Oil City's
downtown arts revitalization movement needs the backing of city council,
and some volunteers believe that a railing the project took Monday
afternoon resulted from an unfortunate communication breakdown.
That
sentiment followed the 30- to 40-minute lashing thrown at the arts
movement's direction, its search for sustaining funds and its "champion,"
artist Joann Wheeler.
As a review
of the city's 2007 spending plan approaches, council members were
discussing plans for $30,500 in job creation and economic development
funds tucked away in the city's industrial park budget.
The arts
revitalization effort, formed at the request of city council, is charged
with drawing live-and-work artists to the city. Using upper-story downtown
building space - and the National Transit Building complex in particular -
artists ideally would use some of those spaces for housing, store space
and studio space.
Council
committed $15,000 earlier this year for Wheeler plus $4,000 for expenses.
Arts revitalization chairman Lee Mehlburger approached council a couple of
weeks ago and asked for more money. He said the money would allow Wheeler
to work 20 hours each week rather than 15, as well as help buy a needed
boiler for the National Transit annex - a largely unrenovated space in
which a half-dozen artists have expressed interest.
"Councilman
(Neil) McElwee already brought up the possibility of the city helping fund
the boiler (with Community Development Block Grant funds), so I thought it
couldn't hurt to ask for that, too," Mehlburger said. The fund request for
Wheeler's position received a warmer reception than his mention of boiler
monies, he added.
Without the
$39,000 boiler for heat in the Transit annex, a large chunk of the
movement will have a tough time moving forward, Mehlburger said. A $15,000
grant already has been awarded toward the project.
"We just want
to make sure the arts revitalization program is understood," Oil City Arts
Council chairwoman Libby Williams said. "The boiler is an integral part of
this and we can't move forward until we have that."
Mayor Ed
Sharp repeatedly indicated that he wants to know that the movement is on
its way to financial autonomy. McElwee said that council is "not a sugar
daddy that's going to be giving to them much longer," indicating the arts
movement and the Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry and Tourism.
Williams
thought Monday's back-and-forth questioning of the arts movement's
direction and money search was simply "pathetic."
And though
the arts revitalization effort is separate from the arts council, it does
fall under umbrellas of the city and the arts council. City staff and
council members are part of the arts revitalization effort, and council
members, through printed reports, agendas and documents, are kept up to
date on the program's happenings, Mehlburger said.
"I was really
disappointed when I read what they had said," Williams said. "So many of
the same people are involved in the downtown arts revitalization that are
involved in the arts council. We have a proven track record. We get a
$3,000 allotment each year from the city and we're exploding that to a
budget of more than $119,000 in 2007. We have a track record of being able
to support our programs."
That money is
used as a starting point that turns into thousands of dollars worth of
grants, ticket receipts from year-round entertainment programming in Oil
City, memberships and donations.
Wheeler has
been able to generate nearly $60,000 in monetary and in-kind donations to
the arts revitalization effort in less than six months. The Elizabeth S.
Black Charitable Trust awarded $15,000 of that last week for operational
costs, Williams said, adding that arts council and arts revitalization
monies are kept separate.
"We need our
grant sources to know that this is a united, solidified effort, and we
would like council to affirm that," Williams said.
Out-of-town
consultants recommended the arts revitalization movement to the city late
last year, citing similar successful programs that have taken root
throughout the country - and for much more money than Oil City has
invested, Mehlburger said.
"(The
consultant) Shepstone thought this was good for Oil City and council
decided it was good to work on," Mehlburger said. "Shepstone said that the
city should plan on contributing to a successful program for 10 years, but
we're trying to get this up and running in three because we have a
deadline to meet."
That deadline
falls with activities planned to celebrate the 2009 sesquicentennial of
oil.
"Other cities
have had to pay a lot of money for their champions and buy the buildings
they use for their arts revitalization," Mehlburger said. "Oil City is
getting off cheap on this because we've got the Transit and Joann. We've
got Joann - a woman of this caliber - who is willing to work for these
(small) wages, and for her to do that job for us is nothing short of
miraculous. We are so fortunate that she is in our midst."
"The old
business philosophy, 'You've got to spend money to make money' is not so
outdated," Mehlburger added. "We all are doing it. Buying rental
properties, sending our kids to college and running a business. All
successful businessmen know 'you get what you pay for.' The arts
revitalization must have the time and money it needs to build value into
this program."
Monday's
council lashing not only drew jeers from those directly involved with the
arts movement, but from arts enthusiasts outside the Oil City community as
well.
"I can't even
begin to tell you how cranky I am at Oil City's Council and their
short-sightedness regarding their arts champion program," wrote Michael
Dittman of Franklin on his arts and culture blog, http://venangago-go.blogspot.com.
Dittman also
noted that Herb Weiss, the man brought in by Oil City to explain how to
best create the city's arts revitalization, pointed out that experts say
it takes about 10 years to create a thriving arts and entertainment
district.
"Instead,
Neil McElwee says after six months, 'We're not a sugar daddy that's going
to be giving to them much longer'," Dittman writes.
"Joann is
doing a fantastic job and needs the support of council. Please consider
writing the council and telling them that you think this project is
worthwhile, not just to Oil City, but to the region," Dittman writes.