The Cole County Commission on Wednesday agreed to release $5,000 for Art Inside the Park again this year - but it told the event founder this might be the last year the county contributes to it.
The money already was budgeted for the current fiscal year, but the commission still had to sign off on the spending.
Carla Steck, founder of Atelier CMS, the nonprofit organization that puts on Art Inside the Park, showed the commission a slide show and gave an update on her art projects.
She said this is the 12th year for Art Inside the Park, which is known for its large art pieces along the Edgewood Drive greenway trail. The works use recycled materials.
Steck said her organization works with students, who earn class credit for their participation. Atelier also travels to schools to educate students about art, she said.
She said Columbia and Kansas City are the only two Missouri cities that allocate one percent of public funding for the arts. She also chided the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce, whose representatives were at the meeting to give an annual update to the county, for not funding her group.
"We put money in the budget for this year, but this could quite possibly be the last year," Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman said.
The vote to release the funding passed 2-1, with Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle voting against it.
After the meeting, Scheperle said he doesn't believe it's the role of government to give funds to organizations, even if they are good causes.
"I'm just not voting to giving general welfare to these organizations," he said. "I can't say that isn't a great organization. It does create creative minds."
Bushman said the commission is planning to take a serious look at whether it wants to continue the practice of giving public funds to such select not-for-profit groups.
Also at the meeting, chamber officials gave their annual report to the county, telling them it spent $517,909 (59 percent of its budget) last year on economic development and $365,721 (41 percent) on chamber activities.
Jefferson City and Cole County contract with the Chamber each year for economic development, respectively giving them $185,000 and $150,000.
"I know you've been under fire for a lot of stuff," Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher told Chamber President Randy Allen and two other chamber officials. But, he said the chamber's contract with the county is a good relationship.
If the county tried to do economic development on its own, he said, "there's no way we would be able to do it for what we've been paying."
In other business, the commission awarded bids to:
• On-Site Oil Change, of Jefferson City, for ambulance maintenance and repair services. The company was the low-bidder at $55 an hour, or $77.55, for off-peak lube, oil or filter replacement work. Other bidders were Donnie Braun & Sons and Scheppers International.
• EMS Professionals of Jefferson City for emergency medical service (EMS) personnel uniforms. Among other items, it will supply the county with EMS polo shirts for $20.40 each; job shirts for $33-$42, depending on size; and jackets at $25.20-$30.24, depending on size. EMS Professionals was the low-bidder. The only other bidder was Galls, of Lexington, Kentucky.
Correction: Various Missouri cities fund public art, but only two cities in the state, Columbia and Kansas City, have authorized 1 percent for the arts. This wasn't clear in the original version of this article.