Transmittal - 1/21/2022
MARY BETH THOMPSON
Finance Director
ERIN MENDENHALL
Mayor
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
POLICY AND BUDGET DIVISION
451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 238
PO BOX 145467, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84114-5455 TEL 801-535-6394
CITY COUNCIL TRANSMITTAL
________________________ Date Received: ___________
Lisa Shaffer, Chief Administrative Officer Date sent to Council: ___________
____________________________________________ ____________________________
TO: Salt Lake City Council DATE: January 21, 2022
Dan Dugan
FROM: Mary Beth Thompson, Chief Financial Officer
Katie Lewis, City Attorney
SUBJECT: Sustained occupation and usage of Salt Lake City Corporation property located at
54 Finch Lane, also known as the “Art Barn,” to Salt Lake City Arts Council Foundation, a Utah
nonprofit corporation: Public Benefit Analysis under Utah Code Section 10-8-2.
SPONSOR: NA
STAFF CONTACT: Randy Hillier, Policy and Budget Analyst (801) 535-6606,
Felicia Baca, Executive Director, Salt Lake City Arts Council, Taylor
Knuth, Deputy Director, Salt Lake City Arts Council or Sara Montoya,
City Attorney (801) 535-7685
DOCUMENT TYPE: Public Benefits Analysis and Recommendation (Revised to correct
typographical error)
RECOMMENDATION: The Administration recommends that a public hearing be held on the
matter of the Public Benefits Analysis and to consider adopting a resolution allowing the
sustained occupation and usage of the Salt Lake City Corporation property located at 54 Finch
Lane, also known as the “Art Barn” to the Salt Lake City Arts Council Foundation.
BUDGET IMPACT: NA
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
The Salt Lake City Arts Council Foundation & Arts Division is requesting to continue utilizing
54 Finch Lane, or the “Art Barn” as the administrative headquarters, housing 6.5 Arts Council
FTEs and multiple seasonal and part-time employees, as well as to provide a home for the Finch
Lane Art Gallery and its numerous exhibitions.
Katherine Lewis (Jan 21, 2022 12:35 MST)
Lisa Shaffer (Jan 28, 2022 15:54 MST)
Over the past 18+months, the Arts Council was tasked with formalizing an Operating Agreement
between the Arts Council Foundation and Salt Lake City. As part of this work, the Arts Council
completed drafts of the Operating Agreement, revised the Foundation Bylaws, and completed a
comprehensive Human Resource policies and procedures manual for the Salt Lake Arts Council
Foundation.
Although the Arts Council has utilized the Art Barn for decades, a Public Benefits Analysis, as
per Utah Code 10-8-2, has never been completed. With the completion of the newly formalized
operating agreement, the Attorney’s Office thought it would be appropriate to complete a Public
Benefits Analysis to satisfy the requirements of this code.
Utah Code 10-8-2 (1) (a) (v) states that after first holding a public hearing, a municipal
legislative body may authorize municipal services or other nonmonetary assistance to be
provided to or waive fees required to be paid by a nonprofit entity, whether or not the
municipality receives consideration in return.
While a study is not required under Utah Code 10-8-2 before the City can enter an agreement for
a below market value lease, it is beneficial to consider whether such an agreement will meet the
public benefit requirements under Utah Code 10-8-2.
The attached memo to Rachel Otto, Mayor’s Chief of Staff, outlines the public benefits identified
by the Administration that the City will realize from allowing the continued usage of the City-
owned 54 Finch Lane “Art Barn” as the primary administrative headquarters of the Salt Lake
City Foundation & Arts Division.
PUBLIC PROCESS: Public Hearing
MEMORANDUM
TO: Lisa Shaffer
Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Felicia Baca
Executive Director
Salt Lake City Arts Council
DATE: January 21, 2022
SUBJECT: Sustained occupation and usage of Salt Lake City Corporation property located at
54 Finch Lane, also known as the “Art Barn,” to Salt Lake City Arts Council Foundation, a Utah
nonprofit corporation: Public Benefit Analysis under Utah Code Section 10 -8-2.
