Title
Approving the 2021 Cultural Sales Tax Revitalization (STAR) Grant Program awards.
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WHEREAS, on July 13, 1994, the City Council of the City of Saint Paul established the Cultural Capital Investment (“Cultural STAR”) Program, and
WHEREAS, the Cultural STAR Program is funded with ten percent of an additional one-half of one percent sales tax on sales transactions that occur within the City, pursuant to Minnesota Laws 1993, Chapter 375, Article 9, Section 46, as amended, and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Cultural STAR Program is to promote economic growth in Saint Paul by strengthening the arts and cultural sector and by supporting downtown as a vital cultural center, and
WHEREAS, on April 7, 2021, by Resolution 21-493, the 2021 Cultural STAR Guidelines were approved to allow for only one round of funding in 2021, and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Minnesota Laws 1998, Chapter 389, Article 8, Section 37, Subdivision 1, a citizen review panel, commonly known as the Cultural STAR Board, completed its review of all proposals for the expenditure of funds of Cycle 27 of the Cultural STAR Program and made recommendations regarding the proposed expenditures, and
WHEREAS, the Mayor reviewed the applications for funds of Cycle 27 of the Cultural STAR Program and made recommendations, which are listed in the report attached to this resolution entitled “2021 Cultural STAR Board and Mayoral Recommendations” (“Recommendations”), and
WHEREAS, the Mayor has recommended utilizing $100,000 from the 2019 Sales Tax Revenues budget identified for “Events for Neighborhood Cultural Org[anization]s in Downtown” for funding projects in Cycle 27 of the Cultural STAR Program; and
WHEREAS, none of the recommended grants listed in the “Recommendations” require a public hearing due to provisions in the Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 116J, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby approves the projects and amounts listed in Financial Analysis attached hereto for the funding of Cycle 27 of the Cultural STAR Program, and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council extends its gratitude to the members of the Cultural STAR Board for their hard work in reviewing the proposals and making recommendations to the Mayor and City Council in this program year of 2021.