Art House director at county council as long-standing cultural grant is pulled; city staff urges petition support
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Summary
City staff reported that the director of the Art House was at the county council meeting after the council removed a longstanding cultural grant from the consent agenda. Staff described potential impacts on youth scholarships and said a petition has gathered roughly 2,300 signatures in 10 days.
City staff told the Port Orange City Commission that the executive director of Art House (referred to at the meeting) was attending a county council meeting to contest the removal of a longstanding cultural grant from that body’s consent agenda.
A staff speaker said the county action pulled more than $600,000 in cultural-grant funding from the consent agenda and described the grant as returning roughly $2 in local investment for every dollar awarded. Staff said loss of the funding would reduce support for scholarships, exhibitors and free- or reduced-cost programs tied to arts organizations, and estimated the grant supports more than 200 youth scholarships and programs countywide.
The staff report said approximately 2,300 people had signed a petition in the previous 10 days asking for restoration of funding and urged residents to sign the petition on Art House’s website. The staffer also noted Art House’s recent programming, including sidewalk-chalk events during Family Days, and asked the commission to consider the county action’s effect on local cultural offerings.
The commission did not take formal action on the report but acknowledged the potential local impacts and thanked staff for the update.