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Council agrees to fund Peace Academy’s International Cultural Festival; appropriation to be placed on Oct. 14 agenda
Summary
Peace Academy requested $6,000 to rent tents and secure media support for an Oct. 25 International Cultural Festival. Council approved the request and directed finance staff to prepare a resolution appropriating general-fund dollars at the Oct. 14 meeting.
Odessa — Peace Academy asked the City Council for $6,000 to provide 35–40 tents and media support for the school’s International Cultural Festival scheduled for Oct. 25, and council members approved the request with instructions on how to handle appropriation.
The applicant said last year’s event was smaller and the goal is to expand to represent more cultures; the applicant asked the city to fund tents and provide media promotion. Staff advised that hotel-occupancy-tax (HOT) funds have an application cycle and that awarding HOT money outside the usual process would be atypical; finance staff said the only immediate source would be the general fund and that, if awarded now, the appropriation would be outside the standard application period.
Action and next steps
Council voted to approve the $6,000 request and directed staff to prepare the necessary appropriation paperwork. Finance staff said the appropriation will be handled via the general fund and a resolution will be brought back to council for formal appropriation at the Oct. 14 meeting. Council also urged the applicant to develop visitor metrics (attendance by out-of-area visitors) if it expects future HOT-fund consideration.
Event details provided in meeting
- Amount requested: $6,000 (tents and media support) - Event date and time: Oct. 25, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. - Current plan: free, in-town public event; applicant said organizers hope to engage consulates and out-of-town visitors next year
Ending
Council approved the funding request and instructed staff to prepare a formal appropriation resolution to appear on the Oct. 14 agenda; a budget adjustment will then be completed by finance.
