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City selects nonprofit to lead programming for Indigenous Community Cultural Center; council discusses Orpheum purchase and arts district
Summary
City staff reported the RSOQ selected the Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff to help develop programming and fundraising for the Indigenous Community Cultural Center; council conversation about purchasing the Orpheum Theater and creating an arts and culture district could feed funding to the ICCC through a future bond.
City staff told the Flagstaff City Indigenous Commission on July 10 that the city completed a Request for Statement of Qualifications (RSOQ) for an organization to work on programming and fundraising for the Indigenous Community Cultural Center (ICCC) and identified the Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff (ICF) as the selected nonprofit to work with the city.
Rose (city staff) explained that an RSOQ differs from an RFP because the building is not yet ready for occupation; the city sought an organization to help plan programming, fundraising and early operations rather than immediate tenancy. An internal evaluation team assessed submissions and recommended ICF as the partner organization. Staff said an MOU or similar agreement will be developed to define the city and nonprofit responsibilities; a community benefit agreement was mentioned as a possible structure.
Rose said city leadership is proposing a funding path that could include packaging ICCC needs into an arts-and-culture bond measure if the city proceeds with purchasing the Orpheum Theater and creating an art and culture district. Lauren (city community development staff) explained that purchasing the Orpheum likely would require a bond measure submitted to voters and that an appraisal and building condition assessment are already being pursued; a bond measure would likely appear no earlier than the November 2026 ballot. Lauren said packaging ICCC funding into a larger arts district bond is a possibility under consideration.
Commissioners asked how many nonprofit respondents the RSOQ received; Rose said there was only one application (ICF) and staff moved ahead to avoid further delay. Rose and Lauren said the next steps include negotiating MOU terms, clarifying ICF deliverables, and deciding how a combined city/ICF funding pool (roughly $200,000 in city funds plus ICF fundraising) will be spent and applied to planning and rehabilitation. No formal council action was taken during the commission meeting; council discussion about purchasing the Orpheum occurred separately and was summarized for commission context.
