First of two parts
Meghan Sahli-Wells, one of the community’s youngest and best-known activists, was practically afire Monday evening when she dashed home, in an alarmed mood, after the City Council meeting.
With the Summer Music Festival on life support and failing fast because its single funding source, the Redevelopment Agency, has been killed by the legislature, the Council said City Hall no longer will underwrite the eight-week series.
Where to find $75,000 to rescue the July-August program?
In Council Chambers while the members somberly were vowing not to dip into an alternate fund, Ms. Sahli-Wells chatted up a business owner. To her surprise, he volunteered to kick in $500 if others would join him.
Inspired anew, Ms. Sahli-Wells went home and sent an email blast to members of her Downtown Neighborhood Assn., She asked if they would participate in saving the Summer Concert series.
A flock answered affirmatively.
This was exciting.
“In 24 hours,” a pepped-up Ms. Sahli-Wells told the newspaper this afternoon, “we had pledges for $1,000.”
That undoubtedly is the high-water mark in Culver City, lending hope that the putative corpse may only be unconscious not all the way dead.
At the end of Monday night’s Council meeting, there was as much confusion about how City Hall was going to proceed with funding the festival as there is over how the Redevelopment Agency is going to be dismantled.
Funding Tactics
The question about a funding strategy was put to City Manager John Nachbar.
“We will have to come back to the next meeting, Jan. 23, with a report,” he said.
That was the optimistic part.
“We are trying to think through what possibilities there might be,” Mr. Nachbar added. “We are trying. But I would not promise that we will have a funding plan. I will recommend we not use General Funds. To secure funds outside of that is a bit of a challenge.”
At last night’s annual summit meeting for the Cultural Affairs Commission, a well-attended Town Hall, funding was on the minds of many participants, but that was all. Funding for arts programs but especially the Summer Music Festival was not on the commission’s agenda, though. Therefore members only listened without engaging in a meaningful dialogue.
The bulk of the meeting, said Ms. Sahli-Wells, was devoted to updates from invited arts groups who reported on their activities since last January and their intentions for the new year.
“There was really no mention of the (non-funding) bomb that dropped the night before at the Council meeting,” she said.
“It was wonderful to hear what other people are doing, and there is a lot going on.
“It was a hopeful meeting. Once in awhile people spoke of programs that may be cut, and they said ‘Let’s see if we can find ways to create funding.’”
(To be continued)