____________________________________________________________________________________
In continuation of longstanding support from Salt Lake City since 1979, the Salt Lake Arts Council
Foundation & Arts Division respectfully requests the continued usage of the Art Barn in Salt Lake City as
both the administrative headquarters of 6.5 Salt Lake City Government staff and multiple seasonal and
part time employees of the Arts Council foundation. Additionally, maximizing efficient usage, this site
serves the community and local artists as the Finch Lane Art Gallery, home to exhibitio ns of diverse
emerging and established Utah artists since 1931. The Salt Lake City Arts Council has served as an
integral component of Salt Lake City as a governmental non-profit under Utah Code 11-13a-101.
Over the past 18+months, the Arts Council was tasked with formalizing an Operating Agreement between
the Arts Council Foundation and Salt Lake City, As part of this work, the Arts Council completed drafts of
the Operating Agreement, revised the Foundation Bylaws, and completed a comprehensive Human
Resource policies and procedures manual for the Salt Lake Arts Council Foundation.
Under Utah law, after first holding a public hearing, a municipality may “authorize municipal services or
other nonmonetary assistance to be provided to a nonprofit entity, whether or not the municipality
receives consideration in return.” Utah Code §10-8-2(1)(a)(v). Because Salt Lake City Arts Council is a
nonprofit entity, the City may waive the consideration it would ordinarily collect in exchange for
conveyance of the City Property so long as the municipal legislative body holds a public hearing and
authorizes the waiver.
Though a formal study is not required under Utah Code section 10-8-2(3)(e) for services or assistance
provided to a nonprofit entity after public hearing, an informal analysis considering the same factors as a
formal study is set forth below to assist the Salt Lake City Council in their consideration of the costs and
benefits of the requested waiver. Utah Code § 10-8-2(2)(a). Those factors are:
(1) The specific benefits (including intangible benefits) to be received by the City in return for
the arrangement;
(2) The City’s purpose in making the appropriation, including an analysis of how the safety,
health, prosperity, moral well-being, peace, order, comfort or convenience of the
residents of Salt Lake City will be enhanced; and
(3) Whether the appropriation is “necessary and appropriate” to accomplish the reasonable
goals and objectives of the City in the area of economic development, job creation,
affordable housing, blight elimination, resource center development, job preservation, the
preservation of historic structures and property, and any other public purpose.
See Utah Code §10-8-2(3)(e).
Background:
The Salt Lake Arts Council Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was established in November of
1979, under the direction of Mayor Ted Wilson, with objectives to promote and support artistic programs;
to ascertain community cultural needs; to facilitate community efforts in developing cultural and artistic
programs to reach the public in new ways in Salt Lake City; to act as the advisory body to the City in
relation to the arts; and to bridge communication between the cultural community and City government.
These objectives are related in City Ordinance Chapter 2.32, which connects the City to the nonprofit via
the appointment of board members by the Mayor and confirmation by the City Council, by defining the
responsibilities of the Executive Director, and by providing staff support to the Salt Lake City Arts Council.
The affairs of the Foundation are managed by a Board of Trustees who are also the officers of the Salt
Lake City Arts Council Board.
While the goals of the Arts Council have grown over the last forty-three years, these elements remain at
the core of the organization. City employees of the Arts Division manage the day-to-day operations of
programs and Division initiatives, with oversight and direction from both City Administration and
leadership of the Department of Economic Development. The Foundation is c onsidered a component unit
of the City by the IRS, which means that the Foundation’s annual financial audit is considered as a part of
the City’s annual financial audit. The City funds the Arts Council by providing funds in a City department
cost center, mainly consisting of salary and benefits, as well as through a non-departmental funding
contract with the Foundation for grantmaking and programming. The Foundation raises additional funding
from private donors/sponsors, other government entities, and through earned income.
