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Washougal officials preview state Creative District application, council resolution to be considered
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Summary
City staff told the Washougal City Council on June 9 that a near‑final application for Washington’s Creative District certification will be submitted to ArtsWA and that staff will bring a draft council resolution of support for consideration at a future meeting.
The Washougal City Council on June 9 heard a staff briefing on a near‑final application to certify a Creative District through ArtsWA, the Washington State Arts Commission, and was told staff will place a draft council resolution of formal support on an upcoming agenda.
City staff said the Creative District program recognizes places with concentrations of arts, music and culture and that certification can open access to grant funding, mentoring and listing on the state program website — benefits staff said could support local economic development and visibility for Washougal’s arts community. “This is in regards to the Creative District certification that we've been working on over the last several months,” a Community Services/Strategy staff member said. “Certification happens through the state of Washington, through ArtsWA. So this resolution is basically just a fancy support letter.”
The presentation said volunteers and members of the Arts Commission helped prepare the application and that the package will include support letters gathered from community partners. Staff described the resolution as “one of those final pieces” to include in the application packet before sending it to the state. The presentation noted that, if successful, Washougal would be among roughly a dozen Creative Districts in Washington and could be the first in Clark County.
Staff linked the Creative District application to other local efforts, saying the community market would present well in the application materials as an example of local arts‑oriented activity. The presentation also reported steady vendor interest in the community market: staff said vendor applications had risen from about 20 to 48 during initial solicitation. The presenter said the market and the Creative District effort both align with the city’s strategic emphasis on economic prosperity and a vibrant town center.
Council members and others who spoke at the workshop thanked the project team and volunteers and noted expected benefits such as increased visibility for local artists and potential grant opportunities. The presentation named several staff and volunteers who worked on the application and mentioned that a city representative planned to attend a statewide arts conference in the near term to support the application outreach.
Staff did not request formal council action during the workshop; instead they said they would bring a draft resolution of support forward for council consideration as part of the application process. No vote or motion on the resolution was taken at the June 9 workshop.
The next step, as described by staff, is to finalize the application packet and place the draft resolution on a future council agenda so the council can decide whether to formally endorse the Creative District application.
