To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Michelle Halstead, Director, Commissioners’ Office
Prepared By:
prepared
Daniela Villarreal, Management Analyst, Commissioners’ Office
end
presenter
Presenter: Daniela Villarreal, Management Analyst, Commissioners Office; Tim Murphy, Program Officer, SCFD; Stephanie Spriggs, Cultural Council Chair
end
Subject:
title
1:30 PM *Arapahoe County Cultural Council 2026/2027 SCFD Tier III Award Recommendations
end
Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The purpose of this study session is to present the 2026/2027 Arapahoe County Cultural Council Tier III award recommendations for Board consideration.
end
Alignment with Strategic Plan: Economic Resilience and Stability - Support long-term economic resilience through responsible fiscal and investment strategies.
Background and Discussion: The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) is a seven-county tax district established under Colorado law, approved by the Colorado General Assembly, and repeatedly renewed by voters for more than 30 years. SCFD distributes funds generated by a 0.1% (1/10 of 1%) sales and use tax to qualified cultural organizations across the Denver metro area through a three-tier funding structure:
1. Tier I provides direct funding to the largest cultural organizations based on a formula defined in state statute.
2. Tier II supports regional organizations, such as the City of Aurora Cultural Services Division and Wings Over the Rockies, which qualify by meeting specific budget and attendance thresholds.
3. Tier III allocates funding to each participating county, which in turn distributes its share through local Cultural Councils, such as the Arapahoe County Cultural Council (ACCC).
The Arapahoe County Cultural Council (ACCC) is appointed by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to review applications and make funding recommendations for the County’s share of SCFD revenue, in accordance with SCFD’s established grant process and timeline. Once the BOCC approves the ACCC’s recommendations, they are submitted to the SCFD Board for final ratification. For the 2026/2027 grant cycle, Arapahoe County’s share of SCFD tax revenue is $2,621,753.14, including $9,782.00 uncommitted funds from the previous year. Tier III funds may be used for general operating support or for specific projects proposed by eligible non-profit and governmental entities.
SCFD issued a call for grant applications earlier this year, with deadlines of:
-March 4, 2025, for multi-county Tier III applications
-March 11, 2025, for single-county applications
The ACCC met weekly from April 2 through May 21, 2026, to review and evaluate 108 grant submissions, using the council’s established evaluation criteria (see attached for details). For this cycle, the Cultural Council recommends funding all submitted applications, which include:
-32 of 33 eligible General Operating Support (GOS) requests
-75 Project requests
Please see the attached summary for a breakdown of the ACCC’s recommendations.
Alternatives: The Board could choose not to approve the recommendations.
Fiscal Impact: Arapahoe County’s share of SCFD Tier III funding for the 2026/2027 grant cycle is $2,621,753.14, which includes uncommitted/returned funds from the previous year. The total recommended funding amount is equal to Arapahoe County’s available share of funds.
Alignment with Strategic Implementation Strategies: N/A
Staff Recommendation: Approve the recommendations as presented.
Concurrence: Arapahoe County Cultural Council.