Dane County  
Minutes - Final Unless Amended by  
Committee  
Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission Executive Committee  
Friday, April 4, 2025  
8:30 AM  
Hybrid Meeting: Attend in person at the City County  
Building in Room 209; attend virtually via Zoom.  
A. Call To Order  
Present: Chair Ritcherson, Vice Chair Puleo Moyer, Supervisor Rose, Klehr, Curet  
Excused: Miquelon  
Quorum was established  
Staff: Mark Fraire, Augusta Brulla  
Call to order at 8:31 a.m.  
4 -  
Present  
Excused  
Chair RODERICK RITCHERSON, MARY KLEHR, FRAN PULEO MOYER, and  
Supervisor RICK ROSE  
1 - MARCIA MIQUELON  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
This resolution was approved the minutes  
[MINUTES FROM THE 03/14/2025 ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS  
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING]  
1. 2024  
MIN-571  
Attachments: 2024 MIN-571  
A motion was made by Puleo Moyer to approve the minutes from the 3/14/25 Arts  
and Cultural Affairs Executive Committee, seconded by Klehr.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
2. Approve March 19, 2025, commission minutes for recommendation to full commission.  
A motion was made by Klehr, to recommend the 3/19/25 Arts and Cultural Affairs  
Commission minutes for approval by the full commission, seconded by Puleo  
Moyer.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
C. Cycle One Grant Review-Final Prep  
1. Review cycle one overall budget  
The approved total grant budget for 2025 Cycle 1 is $119,321, which will fund grant  
panelist honoraria, Capital, Short Order, and Project grant awards  
2. Review capital grant applications/budget, approve awards  
-An allocation of up to 5% of the total 2025 Cycle 1 grant budget ($5,966) was approved  
for distribution among this cycle’s Capital grant applications.  
- Three eligible Capital grant requests totaling $8,529.95 were received this cycle.  
Applications are as follows:  
1. Friends of Allen Centennial Gardens: $3,000 to purchase a sound system.  
2. Polka! Press: $2,529.95 to purchase a tunnel dryer, flat file, and lighting.  
3. MYArts: $3,000 for chairs, music stands, tables, and A/V equipment.  
A motion was made by Commissioner Klehr to recommend the award of $2,000  
for Allen Centennial Gardens, seconded by Vice Chair Puleo Moyer.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
A motion was made by Commissioner Klehr to recommended the award of $1,670  
to Polka Press, seconded by Chair Ritcherson.  
The motion was amended to increase the award to $2,000 with the understanding  
that the extra $30 will be funded by a Dane Arts line item outside of the grant  
budget.  
The motion as amended was approved unanimously by a voice vote.  
A motion was made by Klehr to recommend the award of $2,000 for MYArts,  
seconded by Vice Chair Puleo Moyer.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
3. Review short order applications/budget, approve awards  
Three eligible Short Order applications were received this cycle totaling $2,900 in  
requests. Applications are as follows:  
1. Poetry in Spanish Workshops submitted by Araceli Esparza: $900  
2. Bilingual Literacy & SEL (social emotional learning) Empowerment through Library  
Events submitted by Culture Trip LLC: $1,000  
3. Youth Arts Therapeutic Sensory Kits submitted by Madison Youth Arts Center  
(MYArts): $1,000  
Director fraire recommended the following short order awards: $750 to Araceli Esparza,  
$750 to Culture Trip LLC, and $1,000 to MYArts.  
A motion was made Commissioner Klehr to approve the short order award  
allocations outlined by Director Fraire, seconded by Chair Ritcherson.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
4. Review/approve panel review stipends  
Each grant review panelist is offered a $100 honorarium for their participation on the  
review panel. This cycle 27 panelists participated for a total of $2,700 in honoraria.  
A motion was made by Chair Ritcherson to approve the allocation of $2,700 in  
grant panelist honoraria from the 2025 Cycle 1 grant budget, seconded by  
Commissioner Klehr.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote  
5. Approve final cycle one grant pool budget for April 7  
After grant panelist honoraria, Capital, and Short Order grant allocations are deducted the  
remaining 2025 Cycle 1 project grant budget is $108,500.  
Chair Ritcherson made a motion to approve the allocation of $108,500 for 2025  
Cycle 1 project grants, seconded by Vice Chair Puleo Moyer.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
D. Final Review of Applications by Scored Rankings  
1. Approve for recommendation to full commission  
- 80 project grant applicants totaling $348,079 in requests were received.  
- Commissioner Curet recommended allocating funding based on how applicant scores  
as assigned by the grant review panels.  
- Out of 100 points, applicants scored relatively high, ranging from 70.6 to 99.  
- Commissioner Curet recommended that the Executive Committee approve the grant  
awards based on allocation of funding per their application score and available funds in  
2025 Cycle 1.  
A motion was made by Vice Chair Puleo Moyer to recommend the grant awards  
based on allocation of funding per their application score and available funds in  
2025 Cycle 1 for approval by the full commission, seconded by Commissioner  
Klehr.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
E. Review Areas of Focus Submissions  
Areas of focus will be addressed during the April Commission meeting.  
F. Dane Arts Branding  
1. Dane Arts Department  
Chair Ritcherson proposed discussing the branding distinction between the Dane Arts  
office and the Dane Arts Commission.  
2. Dane Arts Commission  
Consensus was that this topic warrants further discussion and strategic planning.  
G. Other  
1. Grant allocation scenarios (focus group testing)  
- Building from a discussion initiated during the March commission meeting, Chair  
Ritcherson would like commissioners to continue thinking about potential ways the grant  
application process could be structured.  
- Various approaches could be presented to focus groups by Commissioner McKinney.  
2. 2025 Dane Arts Sponsored Events  
Dane Arts supported events will be shared with the full Commission on Monday, April 7th.  
3. Data collection  
Data will be used to make a compelling proposal for grant funding need when requesting  
a grant budget increase within the county.  
4. Vacant position  
Commissioners are encouraged to share any recommendations for potential  
commissioner candidates to replace Jay Handy’s appointment expiring in June 2025.  
5. Friends of Dane Arts  
The first official meeting of the Friends of Dane Arts will take place in April.  
H. Executive Director’s Report  
- The focus this month is the Business of Art Conference taking place April 24-26 with  
nearly 200 individuals are registered to date.  
- Commissioners are encouraged to register for the conference to gain access to the  
conference agenda on Whova.  
- Director Fraire met with County Executive Agard to discuss how the arts can support  
key priorities of the county.  
F. Future Meeting Items and Dates  
1. Develop April 7, 2025, Commission Agenda:  
-Roll call, establish quorum  
-Approve March 19, 2025, meeting minutes (action item)  
-Review/approve grant allocations (action item)  
-Areas of Focus (reminder)  
-Brief discussion on Grant Decision Making Philosophy  
-Brief discussion-2025 Dane Arts Calendar of Events  
G. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda  
None.  
H. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
None.  
I. Adjourn  
A motion was made by Commissioner Klehr to adjourn.  
Meeting adjourned at 9:37 a.m.  
Minutes respectfully submitted by Augusta Brulla pending Commission approval.