The Parks, Arts and Recreation Commission considered funding requests from organizations wishing to receive funds from the 2016-2017 Community Events and Activities Grant for their events scheduled throughout the next year.  Each organization gave a five minute presentation at the PARC meeting Wednesday, highlighting statistics including how their event did last year, revenue produced and out-of-town visitors the event generated.

There are 12 events that may receive funding from the city: 2017 Central Valley Brewfest, Bring on the Ruckus Car and Concert 2017, Fourth of July Parade, Turlock Fourth of July Fireworks, Children’s Book Fair, 2017 Monster Truck Spring Nationals, 2017 Monster Truck Fall Nationals, 50th Assyrian State Convention, Central Valley Senior Showcase, Assyrian Festival, Tournament of Champions and Stanislaus County Fair.

The grant money is generated from the Transient Occupancy Tax, or more commonly known as a hotel tax, and helps funds events and community organizations.

A total of $59,000 was requested between the 12 events, and the city will be able to reward $46,000 worth of grants. In order to decide the amount of money each organization will be given, the Commission scored each organization’s event on a scale from zero to 100. Points were awarded on a scale of one to 10 for questions regarding funding requested for the event, economic impact for the surrounding city, sponsor recognition, leveraging of funds, the management capability of the requesting organization and how well the event increases visibility for the city.

Events receiving a score of 88-100 are considered to be in line with the goals of the Community Grants Program with supporting information that is measurable and complete. A score of 70-87 represents that the event has the potential to positively impact the community, but might be lacking in some areas. Events that do not align with the goals of the CGP are determined by a score below 69.

After scoring each presentation, the Commission then transmitted the scoring sheet information to the Turlock City Council for action. The scoring sheets will be ranked from the highest to lowest score, allowing the City Council to decide how the $46,000 will be divided among the 12 events.

According to the City of Turlock part-time event coordinator Amber Traini, it is not typical for organizations to receive the total amount of grant money that they originally request. With this year’s grant requests far exceeding the available amount of grant money that is especially true for this group.

The City Council will consider the Commission’s scores for each event at the City Council meeting on April 26.