City OKs $3 Million for ’92 Arts Fest, but With Strings

In a 5-4 vote Wednesday, the San Diego City Council agreed to allocate $3 million for a 1992 arts festival on the condition that festival organizers match those funds dollar for dollar with money raised from the private sector.

An additional $500,000 has been budgeted for the festival, although those funds are expected to come from ticket revenues and merchandise sales.

Council Members Ron Roberts, Bob Filner, John Hartley and Wes Pratt and Mayor Maureen O’Connor voted in favor of the festival. Council Members Abbe Wolfsheimer, Linda Bernhardt, Bruce Henderson and Judy McCarty voted against it.

The festival will probably have one of two titles, “New Worlds--a Changing Mosaic” or “European Mosaic ‘92,” and will focus on the changing face of Europe, as well as mark the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in America and the 450th anniversary of Cabrillo’s landing in San Diego.

The festival would last 21 days and take place in October and November.

Of the money allocated, $500,000 had already been approved last spring by the council from the city’s fiscal 1991 budget. The additional appropriations of $1.25 million from the 1992 budget and another $1.25 million from the 1993 budget are not legally binding, according to Assistant City Manager Jack McGrory, but are a “conceptual commitment” to allow festival organizers to begin planning.

The condition that all money used must be matched with money raised from individuals and corporations, however, came as something of a surprise to officials of the Commission for Arts and Culture, who have been responsible for the preliminary organization of the festival.

Although they said they had planned to raise money to help pay for the festival, they had not expected to be required immediately to set up a fund-raising effort, said Jess Flemion, commission chairman, immediately after Wednesday’s meeting.

In particular, she expressed concern about the festival organizers’ ability to match the $500,000 previously allocated for 1991.

“It’s obviously a little bit of a problem this year,” Flemion said. “We’ve got five months left of our budget year. We’ve got to hurry.”

Flemion also said that the mechanism for raising private funds has not yet been set up and that “somebody is going to have to take responsibility for fund raising. The arts commission doesn’t raise money.” She added that individual members of the commission could participate in the fund-raising efforts.

O’Connor was insistent that all money spent by the city be equaled by donated funds, whether in cash or from donated services such as hotel rooms.

“The last festival had to be a dollar-for-dollar match. We didn’t have any money in hand (when we started) last time, and the council put (a) clear restriction that we raise (funds) dollar for dollar,” the mayor said before the vote. “I don’t think we should change that.”

Asked whether she thinks the festival will be jeopardized by the council restrictions given the slow economy, Flemion said she didn’t know.

“I think probably within the next few weeks we’ll get some sense if anyone is moving forward as a major donor,” she said.

The arts commission board is scheduled to meet Jan. 18 and will discuss the issue at that time, if an “emergency meeting” is not scheduled beforehand, Flemion said.