Arts Panel’s Advice Asked in Spending of Tourist Dollars : Finances: Costa Mesa’s Tourism, Arts and Promotions Council wants the committee’s input on how to spend as much as $2.2 million.

With up to $2.2 million possibly available for the arts and tourism in Costa Mesa next year, the city’s Cultural Arts Committee has been asked for advice on how to spend it.

The money is to be allocated through the new Costa Mesa Tourism, Arts and Promotion Council, which held its first formal meeting Thursday night. The nonprofit council is run by a seven-member board named by the Costa Mesa City Council.

“We are going to ask the Cultural Arts Committee to remain as an adviser on the state of the arts in the city of Costa Mesa,” Mike Chitjian, newly elected tourism council president, said Thursday. Until recently, he was president of the cultural arts panel.

The eight-member Cultural Arts Committee recommends grant recipients to the City Council. This year, 13 groups, from South Coast Repertory to the American Boys Choir, won a total of $175,000 in city subsidies. None of its members are employed by arts organizations, Chitjian said, but each one serves as a liaison to a grant recipient and could therefore convey those groups’ views or needs, he said.

The new tourism and arts council, established in August, set its next meeting for Thursday and asked representatives from the cultural committee and from the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce’s hospitality committee to attend.

In addition, any member of the local arts community may express his ideas by “communicating with the Cultural Arts Committee by telephone or letters” sent to City Hall, Chitjian said.

Also, “if the board feels they need direct input from cultural arts organizations themselves, I’d be in favor of inviting (officials from such groups) to a meeting” of the arts and tourism council, Chitjian added.

At least one local arts administrator hopes the new council will seek ideas directly from arts professionals.

“I would hope this body, when it comes up with basic ideas, would at least get the reactions and feedback from the artistic community,” said David Emmes, producing artistic director of South Coast Repertory. “Not that we distrust them to come up with a plan. It just seems we are an asset that would be helpful about thinking about the plan or polishing the plan.”

Even as discussions begin on how to spend as much as $2.2 million on arts and tourism, the money source is still being decided.

City officials are still deliberating over a funding mechanism, though they say the new tourism and arts council will probably be financed through a fee or tax charged on local hotel and motel bills. A city hotel-motel tax now generates about $2.2 million a year, officials said.

A final recommendation on the proposed tax and how to spend the money will probably be made to the Costa Mesa City Council in January, said City Manager Allan L. Roeder.

In addition to Chitjian, other members of the new council’s board were elected as its officers Thursday. Russell C. Cox, general manager of the Red Lion Hotel, Costa Mesa, was named vice president; Edna G. Bradley, who belongs to a support group of the Orange County Performing Arts Center, was named secretary, and Frank Cole, a businessman, was elected treasurer.