Dane County  
Minutes - Final Unless Amended by  
Committee  
Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission Executive Committee  
Friday, August 1, 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, Klehr, Supervisor Rose  
Excused: Miquelon  
Quorum was established.  
Additional Commissioners: Curet  
Staff: Augusta Brulla, Mark Fraire  
Call to order at 8:30 a.m.  
4 -  
Present  
Excused  
Chair RODERICK RITCHERSON, MARY KLEHR, FRAN PULEO MOYER, and  
Supervisor RICK ROSE  
1 - MARCIA MIQUELON  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
[MINUTES FROM THE 06/05/2025 ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS  
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING]  
1. 2025  
MIN-203  
Attachments: 2025 MIN-203  
A motion was made by Klehr to approve the minutes from the June 5th Executive  
Committee meeting, seconded by Puleo Moyer.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote  
2. Approve June 16, 2025, commission minutes for recommendation to full commission  
Chair Ritcherson requested the following amendment to the minutes (Item D.  
third bullet point): change “bylaws were drafted” to “bylaws were approved.”  
A motion was made by Puleo Moyer to approve the minutes from the June 16th  
Commission meeting for recommendation to the full commission, seconded by  
Klehr.  
The minutes as amended were approved unanimously by a voice vote.  
C. Grants Process Improvement Recommendations/Approvals- (Commissioner  
Curet)  
- Commissioner Curet presented a summary of recommendations for  
improving the current grant process. The document is available for  
commissioners to review via Google Drive.  
- 2025 Cycle 2 recommendations include updates to the panelist  
recruitment process, WebGrants software changes, application/format  
changes, and application content changes.  
- 2026 Cycle 1 recommendations include adjusting grant categories to  
better align with Dane Arts Mission, adding a question to project narrative  
asking how project aligns with Dane Arts mission, and updating the budget  
section of the application.  
- Current grant categories: Arts in Education, Dance, Music,  
Multidisciplinary Arts/Culture, Theater, Visual Arts  
- Recommended updated grant categories: Arts Education, Dance, History &  
Heritage, Music, Theater & Performance, Visual Arts  
- Consensus was that guidelines need to be established around how  
projects versus operating expenses are defined in the context of the Dane  
Arts grant program.  
A motion was made by Curet to recommend the change in grant categories as  
outlined above and adding an introductory paragraph that discusses the  
importance of cultural diversity in appropriate language for approval by the full  
commission, seconded by Puleo Moyer.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
A motion was made by Curet to recommend the budget section updates as  
outlined for approval by the full commission, seconded by Klehr.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
Note: Since Commissioner Curet is not a member of the Executive Committee,  
the two motions above will be considered as a discussion with no official  
recommendation.  
D. Update on 2025 Cycle 2 Planning  
1. Short order grants percentage  
- Chair Ritcherson proposed a setting specific budget threshold, whether dollar  
amount or budget percentage, to allocate to Short Order grants each cycle.  
- Director Fraire recommended a budget percentage allocation to  
accommodate future budget fluctuations.  
- Consensus was that Director Fraire and Cultural Affairs Specialist Brulla  
should propose a recommended budget allocation for short order awards during  
the August 11th Commission meeting.  
2. Projected 2025 cycle 2 budget (overall)  
2025 Budget totals were approved during the March 19th Commission meeting  
and are as follows:  
- 2025 Budget Total: $219,947  
- 2025 Cycle 1: $119,321  
- 2025 Cycle 2: $97,262  
3. Projected number of applications/dollar request amount  
At the time of meeting, in-process grant applications were as follows:  
- Project: 73 (40 submitted, 34 editing)  
- Short Order: 14 (9 submitted, 5 editing)  
- Capital: 10 (3 submitted, 7 editing)  
Note: number of applications subject to change prior to the August 1st 4 p.m.  
grant submission deadline.  
4. Projected number of panel review teams needed  
Depending on the final number of submissions, 25 - 30 panelists will be needed  
for five to six grant review panels.  
E. Suggested Branding Committee Members  
The discussion will be delayed until the September Executive Committee  
meeting.  
F. Vacant Positions  
1. Current candidate(s) status  
- No new prospective commissioner applications have been received.  
- Director Fraire noted that an ideal candidate is someone in the business  
sector with fund development expertise.  
2. 2026 vacancies issue  
Commissioners desiring to serve another term on the commission must be  
appointed by the Count Executive and a resolution must be passed to formalize  
the appointment.  
G. Events Update  
Commissioner Klehr continues to keep the list of Dane Arts supported events  
up to date. Commissioners are encouraged to sign up to attend any events  
listed.  
H. Executive Director’s Report  
Director Fraire is examining the Dane Arts budget for possible reductions as  
requested by the County Executive to address the 2026 Dane County structural  
deficit.  
I. Future Meeting Items and Dates  
1. Discuss/Approve October 2025 Meeting Dates  
A motion was made by Klehr to move Executive Committee meeting from Friday,  
October 3rd at 8:30 a.m. to Friday, October 10th at 4:30 p.m. seconded by  
Supervisor Rose.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
A motion was made by Vice Chair Puleo Moyer to reschedule the October 10th  
Commission meeting to October 16th at 8:30 a.m. for recommendation to the full  
commission, seconded by Klehr.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
2. August 18, 2025, Commission Agenda  
-Roll call, establish quorum  
-Approve June 16, 2025, meeting minutes (action item)  
-Presentation Group  
-Approve Grants Process Improvement Recommendations-(action item)  
-Approve revised commission meeting date  
-Areas of Focus Reports  
-Dane Arts Calendar of Events  
J. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda  
None.  
K. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
None.  
L. Adjourn  
A motion was made by Vice Chair Puleo Moyer to adjourn.  
Meeting adjourned at 9:46 a.m.  
Minutes respectfully submitted by Augusta Brulla pending commission approval.