Commission OK’s $589,850 Cultural Council request

Tourist Development Council Executive Director Glenn Hastings requested County Commissioners to transfer $589,850 from Reserves on Tuesday to various line items within the Arts-Culture-Heritage category to support the contractual obligations of the St Johns Cultural Council under a recently revised $2,162,004 budget for fiscal 2012.

Hastings reported that the Tourist Development Council met on December 5, 2011 and reviewed proposed budget amendments — based on needs expressed by the St Johns Cultural Council.

According to the budget request submitted by Hastings to County Administrator Michael Wanchick on December 7, 2011, Hastings says the Tourist Development Council voted unanimously to recommend the Cultural Council’s amended budget to the Board of County Commissioners. It was included for approval along with other unrelated items as part of the consent agenda.

In June 2011 the County entered into an agreement with St. Johns Cultural Council for marketing St Johns County as an arts, cultural and heritage tourist destination, to manage the Arts and Culture grant program, and to perform other duties specifically detailed in the Scope of Services.

At that time, all expenses, except those related to the operation of the Funding Panel, were put into a Capital Outlay Reserve fund until the Cultural Council could show that it met a requirement to hire an Executive Director.

The result of a nationwide search was an offer of employment to Andrew Witt, who accepted the position of Executive Director of the St Johns Cultural Council; to begin work on January 2nd.

Historic City News obtained the attached budget spreadsheet indicating the budget as approved by the Board of County Commissioners in September as well as the new Cultural Council changes recommended by the Tourist Development Council earlier this month.

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News staff photographer