Pueblo County Board of County Commissioners members discussed three upcoming community funding requests at their June 5 work session and reached informal approvals and directions to staff.

The county's staffer presenting the requests, Tommy Ferrell, told commissioners the Pueblo Zoo had requested $750 at the "supporter" level for its annual Zufari fundraiser and that individual tickets cost $125; he said the event is June 20. Commissioner Miles Lucero said he would "be willing to go up to that $1,500 leadership level," and other commissioners voiced support for funding the zoo above the requested amount as a county-supported community asset.

The discussion matters because the three events are county-facing public amenities and the board's sponsorships affect both county discretionary spending and public programming in Pueblo.

Commissioners also reviewed a request from the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center for a $1,750 table of 10 for its annual gala (individual tickets $175). Ferrell said the board had authorized $930 for the event last year. Commissioners discussed buying a small number of individual tickets this year; one commissioner said, "Or gets us just $700. I'm comfortable with that," indicating a preference to buy a modest set of individual tickets rather than an entire table.

Finally, the board considered a request from the Pueblo Symphony Association for $3,000 to support its "Pueblo's Fabulous Fourth" concert, which this year will be held at Colorado State University Pueblo. Ferrell said the board previously authorized $2,500 for the Fourth of July concert last year and had authorized $1,000 earlier for the symphony's music education concerts. One commissioner said the symphony expects about 10,000 attendees at the CSU Pueblo site; commissioners expressed support for maintaining the prior $2,500 allocation rather than the full $3,000 request.

These discussions were conducted as part of a work session; commissioners gave direction to staff to process sponsorships and ticket purchases consistent with the informal consensus, but no formal roll-call votes or ordinance actions were recorded in the transcript.

Tommy Ferrell, the staff member who presented the requests, summarized amounts and dates: "They've requested $750, which in your packet you'll see is the supporter level, which includes 4 tickets to the event," and noted the zoo fundraiser was coming up June 20.

Commissioners characterized the zoo and the arts center as community amenities deserving county support. One commissioner said the zoo "is a community asset that's been around since the thirties" and described it as "unique" to Pueblo; another said the county has been "a partner with them for sure." For the Fourth of July concert, commissioners favored keeping the prior $2,500 designation specifically for the holiday event.

The board's remarks show a preference for sustaining support for long-running community events; the staffer was instructed to proceed with ticket purchases and sponsorship processing consistent with the commissioners' directions and the county's available budget.

The work session moved on after the funding discussion.