[NEohioPAL]Lake County Cultural district

[CThomas462 at aol.com]

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The following excerpt is from last Friday's Curtain Call in the News-Herald's 
TGIF. I urge all of you to let your stong feeling for the arts be known.We 
CAN make a difference.
Thanks,
Cathee Thomas

CULTURAL DISRTICT ON BRINK OF CREATION
We sit on the edge of the future, the decisions we make today dictate the 
actions of future generations. They may move forward smoothly and strong if 
our decisions are correct; or they may be bogged down by the burden of 
correcting our misguided choices. One such decision looms at hand; how will 
the Lake County commissioners handle the recommendations presented to them 
last week by the Lake County Community Arts and Culture Taskforce. 
If you support the arts in Northeast Ohio, and I suspect you do simply 
because you are reading this, then pay close attention; now is the time for 
you to make your feelings known. When the Taskforce presented its final 
report to the Lake County Commissioners last week they recommended the 
establishment of a Cultural District for the county. This would create the 
third county- wide public funding of the arts in the state of Ohio (Summit 
and Hamilton counties are home to the first two).
The nine-member Taskforce, comprised of representatives from a broad range of 
backgrounds provided vision from many perspectives, not the least of which is 
the county job base. We need to be a place where people want to live in order 
to attract and keep a solid work force, which of course contributes to 
fueling our local economy. 
Initial funding could be provided from a percentage of an anticipated 
increase in Lake County's Bed Tax, based on section 3381 of the Ohio Revised 
Code. The Bed Tax increase, currently under consideration by the 
commissioners, is exactly what it sounds like, a tax on every hotel room. The 
more a community has to offer the more visitors; filling available hotel 
rooms, restaurants, park programs, attending festivals, concerts, theatres, 
galleries and more. "You get the most bang for your buck, it's not geared to 
anyone; it's as broad as the cultural interest of the county," Charles 
Lawrence president of the Taskforce said.  Clearly a win, win situation, 
however, the creation of the Cultural District is not dependant upon the Bed 
Tax. It can be created at any time at the discretion of the commissioners. 
The Taskforce has proposed using .4 percent of the 1.6% total proposed 
increase, which is expected to net $130,000 annually. "As you can imagine," 
Lawrence said, "even this small amount would be welcomed in the non-profit 
arts sector, which our survey indicates as generating more than $30 million 
annually for the Lake County economy."
 "It would represent a small but significant step in developing new sources 
of funding for our deserved sector," Lawrence said. Willing to go out limb, 
he added that once the district is created, even with such a small budget the 
feasibility of a couple private sources could easily double that amount. "It 
is a way to galvanize all the strength and help cover the weakness. This 
sector has very little resilience; they live on a very low margin and a small 
disaster like a failing air conditioner can be devastating. With the District 
in place we would have a central organization for planning county-wide 
events."    
"This is by no means a sure thing in Lake County, there are several more 
narrowly focused groups also seeking this funding source from the 
Commissioners, the most notable of which is the Eastlake Baseball Stadium 
group, which seeks nearly the entire annual increase," Lawrence said. 
"This is a challenging time for our sector, we can only hope that the powers 
that be acknowledge and support the idea that arts and culture drive their 
economy and are a key to community prosperity," he said. 
I join Lawrence in calling on all residents of Lake County, and those beyond, 
to contact Commissioner Dan Troy, to whom the report was presented, at the 
Commissioners office: lccomm at lakecountyohio.org or phone (440) 350-2752 to 
"voice your support for the creation of the Cultural commission and its 
funding. It will take all of our voices to make history happen in Lake 
County!" 
Think for a moment about every fundraiser you have ever attended - is there 
one that did not include some supporting donation from an artist, tickets to 
a performance or concert? I cannot think of one. The arts support our culture 
in so many ways we take them for granted; they define us as a civilization. 
It is time to reinvest in the community. 
Please pick up the phone or get online; insist the commissions validate the 
importance of the arts in Lake County. If we are successful communicators the 
lines will be busy and you will need this address: Lake County Administration 
Center, 105 Main St., Painesville, OH 44077. Share you opinion with 
commissioners Robert E. Aufuldish (350-2754) and Midred M. Teusher (350-2755) 
as well. We are at the threshold of a wonderful event and you can help make 
it happen.

