Title
Resolution Instructing the City Administrator to Allocate FY2015 Community Events Monies to the Benefit of The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair
Body
Whereas, The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original (“AASAF”) is one of four non-profit organizations that cooperate to produce four annual art fairs collectively known as “Art Fair”;
Whereas, Every year Art Fair attracts thousands of artists and vendors and over 500,000 attendees to Ann Arbor;
Whereas, Every year Art Fair plays a central and vital role in Ann Arbor’s cultural environment;
Whereas, Every year Art Fair plays an absolutely existential role in our downtown economy, making survival possible for many local restaurateurs, merchants, and vendors;
Whereas, Although the four organizations that provide the Art Fairs cooperate with each other, they are each separate entities, with separate revenue streams, costs, and missions;
Whereas, AASAF bears costs that are not shared by the other organizations, namely rent due to the University of Michigan (“University”) for use of University property;
Whereas, AASAF has revenue constraints that are not shared by the other organizations, namely sponsorship and vendor limitations imposed by the University due to AASAF’s location on University property;
Whereas, The satisfaction of AASAF’s mission to provide community benefits reduces AASAF’s ability to maximize revenue, namely by the use of otherwise sellable booth space for the Art Demo Zone, Art Activity Zones, Street Painting Exhibition, and the Fountain Stage;
Whereas, The cost and revenue challenges facing AASAF, as well as its ongoing use of potential booth space for children’s, performance, and community events have resulted in annual deficits since 2010 ranging from $5700 to approximately $8000;
Whereas, The City of Ann Arbor charges Art Fair approximately $60,000 a year to cover the cost of Art-Fair specific and requested City services, namely street barrier location, supplementary safety services, and s...
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