ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) – On Tuesday, the council voted 5-0 to repeal Article 1-17 of the City Code of Ordinances, called the “Percentage for the Arts Program.”
The Percentage for the Arts Program was passed in 2020. That gave a portion of the total cost for capital improvement projects to the art committee to produce a public art piece.
Those projects include things like water treatment, fixing roads, and more.
Under that ordinance, for any capital improvement project that exceeds 250,000 dollars, 1% of the total is set aside for public art.
For example, with a 95 million dollar water treatment plant project, 950 thousand dollars would be taken out to fund public art associated with and located at the water treatment plant.
In a statement to CBS7, Odessa Arts Executive Director Randy Ham said of people traveling to Odessa in part quote:
He says each year the Arts and Culture Sector adds 6 million dollars of economic activity to the City of Odessa.
Mayor Javier Joven says the council still supports art, but not instead of other necessary improvements.
The city still funds Odessa Arts through the Hotel Occupancy Tax. That sends one-seventh of the revenue given to the city from the tax to Odessa Arts.
In a statement to CBS7, Odessa Arts Executive Director Randy Ham said in part quote:
In the past, the amount given to Odessa Arts through that tax has totaled $450,000.
The repeal of Chapter 1 Article 17 that the city council did on Tuesday is about keeping the money determined for city projects, like road repair, on the repairs, and not going to the art associated with the projects.
You can read Randy Ham’s full statement below:
Since the adoption of the Percent for Art ordinance in February 2020, five projects have been funded through this ordinance: Fire Stations #6, & #9, the new animal control facility, OPD training facility, and the family wellness clinic. Combined, these projects total just $215,000, representing 0.00214% of the total $93,000,000 from the certificates of obligation that funded these construction projects (typically, in a construction project 15% of the budget is allocated for what’s called a contingency. Contingency is used when unexpected expenses come up due to work stoppage, weather, unforeseen challenges, etc).
Breaking it down further, that’s $1.86 per person based on 2020 census data of the total population of Odessa, TX. Less than a Starbucks coffee.
It should also be noted that capital costs cannot be used to fund salaries. Funding public art does not take away from human resources, nor does it affect the safety or durability of the construction itself.
Investing municipal dollars towards public art encourages the private sector to do the same. For every two percent for art projects completed, there is one privately funded, private sector piece that is commissioned, like the Fist Basin corporate headquarters on 191 or the mural at Black Tulip Floral Design.
Within one year of the percent for art ordinance being adopted, Odessa was selected as the focus of an upcoming episode of the Amazon series, ‘The Story of Art in America.’ Over the course of three days in April of 2023, a camera crew traveled around Odessa and captured some of the most important pieces of public art. This episode will air worldwide in early 2024, giving the City much needed positive exposure.
Public Art is good for tourism. If you don’t think Odessa is a tourist destination, you are mistaken. Odessa/Midland is the region’s DFW. Our city is a hub for people traveling from Pecos, Monahans, Big Spring, and Ft. Stockton, just to name a few. Every one of those travelers is a tourist. While they may come for shopping, or health appointments, having cultural amenities will encourage them to stay one more day, eat one more meal, and spend one more dollar, adding to the economic benefit of Art.
Each year, the Arts & Culture sector adds $6,000,000 in economic activity to the City of Odessa. It is not the optional frosting on the cake of this city, it is the eggs, flour, and sugar. An investment in public art is paid back many times over, not only in the overall economic benefit, but in the municipal tax dollars that flow directly back to the City.
It should also be noted that the City continues to fund Odessa Arts through the allocation of Hotel Occupancy Tax, which allows us to award cultural tourism grants to a dozen agencies and artists in Odessa. In 2023 Odessa Arts granted over $200,000 to support cultural tourism in Odessa and Ector County.
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