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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-12-2003 Approved HCAC Minutes CITYOFDUBIIN HERITAGE AND CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES OF:,JUNE 12;2Q©3 Chairperson Fasulkey called the June 12, 2003 meeting of the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission to order at 7:05pm at the Dublin Civic Center, Dublin, California. Pledge of Allegiance Chairperson Fasulkey led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call Commissioners Present: Acuff, Fasulkey, Lussie,Mack and Vonheeder-Leopold Commissioners Absent: White Oral Communications-None Approval of Minutes ON A MOTION BY CM. MACK AND SECONDED BY CM. ACUFF THE COMMISSION VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MAY 8, 2003. Written Communications-None Public Hearing-None Unfinished Business-None New Business 8.1 Senior Center Art Project Yvonne reported that one of the high priority goals for the 2002-2003 set by City Council was to commission Public Art for the new Senior Center. And as a result 1% was allocated for a Public Art component as part of the Senior Center project. During Fiscal Year 2002-2003, a Request for Qualifications was sent to 2000 California artists. The Senior Center Art Selection Committee reviewed the works of the thirty-five responding artists and selected five artists to develop maquettes for the Senior Center. The maquettes were displayed at the Civic Center and the Senior Center for public comment. The comment cards were provided to the Committee and after careful thought and consideration the Committee chose Rowland Cheney's sculpture as the finalist. Mr. Cheney was educated at Chico State and U.C. Berkeley and works in a broad range of media and technique including bronze, oil, watercolor and prints. He proposes a bronze sculpture approximately eight feet by eight feet utilizing images that have been associated symbolically with the concept of wisdom throughout the centuries and across many cultures. The patina colors and the placement of the elements of the sculpture are meant to provoke a feeling of continuum and balance of life forces that is wisdom. It is recommended that the sculpture be installed in the rear courtyard facing Amador Valley Boulevard. It would be on a 3-4 foot high pedestal. Cm. Acuff asked if the piece would be visible to the public from Amador Valley Boulevard. Yvonne stated that the Senior Center Advisory Committee was also concerned that the sculpture would not be visible to the public. The Committee therefore felt that an alternate site should be recommended. Staff was directed to contact the architect to request an alternate site. MINUTES—JUNE 12, 2003 PAGE TWO Cm. Fasulkey stated that the sculpture should be protected, as it looks like something children may want to climb on. Yvonne stated that with the sculpture in the safe confines of the courtyard, the chances of it ' being vandalized would be unlikely. Cm. Lussie asked if the recommendation to the Council included location. Yvonne stated that the recommendation was for Herma Lichtenstein and herself to go back to the architect for consideration of an alternate site. Cm. Acuff stated that if the sculpture is going to be 8'x8' and sitting on a knoll on a 4' pedestal, it should be visible over the wall from Amador Valley Boulevard. The Senior Center Advisory Committee is very enamored about this art piece because they feel that it will increase in value and become.a serious art object over the years. It would therefore be a benefit and plus for Dublin to have such an object visible to the public. Cm. Vonheeder-Leopold stated that all the pieces of art we have in Dublin came with a written description by the artist,however we have not been able to figure out where to place the written description. Yvonne commented that most artists have a description of their work but that is usually included in a brochure rather than on a plaque. Cm. Lussie suggested having a small box with brochures near the sculpture, like those you see at National Parks. Cm. Mack suggested having a photo of the sculpture on a postcard to sell to the public. Cm. Vonheeder- Leopold stated that it is very common to have artwork on postcards that associate it with a group or place. Cm. Acuff suggested having the architect prepare a drawing of how the sculpture would look from the wall. ON A MOTION BY CM. ACUFF AND SECONDED BY CM. LUSSIE, THE COMMISSION VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO RECOMMEND THE "WISDOM THROUGH THE AGES" SCULPTURE FOR THE SENIOR CENTER TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR FINAL APPROVAL. 