Collaboratively, over the past 18+ months the City, and Foundation Board’s Executive and Governance
committees revisited the subject of this Operating Agreement. Board members and the Arts Council’s
Executive Director worked with Bruce White, an attorney at Parsons Behle & Latimer specializing in
nonprofit organizations and governmental non-profits to develop an updated draft of the Operating
Agreement in order to articulate this long standing relationship between the two entities. This draft was
presented to the City Attorney Megan DePaulis for review and comment in March 2020 (see in
References). The Bylaws for the Foundation (last updated in the 90’s) were also re-drafted to comply with
City ordinance and current best practice. In addition to this, a comprehensive Human Resources
handbook was contracted for the Foundation employees regarding policies and procedures specific to the
non-profit who employs non-City employees. The Operating Agreement and Bylaws revision are major
steppingstones in a mutually beneficial relationship.
On average, the Arts Council’s programs have reached approximately 100,000 individual audience
members and over 1,000 artists per year. These programs are intended to serve residents along the
Wasatch Front, with a focus on the Salt Lake County area. However, events such as the Living Traditions
Festival attract attendees from across Utah and throughout the region. Programs are thoughtfully curated
each year with the intention of supporting artists and arts organizations and making Salt Lake City a more
vibrant, equitable, and engaging place to live.
The Arts Council’s programs:
Finch Lane Gallery hosts year-round visual art exhibitions in three gallery spaces at the historic Art Barn
in Reservoir Park. The gallery gives local artists an opportunity to exhibit a current body of work, explore
exhibition themes or media relevant to the community and field of arts at large, and foster the
development of curatorial skills through exhibition production and collaboration. T hrough a new initiative,
Flash Projects, the Gallery opened its spaces for short-term, interdisciplinary, community-oriented, and/or
experimental projects in 2020. In response to COVID-19, the Gallery is currently hosting exhibitions
online, virtual experiences, as well as limited in-person gallery visits by appointment only.
Living Traditions Presents features the traditional artforms of Salt Lake’s native, immigrant, and
ethnically diverse communities. Over the years, program offerings have been expanded in an effort to
reach more geographically diverse communities in typical programming years, this includes a three-day
festival; Mondays in the Park, a concert series throughout the summer at the Chase Home in Liberty
Park; hands-on workshops with traditional folk artists at libraries and community centers throughout Salt
Lake; and a summer end Garden Party which is a smaller festival event at Jordan Park. We hope that
future years will allow us to continue this series of events. We have budgeted for these events in 2020-
2021 in the event social distancing changes are made, but for now these events have been postponed or
modified.
Twilight Concert Series is a music concert series presented each summer featuring nationally
recognized and upcoming musicians from across the country and around the world. The series is held at
the Gallivan Center and produced through a more sustainable private partnership that ensures continued
access to residents and enables the Arts Council to focus on more diversity in its gene ral programming.
Musical acts are prioritized on the basis of diversity through both musical genres and those that
represent, speak to, and serve as role models to multiple communities including underrepresented
demographics. For almost 35 years the Twilight Concert Series has brought communities together to
share this experience, creating a vibrant and relevant downtown atmosphere, and promoting Salt Lake
City through the arts. The 2020 series was cancelled due to COVID -19, but our new and modified efforts
are expanded on in the description below.
Outreach and Engagement is a priority for our organization. The Salt Lake Arts Council provides
additional professional development and activation opportunities to local performing artists to engage with
audiences through such programs as the Brown Bag Concert Series and Busker Festival, among others.
These programs contribute to the cultural vibrancy of public parks, plazas and businesses by creating
temporary placemaking. Modified presentations in 2020 included the Cultural Caravan, which was a
traveling pop-up version of the Busker Festival and presented with social distancing measures in place in
all seven City Council Districts. Additionally, the Art Barn serves as a facility that can be rented by the
community and that other City agencies can utilize for meetings and events. A variety of venue rentals
and partnerships facilitate long standing Literary Arts programs in the community. In 2020 in response to
the pandemic, the Arts Council partnered with Emergency Management and the Salt Lake City School
district to act as a food distribution center for families in need. Recent partnerships and programs related
to exhibition at Finch Lane have facilitated tree plantings in Reservoir Park, and trainings related to
exhibitions on Suicide Prevention and Domestic Abuse Survivor Training.
