The City Council is being asked to provide a letter of endorsement for a National Endowment for the Arts grant. The Planning Division, in a co-lead role with the Billings Cultural Partners, intends to apply for a $75,000 grant. The grant is titled, Our Town, and is available through the National Endowment of the Arts. The proposed project would develop a cultural plan for the area within the One Big Sky District study boundary that highlights and preserves existing arts and culture, while identifying opportunities to fill in any gaps with amenities such as a walking cultural corridor, town square/creative commons area, and other programming that considers input from anyone that works, lives, and plays in the area. This process will include significant public and local artist involvement.

The City will serve as the fiscal agent and administrator of the funds if successful in securing the grant funds.  The Planning Division is familiar with federal grant administration and will serve as the City's representative. 

City Council may:

• Approve the request to apply for grant funds through the Our Town Grant and authorize the Mayor to sign the letter of endorsement or;
• Disapprove the request to apply for grant funds and not authorize the Mayor to sign the letter of endorsement. 

The grant request from the National Endowment for the Arts will be for $75,000 with an anticipated total consultant contract of $100,000.  The grant funds require a 1:1 match that can be a mix of cash and in-kind contributions.  It is the intent of oversight committee for this grant application to provide $25,000 in cash match and the remainder in volunteer time and a portion of professional staff time.  The oversight committee will be securing the $25,000 cash contribution from local entities over the next few months. The grant award is expected in Spring 2019. The remaining $50,000 will be provided in-kind by professional staff from the oversight committee and community volunteers. No City funds are requested for this application.

Staff recommends the City Council approve the grant application for funds from the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town grant and authorize the Mayor to sign the letter of endorsement.