8.2 Appointment to Public Art Project Yvonne reported that in 2001-2002 the Dublin City Council rated as a high priority "the creation of a Public Art Master Plan for the City of Dublin". At the June 3, 2003 City Council meeting the project was approved and awarded to Wright Consulting, headquartered in Felton, Ca. The consultant team will review the City's overall development plans, make recommendations that will encourage the integration of a unified public art program into those plans to provide a framework for public art in Dublin, identifying sites, scale;medium and type of work. Additionally,the consultant team will identify the most common funding sources for private and municipal art and make recommendations to the City. As part of their proposal Wright Consulting recommends forming a Public Art Task Force for the planning process. The Task Force, along with designated Staff will identify key issues and people, provide guidance to the consultant on Dublin's culture, review draft plans and make final recommendation on the Public Art Master Plan to the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission and City Council. It is Staffs recommendation that the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission appoint a Commissioner to serve on the Public Art Task Force. • MINUTES—JUNE 12, 2003 PAGE THREE • Cm. Lussie stated that one of the things that she does not 'agree with in the proposal is the Task Force. She feels that it is redundant to the survey that was done two years after the Commission'was in existence. A lot of time and money was spent to do the survey. The proposal provides for public meetings, which she feels would only take a lot of time. Time they can save by just using the survey information. If it were the desire of this Commission to get more people involved that were not involved before, that would be all right. However she still feels that it is redundant to what has already been done. Cm Fasulkey stated that it does not spell out who beyond the Commission and Staff would be appointed to the Task Force. Yvonne apologized and stated that she failed to include this information in the agenda statement. It would include the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission, Dublin Fine Arts Foundation, City Council (Councilmember McCormick has already been appointed), two (2) artists from the community, two (2)members of the general public and two (2) developers, for a total of nine members. Yvonne stated that one of the reasons the Task Force was looked upon favorably was because you don't get a diversified group of people at public meetings. The first meeting with Staff is going to include maps, ordinances,bylaws, etc. They will have a lot of homework to do which would include the Heritage and Cultural Arts Survey. Cm. Fasulkey agreed with Cm. Lussie,the survey information should be enough to go by. Cm. Lussie stated that we did not have practicing artists. We are looking for an art master plan, something to guide us in how we make decisions. She fears that we will get a lot of new people in here with twenty-five new projects to be done. She does not want to see a big "wish list". New projects are fine if they are beneficial to the community and within a certain order of probability. Cm. Vonheeder-Leopold stated that when the survey was done, we were amazed at the interest from the community. She feels that they need to look seriously at the survey report and not re-event the wheel. Yvonne stated that she does not think that the idea is for the consulting firm to recreate something. She pointed out that the survey was not specific to public art but included a broad range of arts in general. It will be up to the consultants to read the survey to see what the community thought was important in regards to public art and then bring their recommendations back to the Commission. Cm. Vonheeder-Leopold inquired as to how the Task Force is going to operate in terms of minority and majority opinions. How is the recommendation going to go forward to the Council? What if we need them to make revisions? Yvonne stated that if Commission feels that revisions are necessary, they could request that revisions be made before forwarding anything onto the Council. Cm. Fasulkey asked what is the role of the Task Force. Yvonne stated that the role of the Task Force is specific to public art. Cm. Acuff asked Yvonne to define public art. Is it just pieces of physical art or is it involved in theatre and music? Yvonne stated that public art is visual art, private and municipal. An exception to the rule would be a piece of public art that may incorporate music as part of the project,perhaps a kinetic piece. • MINUTES—JUNE 12, 2003 PAGE FOUR Cm. Lussie stated that the Task Force is going to have to have well-defined objectives. Whoever is facilitating the process will need to be very precise in what is expected of the Task Force and what its end product will be. Cm. Acuff felt that public art is a piece of the big cultural arts plan. If the committee can talk about places, appropriateness, funding and how you get art commissioned, then this would be a reasonable task for the Task Force. Cm. Lussie stated that this is not what the Task Force is supposed to do. These are decisions that the Commission should make. The Task Force is to provide input to the consultants and to Staff. Yvonne stated that the Public Art Master Plan is basically a map of funding and recommendations of how to create a unified plan for the City to use in the future Cm. Fasulkey stated that it should then be the appointed Commissioner's responsibility to make sure that the survey is in the forefront and to keep the Task Force focused on those results. Cm. Lussie volunteered as the Representative to the Public Art Task Force. Cm. Fasulkey volunteered as the Alternate. 