Salt Lake City’s Public Art Program provides opportunities for artists to create site-specific artwork that
enhances or is integrated into public buildings and spaces. Approximately four new projects are
commissioned each year with 2019 resulting in the installation of the State’s largest dollar art commission
in history. The Arts Council recognizes that art in public spaces reflects the history, culture, and pride of
our people and civic spaces.
City Arts Grants Program supports the arts activities of artists, arts organizations, nonprofits, and
elementary schools conducting programming across Salt Lake City through five grant categories. The
City Arts Grant program allows the Arts Council to reach more geographically diverse areas, support
multiple artistic disciplines, and fill gaps that may exist in education and programming for residents.
Technical Assistance, Services, & Research Arts Council staff members have expertise in various
artistic disciplines and provide assistance to artists, organizations, and community members through
communication efforts (such as a monthly newsletter, website blog posts, and a strong social-media
presence), technical assistance (by providing on-site support to performing arts partners, artist
consultation, and by serving on committees and boards), and through referrals. Additionally, the
organization participates in national studies such as the Americans for the Arts & Economic Prosperity® V
study and conducts local-level research for the benefit of the arts and creative industries.
The City Property:
The City Property in question consists of approximately 7,000 leasable square feet on .34 acres with a
fair market lease value (based upon an average price per square foot formula comparing approximately
nine similar facilities in the area) of approximately $194,250 averaged at market rate provided by Real
Estate Services at $27.75 per square foot See highlighted parcel on diagram below.
A Brief History of the Art Barn:
The Art Barn was built during the Great Depression with assistance from the City of Salt Lake, the federal
Works Projects Administration, private contributors, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Alta Rawlins Jensen was one of the visionaries who worked toward the building of a community arts
center that was described in the Salt Lake Telegram as “A Greenwich Village for Salt Lake.” Ms. Jensen
believed that despite desperate economic times, an art center could help to lift the spirit and rekindle the
dreams of the community.
In March of 1931, the Salt Lake City Commission gave the Art Barn founding group permission to build in
Reservoir Park. Designed by architect Taylor Woolley, a former associate of Frank Lloyd Wright, the Art
Barn’s projected construction cost was $10,000. The groundbreaking took place in October 1931, and the
cornerstone was laid in December of the same year. Difficulties in raising the funds necessary to
complete construction delayed the official opening until June 11, 1933. Governor Henry H. Blood and
Mayor Louis Marcus addressed the crowd that filled the building and the lawn surrounding it. The Art Barn
has been a significant community center for arts activities since that time.
The road that runs through Reservoir Park in front of the Art Barn, at the insistence of the founders, was
named Finch Lane to honor the Commissioner of City Parks, Harry L. Finch. Commissioner Finch had
been instrumental in securing the property from the City at a lease rate of $1 per year, and in obtaining
the Federal funds to hire unemployed laborers for this public building project.
In its 90th anniversary year, this space has touched thousands of people, serving artists of all disciplines
and those who experienced their work. Not only has the physical facility survived, with occasional
renovations and additions, but it is still serving the public as its founders intended.
Benefits to Salt Lake City:
All Arts Council programs and services are provided at no charge or at an affordable, low cost to the
public (Twilight Concert Series). Annually, the Arts Council obtains operating and programming funding
from numerous resources, including federal, state, county, and private funding with Salt Lake City
providing on average 65% of our total support. In late 2018 Union Creative Agency analyzed the
operating model of the organization reporting, “The hybrid model has potential to be a premier and
innovative model for Local Arts Agencies. While this model may require more work and development than
simpler models, it has the capacity to deliver unprecedented impact.” This hybrid model of operations,
recently also adopted by the State’s Utah Department of Heritage and Arts as an innovative model,
benefits the City and residents in myriad ways:
● Ability to fundraise a significant portion of the funds that support programming and
staff, creating a direct benefit to residents through leveraging City dollars.
● Wide community buy-in from other government and private funders both national
and local. Increases accountability to community and public when funding sources are
diverse.
