(Spirit Lake)– The Dickinson county board of supervisors Tuesday took no action on a request from the Lakes Art Center for local matching funds for a matching grant they’ve applied for.
The art center has applied for 600-thousand dollars through the Vision Iowa Community Attraction and Tourism program. JoAnn Stockdale, a member of the center’s board of directors, said it’s crucial they receive matching funds from the county if they are to stand a chance of landing state money.
What was supposed to be a 1.7 million dollar project originally has escalated to three million. Stockdale says that’s due to enhancements they decided to make at the recommendation of officials with Hancher Auditorium in Des Moines. Hancher officials said they’d be willing to share some special, rare programs with the Lakes Art Center if the plans were enhanced.
The supervisors tabled action on the local matching funds saying they want to come up with a fair system for handling requests for financial assistance for other projects. They’re being swamped for requests for funding for a wide range of projects.
