Council Member Joy recommends the City Council approve spending $10,000 of the City Council Contingency Fund as grant match for the Mobilize the Magic City project.

In 2022, the City of Billings was awarded a $50,000 Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Our Town grant is funding the City's Mobilize the MAGIC City project which will work with an artist for a year to develop a formal process to involve art and artists in everyday civic life. Local artist, Terri Porta, was selected as the Artist-In-Residence for this project. Ms. Porta, along with project leaders and volunteers, will engage the public to develop two creative placemaking hubs along Billings' first neighborhood bikeway, document the successful processes in a Placemaking Playbook, and conduct a Public Arts Committee Feasibility Study. The grant from the National Endowment for the Arts requires a dollar-for-dollar match. While part of the match will be provided as an in-kind match, the Mobilize the MAGIC City project leadership team has set a goal of raising $25,000 to match the grant. Funds raised will help expand and enhance creative placemaking hubs along Billings' first neighborhood bikeway. To help fund this match, City staff has secured several small grants and donations from community members. So far, $9,070 has been raised toward the match. This contribution from the Council Contingency would bring the local match effort to nearly $20,000, making the final match needed within reach with another small grant or some further donations.

City Council may:

• Approve spending $10,000 of the City Council Contingency as grant match for the Mobilize the Magic City project.; or,
• Not Approve spending $10,000 of the City Council Contingency as grant match for the Mobilize the Magic City project; or
• Select a different amount of funding of the City Council Contingency as grant match for the Mobilize the Magic City project.

The City Council has authority to direct the funds in its Council Contingency fund throughout the year for special projects or needs that are not otherwise budgeted or accounted for. The Council has budgeted $25,000 in its Contingency fund for this purpose in FY23 and FY24. The Council budgeted $25,000 in its Contingency Fund in FY23 and did not utilize any of the funds. The Council again allocated $25,000 in its Contingency Fund for FY24. The Council may approve spending $10,000 of the City Council Contingency in FY24 as grant match for the Mobilize the Magic City project by a majority vote at this meeting.