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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT  SIZE=2>The following excerpt is from last Friday's Curtain Call in the News-Herald's TGIF. I urge all of you to let your stong feeling for the arts be known.We CAN make a difference.<BR>
Thanks,<BR>
Cathee Thomas<BR>
<BR>
CULTURAL DISRTICT ON BRINK OF CREATION<BR>
We sit on the edge of the future, the decisions we make today dictate the actions of future generations. They may move forward smoothly and strong if our decisions are correct; or they may be bogged down by the burden of correcting our misguided choices. One such decision looms at hand; how will the Lake County commissioners handle the recommendations presented to them last week by the Lake County Community Arts and Culture Taskforce. <BR>
If you support the arts in Northeast Ohio, and I suspect you do simply because you are reading this, then pay close attention; now is the time for you to make your feelings known. When the Taskforce presented its final report to the Lake County Commissioners last week they recommended the establishment of a Cultural District for the county. This would create the third county- wide public funding of the arts in the state of Ohio (Summit and Hamilton counties are home to the first two).<BR>
The nine-member Taskforce, comprised of representatives from a broad range of backgrounds provided vision from many perspectives, not the least of which is the county job base. We need to be a place where people want to live in order to attract and keep a solid work force, which of course contributes to fueling our local economy. <BR>
Initial funding could be provided from a percentage of an anticipated increase in Lake County's Bed Tax, based on section 3381 of the Ohio Revised Code. The Bed Tax increase, currently under consideration by the commissioners, is exactly what it sounds like, a tax on every hotel room. The more a community has to offer the more visitors; filling available hotel rooms, restaurants, park programs, attending festivals, concerts, theatres, galleries and more. "You get the most bang for your buck, it's not geared to anyone; it's as broad as the cultural interest of the county," Charles Lawrence president of the Taskforce said.  Clearly a win, win situation, however, the creation of the Cultural District is not dependant upon the Bed Tax. It can be created at any time at the discretion of the commissioners. <BR>
The Taskforce has proposed using .4 percent of the 1.6% total proposed increase, which is expected to net $130,000 annually. "As you can imagine," Lawrence said, "even this small amount would be welcomed in the non-profit arts sector, which our survey indicates as generating more than $30 million annually for the Lake County economy."<BR>
 "It would represent a small but significant step in developing new sources of funding for our deserved sector," Lawrence said. Willing to go out limb, he added that once the district is created, even with such a small budget the feasibility of a couple private sources could easily double that amount. "It is a way to galvanize all the strength and help cover the weakness. This sector has very little resilience; they live on a very low margin and a small disaster like a failing air conditioner can be devastating. With the District in place we would have a central organization for planning county-wide events."    <BR>
"This is by no means a sure thing in Lake County, there are several more narrowly focused groups also seeking this funding source from the Commissioners, the most notable of which is the Eastlake Baseball Stadium group, which seeks nearly the entire annual increase," Lawrence said. <BR>
"This is a challenging time for our sector, we can only hope that the powers that be acknowledge and support the idea that arts and culture drive their economy and are a key to community prosperity," he said. <BR>
I join Lawrence in calling on all residents of Lake County, and those beyond, to contact Commissioner Dan Troy, to whom the report was presented, at the Commissioners office: lccomm at lakecountyohio.org or phone (440) 350-2752 to "voice your support for the creation of the Cultural commission and its funding. It will take all of our voices to make history happen in Lake County!" <BR>
Think for a moment about every fundraiser you have ever attended - is there one that did <I>not </I>include some supporting donation from an artist, tickets to a performance or concert? I cannot think of one. The arts support our culture in so many ways we take them for granted; they define us as a civilization. It is time to reinvest in the community. <BR>
Please pick up the phone or get online; insist the commissions validate the importance of the arts in Lake County. If we are successful communicators the lines will be busy and you will need this address: Lake County Administration Center, 105 Main St., Painesville, OH 44077. Share you opinion with commissioners Robert E. Aufuldish (350-2754) and Midred M. Teusher (350-2755) as well. We are at the threshold of a wonderful event and you can help make it happen.<BR>
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