Carson City arts and culture job moving offices

The job of shepherding Carson City’s arts and culture efforts is moving back to the Culture and Tourism Authority.

The Cultural Commission and the Culture and Tourism Authority held a joint meeting Monday and agreed to return the arts and culture coordinator to the tourism office where the focus is bringing visitors to Carson City.

The position was created in 2016 and is funded by a 1 percent transient lodging tax. The job and the funding was eventually moved into the city office.

“The idea was it was part of the city’s master plan so it was moved to the city,” said Nancy Paulson, city manager. “But after seeing it administered by both, the city and the CTA agree it’s better under the CTA.”

The position has been vacant since June and the tax that funds it is set to sunset on June 1, 2021, unless the city’s hotels and motels agree to continue to collect it.

“I will be speaking with the lodging properties, to assess their support of a ‘new’ 1 percent for the arts and culture program that will be back underneath the CTA,” David Peterson, CTA executive director, said after the meeting.

The new tax would have to be approved by both the CTA board and the Board of Supervisors.

In the meantime, some art projects are in limbo and the city doesn’t want to lose momentum, members of the two committees agreed.

The CTA will issue a request for proposal for arts and culture program services to take over the job no later than Feb. 1 and through May, also with the hopes a room tax extension will continue to fund the job after that.

The RFP will outline tasks or those first four months that include coordinating $25,000 in events funding allocated by the Redevelopment Authority, work with the Reno Tahoe International Airport to host another exhibit of local artists’ work, meeting with the hotel properties and arts organizations, and overseeing a downtown mural project.

The mural is being funded by a $2,600 grant from the Rotary Club of Carson City, and a possible additional $2,000 from the Rotary’s district office.

The mural is planned to spell out Carson City and include scenes and icons associated with the city, but a location and the artist are yet to be determined.

“We’ll be looking in our own backyard for muralists to do this,” said Barbara D’Anneo, the Cultural Commission chair. “We’ve got work to do to get this done.”