City Council
259 N. Wilma Avenue
Ripon, CA 95366
MEMO
To: Honorable City Council
From: Kevin Werner, City Administrator
Date: 02/13/2024
Subject: Ripon Arts League MOU
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Approve and authorize the Mayor to sign the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Ripon and the Ripon Arts League to administer the Ripon Poet Laureate program.
BACKGROUND:
The Library & Literacy Foundation for San Joaquin County (“Foundation”) – a philanthropic organization administered by the San Joaquin Community Foundation – has expressed an interest in providing a $15,000 grant over the next three years to the City of Ripon to help establish its’ first City Poet Laureate Program.
Many cities throughout the state and nation have established City Poet Laureate programs to inspire and remind local communities about the power and beauty of poetry and the importance of literacy in our communities and schools. The Board of Directors of the Foundation (“Board”) believes that a Poet Laureate Program also invests in each city’s human capital and talent to build its capacity for advocacy for reading and the literary arts. In 2020, the Board pre-approved funding to all cities in San Joaquin County to establish City Poet Laureate programs. Since then, the Board has been successful in providing grant funding to establish Poet Laureate programs for the City of Lodi, the City of Manteca, and is currently working with the City of Tracy.
On January 9, 2024, the City Council approved and authorized the Mayor to sign the Grant Agreement between the City of Ripon and Foundation to increase the public’s awareness of the benefits and importance of poetry and literacy arts and directed staff to draft a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ripon Arts League to administer the program.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding is to define the responsibilities between the City of Ripon and the Ripon Arts League to administer the Ripon Poet Laureate program. Staff has drafted the attached Memorandum of Understanding for City Council’s consideration, which is summarized below:
The term of the Memorandum of Understanding will be 3 years. The Ripon Arts League will receive an annual stipend of $5,000 each year of the Memorandum of Understanding.
The Ripon Arts League will select a resident within the Ripon city limits to serve as the Ripon Poet Laureate and will include a representative from Ripon Unified School District and Ripon Christian Schools on the selection committee. The Ripon Arts League will coordinate and advertise at a minimum of four (4) literacy events each year of the agreement.
Staff is recommending the City Council approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ripon Arts League and City of Ripon.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact for the approval of the Memorandum of Understanding.
Attachments:
1. Ripon Arts League MOU_20231121