Oil City's
downtown arts revitalization committee has $19,000 to hire a part-time
worker who will be responsible for recruiting artists and promoting the
city's downtown as a live-and-work environment for artists.
City council
members on Monday night unanimously committed the funds, which had been
tucked into a reserve account.
"We have a
lot of work to do, but we've accomplished a lot in the last four months,"
said Lee Mehlburger, chairman of the downtown arts revitalization
committee. "We're at the point where we need to hire an individual to take
some of the load off of our volunteers."
Mehlburger
oversees a committee that has drafted a citywide marketing plan to tell
the Oil City community why and how an arts community could play a role in
economic turnaround. The group also has compiled a list of more than 300
local and regional artists and mailed packets explaining the effort. A
meeting is scheduled for next month with those artists to elaborate more
on Oil City's arts community and cultural district - where committee
members hope to learn what the city should do to make Oil City an
attractive spot for relocating artists.
Mehlburger
said the committee also has met with downtown building owners who "are
interested in developing an artist colony" in their structures, and a
couple city volunteers may travel to visit other working artist colonies
throughout the United States.
"A lot of
things have happened and we're very excited," Mehlburger said.
Now, the
committee is looking for the person to be a paid "champion," who will work
out of the city's National Transit Building and coordinate the efforts of
the arts revitalization committee.
"It tends to
make sense that that's where the office should be," said City Manager Tom
Rockovich.
The arts
committee decided the Transit Building and the Oil Valley Center for the
Arts will serve as the movement's downtown hub.
An
in-progress job description also says the champion should be responsible
for securing funding through grants and other sources, work with city
government, banks, realtors, service clubs and civic groups to foster
program development and be responsible for creating financial packages and
incentives for individual artists.
Mehlburger
and Libby Williams, another committee member, said the candidate should
have a high energy level with good communication skills, be familiar with
marketing and promotional techniques and have an understanding and an
appreciation "for the arts in their various forms."
Williams said
the committee wants the champion to be a "one-stop" contact for program
development and be responsible for implementing a marketing program and
developing city ordinances to create a friendly atmosphere for artists and
visitors.
"We've got to
have somebody who can be that main go-to person - and someone that can
direct building owners to artists," Mehlburger said.
The new hire
also should develop and maintain a Web site, coordinate arts
revitalization public relations efforts and develop an artist advisory
board and an artist review board.
"I think
there should also be a formal monthly review process with monthly reports
to make sure they're meeting their obligations and moving forward in a
timely way," said Councilwoman Sandy Montgomery.
Council's
$19,000 commitment will be divvied at the arts revitalization committee's
discretion, but Williams suggested using $15,000 of that for the
part-time, one-year worker's salary and using $4,000 for supplies.
The city will
advertise the position and Mehlburger hopes the artist champion will be on
board within a month.
Williams said
she has received one letter of interest for the job.