Council OK's Budget, Supports Arts District Idea

By Desiree Parker Friday, May 14, 2010

At their Thursday afternoon meeting, Williamsburg city council approved their budget for 2011 without more discussion and decided to support the idea of pursuing an arts district in the city.

The 2011 budget includes a 3.2 percent reduction in spending, which will be made up through new pool and park fees, reductions in contributions to outside agencies, an increase in water and sewer fees, and the elimination of a few more staff positions. Read a detailed story on the budget proposal here.

Since the proposed budget was released, the city has made a few changes, including increasing the city’s portion of health insurance plan payments for employees by 12 percent, due to a dramatic increase in premiums for the upcoming year. City employees will also be paying more for health insurance in 2011.

The revised budget also includes adding back $50,000 to the Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance. Other changes include reduced funding for the jail of about $82,000, the addition of one police officer, and $500 for high speed rail. The city has also added back some additional funding expected from the state.

Council approved the budget without discussion, as well as an ordinance raising the water rate to $4.20 per 1,000 gallons. Vice Mayor Clyde Haulman was not present for the meeting, but Mayor Jeanne Zeidler said she had spoken with him earlier and he fully supported the budget with the current changes.

Council also heard a report from the Economic Development Authority and the focus group that had been investigating the feasibility of an arts district in the city.

EDA chairman Monty Mason told council the Authority fully supported the idea of an arts district in the city, and he said it was clear that arts could have a very positive impact on the city’s economy.

He said the arts generated billions of dollars in revenue to the country each year, and that an arts district would be economically viable and important to the future cultural development in the city.

Economic Development Director Michelle DeWitt shared the findings of the focus group with council (read a detailed story on the results here).

She told council that an arts district would increase revenues for local businesses and the city, enhance tourism, and support creative professionals.

The next steps would be to look at the properties within the boundaries of the area the group decided on (between Richmond Road and Lafayette Street), and to work on crafting language for an ordinance that would create an arts district. The ordinance would offer incentives to artists within the district, but DeWitt said those incentives and the wording of the ordinance would need to be researched. A smaller focus group will work on this and report back to council.

DeWitt also said the focus group recommends pursuing a market survey to make sure there are enough arts-related prospects in the city to fully utilize the space available. Artspace, the group the city contracted with initially to help figure out where the district should go, offers such a study.

When Councilman Paul Freiling asked what such a study would cost, neither DeWitt nor Zeidler (both part of the focus group) answered him directly. Zeider says the cost is variable and a smaller focus group would look into options for the market study and report back to council.

The arts district “is a concept without a shape yet,” Zeidler said, but there was a lot of community support for the idea so far.

Council agreed to offer its support for the district and will hear more about the various aspects as more information becomes available.