Form revised: August 9, 2010

FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS

Department:	Contact Person/Phone:	CBO Analyst/Phone:
Seattle Center	Ned Dunn 684-7212 John Merner 684-7124 Helaine Honig, Law, 684-8222	Amy Williams 233-2651

Legislation Title:

AN ORDINANCE authorizing the Seattle Center Director to execute an agreement with The Vera Project for presentation of an all-ages music and art program during 2011 and 2012.

Summary of the Legislation:

The attached legislation authorizes a two-year agreement with The Vera Project, a Washington non-profit corporation, for the continued development and presentation of a youth music and arts program. The Vera Project will present a minimum of 50 annual music shows and other arts events for persons under 21 years of age, with people of all ages welcome.  In return for these youth programming services, the City will pay The Vera Project $50,000 in each year. 

Background:

The Vera Project is a youth-driven, volunteer-based organization providing artistic events as well as training and mentoring opportunities for young people, while supporting young and emerging artists.  Vera has been operating in Seattle for the past eleven years, and relocated its facilities to the Seattle Center campus in 2007.  In 2006, the City Council approved a ten year lease agreement with Vera for use of the Northwest Rooms at Seattle Center. The annual lease payment is currently $39,530 (Ordinance 122068).

In addition to the lease agreement, the City has also provided Vera with various levels of programming support since they began operating in 2007.  In 2001, the City provided $70,000 to support their first year of operation.  In 2002, several different City departments provided a total of $75,000 to support expanding youth programming efforts (agreement authorized by Ordinance 120802).  From 2003 through 2008, The Vera Project received $50,000 each year consisting of  $25,000 from the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs (OACA), $15,000 from the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), and $10,000 from Seattle Center (agreements authorized by Ordinances 121155, 121818 and 122376). 

In 2009, a new two year agreement was approved, which continued the same level of funding support through 2010 (Ordinance 122973).  One minor change in how the funding was administered was approved as part of the Adopted 2009/2010 Budget which consolidated the funds from OACA and DPR in Seattle Center’s budget. The change was made only to streamline administration of the contract with Vera, which is managed by Seattle Center.  The new agreement for 2011/2012 does not include any changes to the current amount of programming support provided to Vera.  In return, Vera will provide a minimum of 50 music and arts events each year.  In addition, The Vera Project will try to leverage City funding with outside resources to increase the number of events per year from 50 to 80. 

Please check one of the following:

____ This legislation does not have any financial implications.

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__X__ This legislation has financial implications. (Please complete all relevant sections that follow.)

Appropriations:

There is no appropriation requested as a result of this legislation.  The funding for this agreement is included in the Proposed 2011/2012 Budget.

Anticipated Revenue/Reimbursement: Resulting from this Legislation:

No revenues are anticipated as a result of this legislation.

Total Regular Positions Created, Modified, or Abrogated through this Legislation, Including FTE Impact:

Position Notes: There are no position impacts as a result of this legislation.

What is the financial cost of not implementing the legislation?

There is no financial cost if this legislation is not implemented.

Does this legislation affect any departments besides the originating department?

No.

What are the possible alternatives to the legislation that could achieve the same or similar objectives?

There are no viable alternatives that would achieve the same objective

Is the legislation subject to public hearing requirements?

No.

Other Issues: Without a continuation of City support, The Vera Project will not be able to provide 50 music and arts events for youth and will not be able to leverage this funding to provide up to 80 total events each year.

List attachments to the fiscal note below: N/A