City debates use of economic development funds

Could a series of murals help stimulate Sarasota’s economy?

City Manager Tom Barwin says he thinks it’s possible. That’s why, at Monday’s City Commission meeting, he proposed using $25,000 in economic development funds to launch a suite of public art projects. In addition to creating a source of income for Sarasota artists who have struggled during the pandemic, Barwin suggested the murals themselves could encourage residents to support local businesses.

“In terms of our pandemic recovery, some relatively small amount of money for artists and murals is something I think could really be a win-win situation for us,” Barwin said.

Although the entire commission voiced support for the concept of funding public artwork, the specifics of the plan drew concern from some board members. The commission previously allocated $2.3 million in economic development funds for a small business grant program, which issued $5,000 to businesses with 25 or fewer employees and met other criteria.

The city anticipated the money could go quickly, but as of Friday, staff had approved just more than $450,000 in grants. With less than a quarter of the pot drained, Barwin proposed the murals could be funded with money from the small business program.

Commissioners Shelli Freeland Eddie and Hagen Brody questioned that choice.

“I think while we’re trying to figure out how best to support businesses, that’s what the money should be used for because that’s what we voted for it to be used for,” Freeland Eddie said.

Brody said he wanted to see more public art in Sarasota, but he asked why the city would not use money from its public art fund. Barwin said the city’s Public Art Committee had not yet had an opportunity to discuss the initiative, but it was possible the public art fund could put forward a portion of the $25,000. Still, he reiterated his belief that the economic development funds were a reasonable way to pay for the murals, and he said the total cost of the artwork would represent a small percentage of the money the city has available.

The commission voted 3-2 to commit $25,000 toward murals, but it’s still unclear where, exactly, the money will come from. The commission authorized spending a nonspecific combination of economic development money and public art money — if the latter happens to be available.

The debate over the mural proposal wasn’t the only source of disagreement among commissioners when it came to Barwin’s ideas for using economic development money. He proposed setting aside another $25,000 to provide “community impact grants” for organizations not eligible for the business grant program. Although Barwin said the grants would be issued to organizations with a high positive impact on the community, he did not have any specific criteria, suggesting his office and the Newtown Redevelopment Office could make determinations case by case.

That, too, drew criticism from Freeland Eddie and Brody. Brody again said he supported the general concept, but he questioned how the city could fairly select grant recipients without establishing how the money would be distributed.

Brody asked whether staff was considering expanding the criteria to allow more businesses to receive grants.

Barwin said he created his proposal to initially target five organizations, fearful the fund would be depleted if officials broadened the criteria.

“If we start to just open them up to every not-for-profit or every other business or service in town, we will, in fact, quickly run out of money,” Barwin said.

The board put off any decision on the community impact grants.

“We can’t just say, ‘City manager, go give this to your favorite organizations in town,’” Brody said.