Dane County  
Minutes - Final Unless Amended by  
Committee  
Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission Executive Committee  
Consider:  
Who benefits? Who is burdened?  
Who does not have a voice at the table?  
How can policymakers mitigate unintended consequences?  
Friday, April 12, 2024  
8:30 AM  
Hybrid Meeting: Attend in person at the City County  
Building in Room 209; attend virtually via Zoom.  
A. Call To Order  
Additional Commissioners: Am Curet  
Staff: Mark Fraire, Augusta Brulla  
Call to order at 8:31 a.m.  
3 - Chair RODERICK RITCHERSON, MARY KLEHR, and FRAN PULEO MOYER  
1 - MARCIA MIQUELON  
Present  
Excused  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
1. 2023  
MIN-600  
[MINUTES FROM THE 03/15/2024 ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS  
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING]  
Attachments: 2023 MIN-600  
A motion was made by Vice Chair Klehr to approve the minutes from the March  
15, 2024 Executive Committee meeting, seconded by Commissioner Puleo Moyer.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
2. Approve March 20, 2024, commission minutes for recommendation to full commission  
Chair Ritcherson requested an amendment to section C. 2. to clarify that 2024 Cycle 1  
awards will be discussed by the Executive Committee on April 12th prior to discussion  
and approval by the full commission on April 17th.  
A motion was made by Commissioner Puleo Moyer to recommend the minutes  
from the March 20, 2024 commission meeting for approval by the full commission,  
seconded by Vice Chair Klehr.  
The motion to recommend the minutes as amended by Chair Ritcherson for  
approval by the full commission was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
C. Action Items  
1. Review/Approve Capital Grant Awards for Recommendation to Full Commission  
- 2024 Cycle 1 Capital Grant requests are as follows:  
• Dance Wisconsin - Dance Wisconsin's new pilates equipment used for cross training.  
Request: $1,125.00  
• IP Ministries - Creator's Cottage Printing Press. Request: $3,000.00  
• Madison Children's Museum - Art Studio Equipment. Request: $2,363.00  
• Opera for the Young - Touring Sound System. Request: $500  
- Commissioner Klehr read the applications and proposed the following awards for  
discussion:  
• Dance Wisconsin: $500  
• Madison Children’s Museum: $1200  
• Opera for the Young: $300  
• Creator’s Cottage: $2,000  
• Total proposed Capital Grant awards: $4,000  
- A discussion took place regarding the proposed awards.  
• Commissioner Curet expressed the importance of consistency in the Capital Grant  
award process.  
• Historically, Capital grant applicants have been awarded 50% of their request, however  
this is not a requirement.  
• Requirements for Capital grant state that requests may equal up to 50% of total budget  
up to $3,000. Capital grants do not abide by the same rubric as project grants. There is  
no mandate that applicants will receive 50% of their ask.  
• Commissioner Puleo Moyer expressed her belief in the importance of uplifting new and  
innovative applications, in addition to remaining consistent with past award allocation  
process.  
- The motion was amended by Commissioner Klehr to award three applications at 50%  
and allocate an extra 16% to Creator’s Cottage based on merit. The revised award  
recommendations are as follows:  
• Dance Wisconsin: $563  
• Madison Children’s Museum: $1181.50  
• Opera for the Young: $250.00  
• Creators Cottage: $2000.00  
• TOTAL: $3,997.00 (rounded up to 3,998)  
A motion was made by Vice Chair Klehr to recommend the budget of $4,000 in  
Capital Grant awards to be allocated individually as presented above for  
approval by the full commission, seconded by Commissioner Puleo Moyer.  
An amended motion was made by Vice Chair Klehr to recommend the Capital  
Grant award budget total of $3,998 as outlined above, seconded by  
Commissioner Puleo Moyer.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
2. Approve Final Cycle One Grants Pool Budget for recommendation to full commission (minus panel  
review stipends, capital grants)  
- The approved 2024 Cycle 1 grant budget is $115,000 which will fund Capital and Project  
grant awards and grant panelist honoraria (23 panelists at a rate of $100 each)  
- After $2,300 is deducted for panelist honoraria and $3,998 for Capital Grant awards, the  
remaining proposed 2024 Cycle 1 budget for Project Grant awards is $108,702.  
A motion was made by Commissioner Puleo Moyer to recommend the 2024 Cycle  
1 Project Grant award budget of $108,702 for approval by the full commission,  
seconded by Vice Chair Klehr.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
D. Review Cycle One Grants Allocation Formula Results  
- 65 of 66 Project Grant applications received a score of 74% or higher.  
- Commissioner Curet recommends awarding all 65 grants scoring 74% or higher, as  
outlined by the grant allocation formula, with the exception of the Wisconsin Chamber  
Choir which received a score of 56% (97.91 of 176 total points) due to incompleteness.  
A motion was made by Vice Chair Klehr to recommend the allocation of $108,702  
distributed to 65 applications with the exception of Wisconsin Chamber Choir, for  
approval by the full commission, seconded by Commissioner Puleo Moyer.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
E. Review Short Order Grant Awards  
The short order grant awards will be presented by Director Fraire during the April 17th  
commission meeting.  
F. New Prospect Interview (next steps)  
- A tenth Commissioner, Deshawn McKinney, has been officially appointed by County  
Executive Parisi.  
- Commissioner McKinney is invited to attend the April 17th Commission meeting.  
G. Future Meeting Items and Dates  
1. Develop April 17, 2024, Commission agenda.  
-roll call, establish quorum  
-approve March 20, 2024, meeting minutes (action item)  
-approve Capital Grant Awards (action item)  
-approve Cycle One Final Allocation Budget (action item)  
-review/approve cycle one grant award allocations (action item)  
-report on short order grant allocations  
-Executive Director’s report  
H. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda  
None.  
I. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
- Chair Ritcherson sent a commission-approved letter of advocacy to the County Board of  
supervisors on April 12th.  
- The May 6th Dane Arts 2024 Poster Celebration and Commissioner meet-and-greet  
event is postponed due to challenges securing a venue.  
- Director Fraire invited commissioners to attend two events on April 16: Wisconsin Youth  
Symphony Orchestra’s opening celebration (5 – 7 PM) and Arts + Literature Laboratory’s  
All in for the Arts event (7 – 9 PM)  
- Dane Arts confirmed a partnership with the Hancock Center for Creative Therapies for  
the 2025 Business of Art Conference focusing on health and wellness.  
J. Adjourn  
A motion was made by Commissioner Puleo Moyer to adjourn.  
Meeting adjourned at 9:26 a.m.  
Minutes respectfully submitted by Augusta Brulla pending commission approval.