Council to consider renewed agreement with FC3 for cultural‑arts grants after review of first-year hiccups

The council reviewed a proposed renewal of the city’s cultural‑arts grant administration agreement with the Flagler County Cultural Council (FC3). Staff and FC3 representatives said the organization has adopted improved processes since its first year of administering the program, that the city retains final award authority and that FC3’s role is to manage the application, scoring and recommendation process.

Why it matters: the arrangement moves grant administration to a county arts council and involves city funding and oversight. Council members noted procedural problems in FC3’s first year and asked for greater transparency, including operating the process under Florida’s open‑meetings principles when applicable.

Under the draft agreement FC3’s responsibilities include developing and maintaining the grant application platform, recruiting an impartial panel of subject‑matter experts to score applications, organizing public presentations of recommended awards, and preparing a presentation of grantee recommendations for City Council. The city’s responsibilities include securing grant funds in the budget, creating purchase orders and payment processing, and retaining final decision‑making authority over award levels and recipients.

Council concerns and staff response: some council members said FC3’s first year had “hiccups,” including perceived governance and meeting‑process irregularities. Council member Miller said he believed FC3 had been a “complete failure” for the city and opposed renewing the contract; he requested the city take grant administration back in‑house. Other council members supported at least one additional year for FC3 to complete process improvements, noting FC3 has purchased online application software and logged roughly 200 volunteer hours to administer the program this cycle. FC3 Treasurer and grant administrator Julia Trujillo said the group streamlined applications, held two public workshops and met county and city timelines when requested; she provided a timeline of activity and said the panel had met and forwarded recommendations to the city.

Transparency and sunshine law: council asked staff to ensure the agreement requires FC3 to operate grant‑review meetings consistent with the Florida Open Meetings law where applicable; staff will add language requiring that practice. Council also discussed whether ex‑officio participation by elected officials on FC3 should remain non‑voting; one council member asked staff to confirm whether elected officials can serve as voting members without causing a conflict.

Next steps: the agreement is on the consent/business agenda for final action next week. Staff said FC3 will present recommended grantees to council in October; council retains final award authority and the city will perform invoice processing and audits. Council members asked staff to add sunshine/open‑meeting language and to consider separating FC3 participation from any TDC voting membership to avoid appearance of conflict.

Sources: Presentation by James Hurst, Parks and Recreation, and remarks by FC3 Treasurer Julia Trujillo at the Sept. 9 Palm Coast workshop.