8.3 2002-2007 Five-Year Capital Improvement Program Proposed Update 2003-2004 Yvonne reported that the City's Five Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is developed for the purpose of identifying future capital project needs and resources available to meet those needs. A new Five-Year Program for FY 2002-2003 through FY 2006-2007 was adopted last year. For FY 2003-2004, an update to the 2002-2007 CIP has been prepared. The proposed projects for review by the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission fall under two categories, Community Improvements and Parks. The CIP funding reflects a combination of City General Funds, State and Federal Grant Funds and Development Impact Fees. The funding source for the identified heritage and cultural arts projects is from the City's General Fund. The heritage and cultural arts projects recommended by Staff for inclusion in the CIP reflects the City's priorities with respect to preserving Dublin's history as well as enhancing community spaces and facilities for Dublin residents. Priorities were determined based on the need for the project and the availability of funding for the project. The City Council will conduct a Public Hearing on the CIP and Fiscal Year 2003-2004 Budget on June 24, 2003 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the Dublin Civic Center. During FY 2002-2003 the Street Banner Art Project, Murray School Bell Tower and Murray Schoolhouse projects were completed. Projects included for funding in FY 2003-2004 are the Freeway Underpass Art at Dublin Boulevard & Amador Valley Boulevard, three (3) Bus Shelters, Senior Center Art, Cemetery Planning Study and the Murray Schoolhouse Exhibit Restoration Phase I. A number of the projects were initiated in a prior fiscal year and have been carried over to FY 2003-2004. Projects included in FY 2004- 2005 include the Murray Schoolhouse Exhibit Restoration Phase II. Projects for FY 2005-2006 and 2006- 2007 include the replacement of the remaining three(3)bus shelters in downtown Dublin. One additional project is included in the CIP but there is insufficient funding within the CIP timeframe to initiate the project. The construction of a 16,000 square foot Community Theater is identified in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and the total estimated project cost is $7,232,000. An ad-hoc committee with representatives from the City Councils of Danville, San Ramon, Dublin,Pleasanton and Livermore has MINUTES—JUNE 12,2003 PAGE FIVE been convened to identify how each City is addressing performing arts in their community. The results of this committee may assist the City of Dublin in determining the performing arts needs for the community in light of what the other cities are doing. Heritage and Cultural Arts Supervisor Theresa Yvonne is Staff liaison to this committee. ON A MOTION BY CM.ACUFF AND SECONDED BY CM. VONHEEDER-LEOPOLD THE COMMISSION VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO ACCEPT THE PROJECT PRIORITIES AS PROPOSED BY STAFF. Cm. Acuff asked if the City is applying for grant funding for additional projects besides the Murray Schoolhouse. It may be smart to have a staff member on board who can write grants and is aware of the resources available. Yvonne stated that she is aware that many cities have a grant writer on staff, but the City of Dublin does not. Other Business Brief INFORMATIONAL ONLY Reports from Heritage and Cultural Arts Commissioners and/or Staff Yvonne reported that she attended an Art Conference in Portland, Oregon and spent two days touring the public art there. She is still filtering through all the brochures she brought back. Cm. Vonheeder-Leopold reported that while on a weekend trip to Mendocino she went on a $20 tour of five historical houses with docents and wine tasting afterwards. She passed around some of the brochures she brought back and photographs she had taken. One of the photos was of engraved fence stakes installed around a play area in a park,which were sold to raise money. Adjournment Being no further business,the meeting was adjourned at 8:07p.m. Respectfully submitted, Char J. Young Administrative Tec c ian APPROVED: phairPerson