ARTS PROPOSAL HOPING TO KEEP POLITICS AT BAY; CULTURAL AGENCY DRAFT PLAN SEES WIDE RANGE OF ROLES.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

As the city and local arts community collaborate to establish a city-run agency to support cultural arts, key players hope to cast politics in a minor role.

A draft proposal working its way through Santa Clarita City Hall would establish a Cultural Arts Agency, along with its own governing board to guide policy and programming and small city staff for administrative support.

The proposal has received the approval of the Parks and Recreation Department and is expected to go before the City Council after Jan. 1, said city Cultural Arts Coordinator Sean Morgan.

Although minor details require further review, city officials so far have decided the agency generally would function to provide Santa Clarita representation to county and state arts councils, as well as promote local arts education and public arts programming, he said.

But a main focus continues to be the formation and role of the agency's governing board, as the city aims to include representation from independent and professional artists, the film industry, city, schools and general citizenry, Morgan said.

The hope is to keep politics from undermining the agency's mission - a major concern of local artists, officials said.

``Right now, we have a strong model that would provide an umbrella organization that's badly needed, but one that also allows input on many levels,'' Morgan said. ``We want all areas represented, but we want them represented well.''

A city subcommittee studied 10 existing models in other communities and met with local artists in recent months to come up with the current draft proposal, Morgan said.

It came up with a plan to form an initial five-member steering committee to oversee the Cultural Arts Agency's formation. That committee could expand up to 11 permanent board members, depending on the steering committee's decision.

Based on those recommendations, the parks department last month recommended the agency's formation - but stipulated that board seats be filled through a strict application process.

Applicants would have to have a background or expertise appropriate for the seat for which they would seek. The Parks and Recreation Commission would screen and recommend appointees for the City Council's final approval.

Kimberly Wooten, a member of both the Planning Commission and Theatre Arts for Children Foundation, served on the arts agency subcommittee.

Wooten said she personally thinks it's not healthy for arts agencies to be governed by political appointments, like those made to the Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission by the City Council.

``By having the application process, we're not only keeping politics out but providing a balance. The committee has to see the big picture 30 years down the line and what the community would need, as a whole,'' Wooten said.

The Santa Clarita Repertory Theatre endorsed the proposal when it went before the commission in November, because members felt it would give arts organizations a voice on the panel without stifling it, said David Stears, the theater group's producing artistic director.

Varying the board seats with diversity and eliminating political appointments should prevent the type of self-government that would be detrimental to a public arts agency, Stears said.

Although he expects the application process will reduce the likelihood of politics entering the process, he doesn't foresee it will eliminate them entirely.

``I don't think you could ever eliminate politics totally,'' he said. ``It's part of all relationships and human nature. I think this will make the process a fair one. If it becomes political, we have voices that will speak out against that.''

The Canyon Theatre Guild took a neutral position on the proposal because of reservations about the selection process for the agency's governing board members, said BArtistic Director TimBen Boydston.

Though Canyon Theatre Guild supports the city's role in forming and assisting the agency, the organization would prefer that board representation be appointed from existing groups in the community, such as the Local Arts Alliance, the city, the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, an education-oriented group and citizen group, Boydston said.

Boydston also remains concerned about how paid city staffers will provide administrative support to the Cultural Arts Agency, as he hopes their duties will include securing grants to fund local arts.

The exact job descriptions still need to be worked out, but Morgan said he envisions the staffers would develop marketing strategies and audience bases, oversee daily management of arts education and public art programming, and provide technical assistance and grant-writing guidance to local organizations.