The King County Council last week voted to help pay for the development of an arts center in Auburn, the renovation of the White River Valley Museum and to help build a performing arts facility in Federal Way, among its contributions to other arts and heritage programs.

“Today’s vote will help strengthen the arts and heritage programs of South King County and confirms the importance these arts centers will have on our region,” said Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer. “These centers will be great venues for cultural events benefiting visitors of all ages and will enrich the lives of future generations.”

The facilities receiving funding in Legislative District 7 are:

• Auburn Masonic Temple: $53,318 to restore three store fronts

• City of Auburn: $200,000 toward the creation of the Auburn Arts Center in the old Public Health Building on Auburn Avenue.

• White River Valley Museum: $175,000 for renovation of the museum to enhance interest and accessibility

• City of Federal Way: $2 million toward the construction of a performing arts and event center.

“What we want to do is open up the front of the museum so it is more inviting and bright and colorful and accessible,” said Patricia Cosgrove, curator of the White River Valley Museum. “In conjunction with other renovation plans for Les Gove Park, there’ll be new walkways and signs, and H Street will be extended beyond us. It’s all of a package. It’s just fabulous timing that this unusually large granting opportunity became available.”

Dana Hinman, administrative officer for the City of Auburn, offered this update on the status of the City’s pending purchase of the old Public Health Building.

“We have a purchase-and-sale agreement in hand from King County accepting our offer of $350,000,” Hinman said Tuesday. “That will be signed, sealed and delivered likely this week to the county, so that will make it official; it will be our

building. The Parks Department did receive the grant from 4Culture in the amount of $200,000, half of the purchase price, so that will go back into the building for tenant improvements. The Parks department is pursuing another grant, and all told with that grant, we’re in the neighborhood of $400,000 that will go back into the building.”

The unanimous vote allocates funding for maintenance, repairs, and preservation from the Building for Culture Program. Building for Culture, a partnership between King County and 4Culture, King County’s cultural services agency, uses bonds backed by the hotel-motel tax to build, maintain, expand, preserve, and improve new and existing cultural facilities.

After the Council approved the creation of the Building for Culture Program, 4Culture put out a request for proposals to nonprofit arts, heritage and cultural organizations and eligible public agencies and owners of national-, state-, or local-designated or eligible landmark properties. 4Culture then convened independent peer panels composed of arts, heritage, and preservation professionals, and other community representatives to review applications and make the final selections.

Early retirement of the Kingdome debt makes the bonds supporting these projects possible. Part of a state law dating to 1967 requires that hotel-motel tax revenues King County collects this year after repayment of the Kingdome debt be directed to arts and cultural programs.