Agenda - 03-28-2017 - 2 - County Commissioners – Boards and Commissions – Annual Work Plans-Reports

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39 If your board/commission played the role of an Element Lead Advisory Board involved in the 2030 Comprehensive Plan preparation process, please indicate your board's activities/accomplishments as they may relate to the Comprehensive Plan's goals or objectives. (The Element Lead Advisory Boards include: Planning Board, EDC, OUTBoard, Commission for the Environment, Historic Preservation Commission, Agriculture Preservation Board, Affordable Housing Board, Recreation and Parks Advisory Council) Not Applicable Identify any activities this board/commission expects to carry out in 2017 as they relate to established BOCC goals and priorities. If applicable, is there a fiscal impact (i.e., funding, staff time, other resources) associated with these proposed activities (please list). Goal 3: Implement planning and economic development policies which create a balanced, dynamic local economy, and which promote diversity, sustainable growth, and enhanced revenue while embracing community values. • Partnerships The OCAC plans to create new programs and partnerships with both agencies within Orange County government, as well as among the overall arts community of Orange County. We plan to host a series of focus groups and social events in Spring 2017 with the goal of uniting the arts community and identifying ways in which we can work together to promote Orange County as an arts destination. • Economic Development Orange County has significantly more arts resources than our neighbors in Wake and Durham Counties, as well as a higher (and more successful) population of arts organizations and working artists. The OCAC plans to determine a strategy in 2017 to unify the arts community and work together to make the arts as much of a destination for the county as sports, history and food, even further contributing to the economy of the county. We plan to identify the areas of greatest need and coordinate a plan of action to tackle these needs. Examples may include enhanced advertising/promotion, a need for affordable studio space for visual artists and performance space for performing arts, and better collaboration between arts organizations. Goal 6: Ensure a high quality of life and lifelong learning that champions diversity, education at all levels, libraries, parks, recreation, and animal welfare. The arts are critical to a high quality of life. The OCAC wants to make the arts accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic status and will be working in 2017 to consider ways in which to make this possible. Priority will continue to be places on at-risk communities during our grant cycles, as well as new projects and partnerships to make the arts accessible. What are the concerns or emerging issues your board has identified for the upcoming year that it plans to address, or wishes to bring to the Commissioners' attention? The OCAC is in a significant period of transition. It is the feeling of the commission's new director Katie Murray, as well as the Advisory Board that in addition to serving as the Designated County Partner with the NC Arts Council and managing grant funds, the OCAC can play a much larger role in elevating the arts community. Currently, we are working to identify the areas of need and the challenges associated with them. Several short-term areas of need have been identified including: 1. PROMOTION/MARKETING: Most organizations within the county are nonprofit organizations with limited marketing budgets, working to promote their own programs and projects.