Historic City News has been informed that the public is invited to attend a special meeting of the St. Johns County Civic Roundtable on Monday, August 11, starting at 9:00 a.m. in the County Auditorium.
Question #1
General Fund Revenue will be very difficult to come by for the foreseeable future due to Federal and State mandates, rising costs for essential services and continued mandates for property tax reductions.
1. Public Funding and the Arts
Public funding is available in the form of grants (federal and state), private/corporate, other philanthropic organizations. There are likely many more sources of funding that I’m unaware of. It’s imperative the TOC and Cultural Council share ideas and strategies and work together to maximize the opportunities. If not already existing a full time grant writer/strategist could be appropriate.
Mutual understanding of the overall mission to attract tourists is critical especially with the 450th Birthday celebration in 2015. This singular event WILL create worldwide interest in St. Johns County and, I believe, put St. Augustine and the county on the tourist map for years to come.
Research shows that communities rich in arts and culture consistently enjoy a better quality of life according to information provided yesterday to Historic City News from Philip McDaniel, President of the St. Johns Cultural Council.
Kris Phillips, station manager of local radio station WFOY Newstalk 1240 has informed Historic City News that their station will bring back a St. Johns County tradition Monday, August 18th with an old fashioned political rally including a live radio broadcast.
The League of Woman Voters has notified Historic City News that a televised forum will be held tonight with all of the St. Johns County Commission candidates in the primary election scheduled to participate.
As you might imagine, there has been a considerable amount written about the proposed “charter” form of government for St. Johns County – both in support and against. It has been the subject of local radio talk shows, guest columns and letters to the editor in the weekly and daily papers as well as several neighborhood “meetings” in some parts of the county.
