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Downtown Funding To Help City Attractions

Vince DeJoy, city development director, talking to downtown attraction officials about the new Funding for Downtown Programming grant program. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

Officials from several city attractions have two years to spend $600,000 to bring the “Wow” factor to downtown Jamestown.

City officials held a community meeting last week with representatives from several community attractions. Some of the representatives who attended the meeting were from the National Comedy Center, Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, Jamestown Community Chamber of Commerce, Robert H. Jackson Center, Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, Northwest Arena, Roger Tory Peterson Institute for Natural History, DoubleTree by Hilton Jamestown and Lucille Ball Little Theater. In total, around 25 people attended the meeting to learn more about the new Fund for Downtown Programming grant program.

Vince DeJoy, city development director, said city officials have two years to use the money, which is the only deadline for local attraction officials who would like to apply for funding. He said city officials will work with representatives from local attractions on the application process. Once the application is submitted, a new selection committee will review the application and provide a recommendation for the Jamestown Local Development Corporation, the governing body for the new Fund for Downtown Programming grant program. If the JLDC board approves of the application, state officials from the Homes and Community Renewal agency and the Housing Trust Fund Corporation will also need to give their consent. He added that city officials have been told the state will provide their decision on the application within a week or two.

Rewards for programming events will depend on the application, DeJoy said. He said the new fund will help attractions with working capital for an event. He added representatives from attractions can expect a reasonable return of profit for an event.

DeJoy also said the new fund is not meant to subsidize an event or attraction.

“It is about the ‘Wow’ factor,” he said. “We want to attract people from outside the area.”

Crystal Surdyk, city planner, said the application for the Fund for Downtown Programming grant program can be found on the city’s website — jamestownny.net. The maximum grant an attraction can apply for is $50,000 and the largest loan they can apply for is $25,000, for a grand total for an event of $75,000.

“This is for big ideas, big performers, big attractions. It is about the big picture,” Surdyk said.

Following the presentation by city officials, representatives from attractions asked questions about the new programming event fund. One question asked was how can local attractions keep information confidential during the event fund application process while still negotiating with an artist or performer. DeJoy and Surdyk said they will check with state officials to determine what information can be kept confidential during the event fund application process.

Events that will be ineligible for funding include those not open to the public and those categorized as political, DeJoy said. Eligible expenses include talent, hospitality and marketing for the event. However, increased pay for a venue’s staff or to pay for food or beverage to be available during the event would not be eligible.

Applications for the Funding for Downtown Programming grant program are also available at the Department of Development, Third Floor, city Municipal Building, 200 E. Third St., Jamestown.

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