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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-08-2003 Approved HCAC Minutes • CITY OF DUBLIN HERITAGE AND CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION MINtTTES Off'•MAY 8 20113 The May 8, 2003 meeting of the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission was called to order at 7:11p.m. at the Dublin Civic Center,Dublin, California,by Chairperson Fasulkey. Pledge of Allegiance Chairperson Fasulkey led pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call Commissioners Present: Acuff,Fasulkey, Lussie,White,Mack,Muetterties and Vonheeder-Leopold Oral Communications-None Approval of Minutes ON A MOTION BY CM. VONHEEDER-LEOPOLD AND SECONDED BY CM. WHITE THE COMMISSION VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF APRIL 17,2003 AS PRESENTED. Written Communications-None Public Hearing-None Unfinished Business-None New Business 8.1 Proposed Fee for Heritage Center Tours Yvonne stated that the new hours and days of operation for the Heritage Center are Wednesday through Sunday from 1:00-4:00 p.m. The museum is also available by appointment for school and group tours. The largest number of group tours of the Heritage Center is by school groups and are typically held in the morning and last approximately two hours. During FY2001-2002, 18 group tours were conducted of which 17 were school groups. At this time the Center does not charge for group tours although some groups make a donation to the Heritage Center. As part of the budget process for the upcoming fiscal year, Staff was charged with identifying additional sources of revenue to offset rising operational costs. For the Heritage Center the net cost to operate the Heritage Center over the past five years has increased by approximately 32%, from $49,075 in Fiscal Year 1997-1998 to $64,837 in FY2001-2002. The largest source of revenue is church rentals. Staff has identified group tours as another potential revenue source and recommends charging $1.00 per person for the tours. With an average of 18 tours per year and 30 persons per tour, an additional $540 could be raised. For a school class, this would amount to approximately $30 per class. While this is not a large amount, Staff has seen an increase in tours every year so it is a potential revenue source that will grow as the number of tours grows. Cm. Acuff stated she feels that charging fees is not appropriate. The museum is a public trust and educational institute. She indicated that she has been associated with museums for several years and charging fees has always been at debate. Even many of the major museums that charge a fee are not sure of the value of doing so. It does not make sense to charge fees, as the majority that would be charged would be our schools. She indicated that she had nothing against requesting donations voluntarily and that many museums have ways of getting people to donate. Cm. Vonheeder-Leopold concurred. She did not feel that cities should charge fees for public properties. The families and community in general, particularly schools,just do not have the money. She suggested perhaps requesting donations from local corporations such as Clorox. Cm. Fasulkey concurred. A $1.00 fee for a field trip to the museum would dictate where the schools would be able to go. Perhaps a class could make a creative donation. Donations given voluntarily would be OK. Cm. Lussie stated she was opposed to charging a fee to the museum, as this would be teaching our children the wrong things. If a fee were charged, then those paying it would want to be entertained or receive something for it. If a fee is charged it will initiate bad feelings. She suggested soliciting donations from local businesses and/or corporations. Cm. Acuff suggested perhaps setting up a gift shop in the museum. Use either an outside vendor or have sponsors like DHPA run it. If we do this, a plaque could be placed in front indicating their support of the museum. Cm. Fasulkey felt that a fee would create a lot of tension between the city and the schools. Cm. White stated that as an adult, she wouldn't mind paying the fee, however is opposed to charging the schools. Yvonne stated that there are many ways to earn money. We just need to come up with some ideas. Cm. Fasulkey stated that what we need to do is beef up the advertising of the Heritage Center. She has seen nothing in the,newspaper under the community section about our Heritage Center. She did not even know about the Bell Tower dedication until she saw the picture in the newspaper the following day. Cm. Acuff agreed. All she saw was a small flyer. Cm. Lussie stated that if we are going to charge a fee,we need a special exhibit.. Cm. Acuff stated that we have already had at least five super exhibits at the Heritage Center and did not charge a fee. However if we had a traveling exhibit from New York or the.National History Museum, those would be major entertainment events that people would pay for. Our museum does not have that kind of venue. Cm. Mack suggested that we consider selling small souvenirs. Cm. Acuff felt that corporate sponsorship would be the most successful. The sponsors could be given special privileges such as a free tour, reception or opportunity to do a corporate display at the Heritage Center. Cm. Mack concurred. Sponsors could be given a sponsorship rating such as Gold, Silver or Bronze. Possibly consider given them exclusive use of the Heritage Center when it is closed. ON A MOTION BY CM. ACUFF AND SECONDED BY CM. L USSIE THE COMMISSION VOTED UNANIMOUSLY THAT A FEE SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED FOR TOURS OF THE MUSEUM AND , THAT THE COMMISSION SHOULD WORK TOGETHER WITH THE CITY TO DEVELOP IDEAS FOR GENERATING REVENUE FOR THE HERITAGE CENTER. Minutes—May 8, 2003 Page 2 of 3 Cm. Lussie asked if this would in anyway be stepping on DHPA's toes. Cm.Vonheeder-Leopold replied,no. Other Business Cm. Lussie stated that interviews were conducted for the Public Art Master Plan. Theresa wrote a very detailed proposal and all those interviewed met the minimum requirements. Yvonne reported that she took the matrix from each proposal into consideration and it helped her to narrow down the proposals to two. She reread each proposal and checked references as well. Cm. Lussie stated that next time it would he helpful to have some proposal definitions handy, as it would make it easier when reviewing proposals. • Cm. Acuff reported that the submittals for the Senior Center Art Project are currently on display in the Civic lobby. She asked the Commissioners to take the time to look at them and submit their comments on the forms provided. Yvonne stated that the submittals would be transported to the Dublin Senior Center at the end of this week, so that the seniors there can look at them and also provide their comments. 9.1 Brief INFORMATIONAL ONLY Reports from Heritage and Cultural Arts Commissioners and/or Staff Staff Reports +The first series of the Tri-Valley Cultural Arts meetings was conducted today. Even though no action was taken on any item discussed,the discussion included duplication, working together, and a catalog. The next meeting will be in June. The catalog would include what, when and where for music, theatre, art, etc. She suggested that the Commission contact Tim Sbranti with their suggestions. It is planned that Sbranti will attend our scheduled meeting in July. AThe Classic Affair is next weekend on Saturday, May 17. She encouraged the Commissioners to purchase their tickets. Cm. Lussie felt that Tri-Valley Cultural Arts Committee should coordinate their communications so that information can be shared. Cm. Fasulkey asked.what would be the best way to communicate with Tim Sbranti. Yvonne said it would probably be best to call him directly. Adjournment Being no further business,the meeting was adjourned at 7:51p.m. Respectfully submitted, Char J.Young / , Administrative Technician APPROVED: �s f A hairperson F Minutes—May 8, 2003 Page 3 of 3