● Procurement and commissioning procedures that are effective for best practices in
the field, resulting in responsiveness, efficiency, and effective partner collaboration -in
particular when it comes to executing on issues of equity and inclusion.
● Ability to engage in Citywide issues relevant to the community through Mayor, City
Departments, etc. Effective collaboration, access to information, and resources.
● Mission as an Arts Council to fill niche gaps, incubate, and fulfill comm unity needs.
● Staff and public presence at the facility maintain a constant presence and
awareness in Reservoir Park, as many parks in Salt Lake City see usage by unsheltered
populations, as well as an active University of Utah Student population nea rby.
Accomplishing Salt Lake City’s Goals:
The Salt Lake City Arts Council recently completed a 5-year strategic plan in concert with the Salt Lake
City Arts Council Board, Mayor, Department of Economic Development, and multi-year stakeholder
engagement process involving residents, stakeholders and City Departments. Additionally, the Executive
Director is tasked with implementation of the goals of PLAN SLC, the Mayor’s Current Plans, and guiding
strategic plans and policies of the Department of Economic Development. The Board of the Salt Lake City
Arts Council acts as an advisory body to the City in all matters pertaining to the arts and cultural
development of the City.
● Streamline City art initiatives and improve the structure and funding of the Arts Council (Mayor’s
Plan 2021)
● Ensure access to, and support for, a diversity of cultural facilities citywide.(Plan SLC)
● Increase Overall Participation in arts and cultural activities (Plan SLC)
● Strengthen Organization Health and Development (Salt Lake City Arts Council Strategic Plan)
Below is a breakdown of funding sources from the previous three years.
FY 2018-2019 FY 2019-2020 FY 2020-2021 FY 2020-2021
ACTUAL ACTUAL APPROVED
BUDGET
APPROVED
AMENDED
BUDGET
CITY REVENUE 1,149,148.00 1,063,941.00 1,223,801.00 1,411,437.00
CONTRIBUTIONS 107,514.24 8,188.10 110,000.00 139,645.00
EARNED INCOME 136,288.76 106,823.98 46,250.00 18,500.00
GOVERNMENT GRANTS 409,054.45 345,980.00 304,552.00 505,647.00
OTHER REVENUE 10,622.36 4,013.65 2,505.00 5,160.00
TOTAL REVENUE $ 1,812,627.81 $ 1,528,946.73 $ 1,687,108.00 $ 2,080,389.00
The Arts Council receives funding from Salt Lake City’s Non-departmental each year to help with the
expenses of managing the Art Barn facility. In FY19 and FY20 support was given at $7,500 and in FY21
support was at $10,000. The Arts Council Foundation uses this funding to pay for the building utilities.
The Arts Council Foundation also incurs the cost of monthly building cleaning, building security, and
purchases building supplies such as cleaning products, bathroom paper supplies, and PPE.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we would like to take this opportunity to thank both the City Administration and the City
Council for this opportunity to present our Public Benefits Analysis for the Salt Lake City Arts Council. We
have demonstrated in this document that the Salt Lake City Arts Council and Salt Lake City Arts Council
Foundation provide a clear, direct, and substantial benefit to not only Salt Lake City Residents and
Visitors, but to the Greater Salt Lake City Area. Additionally, we believe that our hybrid st ructure as both a
division of Salt Lake City Government and as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization provides an excellent
example of; (1) robust and healthy public-nonprofit partnerships to our industry at large,(2) remarkable
stewardship of public funds, (3) innovative and solutions focused business practices, and (4) sustainable
and inclusive organizational structure. In closing, we invite any member of the Administration or Council,
as well as members of the general public, to request additional information to clarify any remaining
questions you might have regarding our Public Benefits Analysis. Thank you!
References:
Draft Operating Agreement
Draft Salt Lake Arts Council Foundation Bylaws
Articles of Incorporation and supporting City documents establishing the agency
Salt Lake City Arts Council Board Chapter 2.32 (City Ordinance)
Salt Lake Arts Council Foundation Bylaws (current)
City Commission Minutes 1976 Establishment of Arts Council