HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-06-20; City Council; ; Accepting $105,000 donation from the Carlsbad Library & Arts FoundationCA Review __AF__
Meeting Date:
To:
From:
Staff Contact:
Subject:
Districts:
June 20, 2023
Mayor and City Council
Scott Chadwick, City Manager
Suzanne Smithson, Library & Cultural Arts Director
suzanne.smithson@carlsbadca.gov, 442-339-2011
Accepting $105,000 donation from the Carlsbad Library & Arts
Foundation
All
Recommended Action
Adopt a resolution accepting a donation of $105,000 from the Carlsbad Library & Arts
Foundation to the City of Carlsbad’s Library & Cultural Arts Department.
Executive Summary
The Carlsbad Library & Arts Foundation has generously offered to donate $105,000 to the City
of Carlsbad’s Library & Cultural Arts Department.
The foundation is donating:
•$55,000 from its Robert H. Gartner Endowment Fund to support cultural programming
in the Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium at the Carlsbad City Library
•$50,000 from its Benson Family Endowment Fund to provide funding for the library’s
collection and to support the programs and services of the Library Learning Center
Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 2.08.100 requires such donations of more than $5,000 to be
approved by the City Council.
Explanation & Analysis
The Carlsbad Library & Arts Foundation was launched in 1998 with its mission to seek, cultivate
and provide financial support for the City of Carlsbad’s library and cultural arts facilities and
programs and ensure they serve community needs.
One way the foundation achieves this mission is by attracting and managing major gifts.
Through the generosity of community members, two endowments have been established to
support specific programs and services:
•The Robert H. Gartner endowment was established in 2005 and is designated to support
cultural programming in the Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium located at the Carlsbad City
Library complex.
June 20, 2023 Item #1 Page 1 of 3
•The Benson Family endowment was established in 2014 with a gift from Dr. and Mrs.
Russell Benson through the Benson Family Trust, for the use and benefit of the Library
Learning Center and for the acquisition of books and other library materials for the
libraries.
Funds for FY 2023-24 will be appropriated as follows:
•The $55,000 from the Robert H. Gartner Cultural Endowment Fund will support
programs presented by the Library & Cultural Arts Department in the Schulman
Auditorium including concerts, films, arts lectures, literary events, author visits, Family
Open Studios and events, teen talent shows, plays and play readings for the community
to enjoy. These funds will also support film and music licenses for the venue.
The department’s FY 2023-24 budget submission also included a request for $31,000 in
on-going Gartner funding to support a portion of a new full-time position in the
Schulman Auditorium. That funding is above and beyond the funding associated with
this $55,000 donation from the Gartner Fund.
•The $50,000 from the Benson Family Trust will support specific collection development
activities and services including both physical materials and downloadable ebooks and
audiobooks. At the Library Learning Center, these funds will provide for marketing and
promotional materials, as well as supporting the Career Online High School Program and
bilingual services.
Benson funds will also help to support a first-floor redesign of the Library Learning
Center to reconfigure the service desk for better functionality and safety and to improve
the use of space to better serve patrons.
Fiscal Analysis
The $105,000 donation will be used as stated above to enhance cultural programming, visual
arts activities, and library services through the Library & Cultural Arts department.
Appropriation of these funds is included in the FY 2023-24 adopted budget.
Next Steps
The Library & Cultural Arts department will apply these funds as appropriated in the FY 2023-24
adopted budget to deliver the identified programs and services.
Environmental Evaluation
This action does not require environmental review because it does not constitute a project
within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act under California Public
Resources Code Section 21065 in that it has no potential to cause either a direct physical
change or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
Exhibits
1.City Council resolution
June 20, 2023 Item #1 Page 2 of 3
RESOLUTION NO. 2023-171
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD,
CALIFORNIA, ACCEPTING A DONATION OF $105,000 FROM THE CARLSBAD
LIBRARY & ARTS FOUNDATION TO THE CITY OF CARLSBAD'S LIBRARY &
CULTURAL ARTS DEPARTMENT
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California has determined that the Carlsbad
Library & Arts Foundation has generously offered to donate $105,000 to the City of Carlsbad's Library
& Cultural Arts department, as follows: $55,000 from its Robert H. Gartner Endowment Fund and
$50,000 from its Benson Family Endowment Fund; and
WHEREAS, acceptance of this donation will provide enhanced cultural programming in the Ruby
G.Schulman Auditorium, and purchase library materials and support programs and services at the
Library Learning Center.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, as
follows:
1.That the above recitations are true and correct.
2.That the City Council accepts with thanks the donation of $105,000 from the Carlsbad
Library & Arts Foundation .
. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of
Carlsbad on the 20th day of June, 2023, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES:
NAYS:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
Blackburn, Bhat-Patel, Acosta, Burkholder, Luna.
None.
None.
None.
KEITH BLACKBURN, Mayor
SHERRY FREISINGER, City Clerk
(SEAL)
Exhibit 1
June 20, 2023 Item #1 Page 3 of 3