Back to Square One on public-art plan

For Carson City’s Cultural Commission, it was back to the drawing board late Tuesday.

Commissioners instructed staffers to look at drafting a new public-arts ordinance seeking a budget line item each year from the city for financing public arts, or a policy that would take a small percentage of construction contingency financing. Each city project normally includes a 10 percent contingency balance; the idea would be to take a portion of that funding for public arts.

The commission discussed new approaches to and funding for a public-art program, a chat prompted by the 3-2 decision by Board of Supervisors this month to reject an ordinance that would have dedicated 1.25 percent of general fund capital improvement money going forward for such a purpose.

The commission had proposed that ordinance and secured backing for it, as well from the Parks and Recreation Commission.

Staffers reported the city’s policymakers voiced two main concerns with the previous proposal: using the city’s capital project fund as the program’s financing source, and obligating future governing boards with such a set-aside.