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Littleton Arts and Culture Board adopts community strategic plan, will forward to city council
Summary
The Littleton Arts and Culture Board voted to adopt a community strategic plan with staff revisions and will forward the document to city council for review on April 8; the board clarified it will remain advisory and act as advocates for implementation.
The Littleton Arts and Culture Board voted unanimously on Feb. 13 to adopt a community strategic plan and forward it to the Littleton City Council for review and revision, board members said.
Anna Deisty, a city staff member who helped compile board feedback, told the board the document frames the board’s role primarily as advocacy rather than direct programming: “It will remain an advisory board.”
Board members discussed five themes captured in the feedback summary: the board’s role, leveraging existing local and regional resources, cross-organizational collaboration, budget and potential revenue sources, and venue needs. Staff described the plan as a working document with action steps that will be staff-led in the near term and increasingly board-involved in 2026 and 2027.
Discussion at the meeting included potential funding mechanisms for public art. Staff described a researched “percent for art” concept that council previously reviewed in 2022: a portion of public construction budgets (commonly 1–1.5%) could be set aside for public art acquisition and an additional maintenance escrow. Staff said council was initially more receptive to a public-side percent program and cautious about applying a similar requirement to private developers; council requested the board continue work using existing lodgers-tax revenue first.
Board members also raised venue needs and the variety of community expectations for what a “venue” should provide. Staff said the plan includes a venue inventory and that further work will refine the city’s options and priorities.
At the end of discussion, the chair called for a motion “to adopt and advance the arts and culture community strategic plan.” A member moved to adopt; a second was recorded. The board then voted to adopt the plan with proposed changes and forward it to council for review; staff said the board will present the document to council at a Sunday session on April 8.
Board members and staff said they will use the adopted plan as a starting point to brief partner organizations such as South Suburban Parks and Recreation, the Littleton Downtown Development Authority, the chamber of commerce and Littleton Public Schools, and to guide next steps in public-art policy, venue inventory and grant cycles.
