Brad Anderson to Present Salina Study on Arts Funding and Cultural Priorities Oct. 26

Salina’s new cultural plan is intended to guide future decisions about arts programming, cultural services, public investment and priorities for the coming years. The plan will include recommendations and an implementation roadmap for city consideration, potentially influencing which initiatives receive support, what resources they require and which organizations or departments carry them out.

Salina Arts & Humanities Executive Director Brad Anderson is scheduled to present preliminary findings from the Keen Independent Research study to the Salina City Commission on Monday, Oct. 26, at 2:30 p.m., during the commission’s study session. The final plan is anticipated in January 2027.

The study includes a public survey that received approximately 780 voluntary responses rather than responses from a randomly selected sample of residents. That approach creates a potential for self-selection bias, meaning participants’ views may differ from those of residents who did not respond. The distinction matters when using the findings to inform recommendations about community priorities and public spending.

Salina311 corresponded directly with Anderson and reviewed records obtained through the Kansas Open Records Act concerning the survey’s distribution, advertising and methodology. Those records document how participation was encouraged, but do not establish whether the respondents statistically represent Salina’s overall population.

What the Cultural Plan Will Do

The Community Cultural Assessment and Strategic Plan, known as “The Big Picture,” includes background and market research, community engagement, comparative analysis, an assessment of cultural needs and recommendations for future action.

Keen’s proposal calls for an implementation roadmap identifying priorities, estimated resources, responsible organizations or departments, potential collaborators and measures of progress. The plan is therefore intended to move beyond collecting opinions and provide a framework for future decisions.

The recommendations would inform city consideration of arts and cultural priorities. The plan itself would not automatically authorize every proposed expenditure or program.

Anderson Says Final Report Will Address Survey Questions

In an Oct. 8 email responding to Salina311’s questions about the study, Anderson said information remained with the consultant.

“A number of your questions are premature for me to answer due to the status of the draft documents that are still in Keen’s possession,” Anderson wrote.

Anderson said the final report presented to the City Commission in January would address how the survey was conducted and representation of the city and region.

The records reviewed by Salina311 identify how the survey was promoted, but do not establish how Keen will account for differences between the people who voluntarily responded and the broader population. Anderson’s response indicates that further methodological information is expected with the final report.

“What the Community Values”

When the survey launched April 29, Anderson described its purpose in communitywide terms.

“The Big Picture Cultural Plan isn’t about any one organization, it’s about what the community values,” Anderson said.

The City described the questionnaire as taking approximately 10 minutes and invited input from people who live, work or spend time in Salina. Arts & Humanities staff later reported approximately 780 completed surveys, with another roughly 75 people participating through small groups and a community gathering.

Staff also reported that about 60% of survey respondents were not directly engaged in arts activity, while approximately 40% identified as artists, musicians or people working in an arts-related role. Those figures describe the participants, but do not independently establish whether they reflect Salina’s population.

Advertising Statement and Spending Records

During the Aug. 19 Arts & Humanities Commission meeting, Anderson was asked whether residents involved in the debate over taxpayer support for the arts had participated in the survey. Salina311 reported at the time that he said the survey had been open for approximately two and a half months and had been advertised through media outlets both supportive of and opposed to the agency’s work.

He also said officials would follow the recommendations of those who participated and that no additional surveying would be conducted.

Salina311 subsequently requested records documenting the survey’s advertising and distribution, specifically following up about print, radio and television. The City’s response identified a press release sent to its media distribution list, but provided no invoices or payment records showing advertising purchased with local newspapers, radio stations, television stations or other local news outlets.

For exposure through those outlets, the documented approach depended on media organizations choosing to publish, report on or share the press release. Distributing a release gives outlets an opportunity to cover the information, but does not guarantee publication or exposure to their audiences.

The only paid advertising documented in the records provided was $175.69 spent through Meta for Facebook and Instagram ads. Seven receipts showed approximately 29,305 impressions. Impressions count advertising displays and do not necessarily represent separate individuals or completed surveys.

The records distinguish between paid social-media advertising and outreach to local news organizations through a press release.

How the Survey Was Distributed

The City’s initial response identified promotion through its media release, the Arts & Humanities website and Facebook page, the department’s Constant Contact email list and Keen’s website.

After Salina311 asked whether the request included print, radio and television advertising, the City provided an updated list dated Sept. 2. It added a survey link and QR code printed on the back page of the Smoky Hill River Festival program, along with approximately 100 letter-size flyers and 500 half-page flyers printed in-house.

According to the City, staff and volunteers distributed those flyers to coffee shops, arts venues and local businesses willing to accept them. The records did not identify which businesses participated or provide a separate printing cost.

These methods offered opportunities to participate, but required people to encounter an invitation and choose to respond. They did not constitute random selection of residents.

What Voluntary Responses Can Establish

A voluntary survey can document participants’ priorities, experiences and concerns, providing useful information for a planning process. Its ability to measure opinions across the entire population is a separate methodological question.

Several documented distribution channels, including the department’s email list, social-media accounts, River Festival program and arts venues, reached people with existing connections to Arts & Humanities or its activities. Other channels could reach a broader audience. People with strong opinions either supporting or opposing arts spending also could have been more motivated to participate.

Those conditions create potential for self-selection bias. They do not establish that the responses are inaccurate or that the survey was deliberately skewed.

The records reviewed by Salina311 do not document a statistical method demonstrating that the responses can be generalized to Salina’s population. A conventional random-sample margin of error cannot simply be assigned to a voluntary survey based on its response count.

Any broader population estimates would require an explanation of the statistical approach, its assumptions and how potential selection bias was addressed. Until that information is available, the documented findings describe survey participants’ views without establishing how closely those views reflect the city overall.

Questionnaire and Geographic Data Remained With Keen

During the records request, Salina311 sought the final questionnaire and information showing response totals and respondents’ ZIP codes or geographic distribution.

The City responded that the questionnaire remained in Keen’s draft and confidential files and that Arts & Humanities did not possess a copy at the time. It gave a similar response concerning the requested response and geographic data.

Those records could help assess who participated and whether responses were concentrated in particular areas. Anderson’s subsequent email said the final report would address questions about the survey’s methods and representation.

Contract and Consultant Selection

Keen’s base contract is $49,910. City records state that the commission authorized spending of up to $59,901, including contingency funding, from money budgeted in the Sales Tax Capital Fund for capital planning.

A seven-member committee reviewed five qualified proposals and unanimously recommended Keen, which submitted the lowest preliminary proposal. The committee included representatives from Rolling Hills Zoo, Salina Symphony, the Arts & Humanities Commission, the Chamber of Commerce, Smoky Hill Museum, Arts & Humanities staff and USD 305.

Invoices provided through the records request totaled $25,490 from February through July. The billed work included project management, background research, community engagement, comparative analysis and the cultural-needs assessment.

What Comes Next

The Oct. 26 study session is scheduled to provide commissioners with preliminary findings before the final plan anticipated in January.

The presentation and final report will provide opportunities to examine how the survey is combined with market research, comparative analysis and other community input to develop recommendations. A central question is how the report distinguishes participants’ views from conclusions about Salina’s broader population as the City considers future arts and cultural priorities.