant. He raised concerns about specifying how the county would prioritize applicants. “We don’t know what that translates to in its application.”
Miller added that he felt once eligibility was determined, all applications should be considered equally.
The committee is set to discuss the legislation again at a future meeting.
Update: This brief was updated to reflect that the committee — at its Feb. 3 meeting — decided to hold a discussion of the legislation for another time.
$50,000 to research alternatives to cigarette tax for arts funding
The Community Development Committee also approved giving $50,000 of ARPA funds to the Assembly for the Arts to study alternative funding streams for arts and culture. This follows the passage of Issue 55 in November, extending and increasing the cigarette tax used for arts funding.
The Assembly for the Arts CEO and president, Jeremy Johnson, said the research is necessary to determine future funding options for the arts beyond the cigarette tax. Revenues will continue to decline in correlation to the decline in cigarette smoking, he added.
Johnson said the research will focus on ways to bolster arts and culture funding across the board and look at best practices and alternative models from other cities.
The legislation was approved in committee and is set to be voted on by the full council at its Feb. 11 meeting.
