City of Littleton reviews draft five‑year arts and culture strategic plan

The Littleton Arts & Culture Board on Jan. 9, 2025, heard a presentation of a draft City of Littleton arts and culture strategic plan from consultants Alex Keane and Dr. Roxana Filipovska of Keane Independent Research.

The plan is an inaugural five‑year strategy covering 2025–2029 intended to unify city and community arts efforts. “This is still in draft … were soliciting any final comments on this plan before it becomes a an adopted plan,” Dr. Roxana Filipovska said during the presentation.

Board chair JD McCrumb and staff said the board will review the draft and return written feedback to staff by Jan. 31, 2025; the board expects to vote on the plan at its February meeting and to present the plan to City Council in a study session scheduled for April 8, 2025. Staff identified the public art administrator as the suggested lead for some implementation tasks.

Keane Independent said the plan builds on community input collected since June 2024, including in‑person and virtual events and a survey that together drew about 350 participants, and extensive mapping of arts and cultural assets. The consultants described the document as both a high‑level strategy and an implementation guide with recommended leads, interim and stretch goals and suggested performance indicators.

Among the plans headline recommendations are five parallel categories: activate existing resources; cultivate arts and culture for all of Littleton; foster a broader arts and culture ecosystem; develop and refine governance policies and procedures; and plan for Littletons future. Keane Independent identified downtown as the concentration of current assets and suggested additional investment in under‑served areas such as Trailmark.

The presentation included example implementation language. Alex Keane said the plan proposes a named staff lead and collaborators for specific actions and gave an example: inventorying programs and resources, with the public art administrator listed as the suggested lead and a goal that the inventory be completed and accessible by 2026, with an ongoing update cadence as a stretch goal through 2030.

Board members asked for time to read the roughly 90‑page draft and for hard copies where helpful. Consultants said the appendices include the market analysis, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, funding review and stakeholder input, and that the draft is available on the project study website. The board requested that staff circulate a reminder of the Jan. 31 feedback deadline and said it will bring consolidated comments to the February meeting.

The board and staff framed the next stage as implementation work that will require additional coordination with regional partners and with City Council, not a change to the drafts overall strategy. Consultants described the plan as a living document meant to be adapted as projects and partnerships develop.