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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPAAC Agenda Packet 01-10-19 Public Art Advisory Committee Thursday, January 10, 2019 3:30 PM Helling Lobby Conference Room 410 E Washington St AGENDA Call to order Election of Officers – Chairperson and Vice Chairperson Public discussion of any item not on the agenda Consideration of minutes of the December 6, 2018 meeting City Hall Public Art Project – Tim Adams Tim will be available to update the committee on the project design and respond to questions. Public Art Program Funding Proposal Discussion The attached proposal was presented to the City Council at their December 18 meeting. The committee will discuss follow up to the process. Committee announcements or Committee reports Staff reports Adjournment If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this program/event, please contact Marcia Bollinger, Neighborhood and Development Services at 319-356-5237 or marcia- bollinger@iowa-city.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. MINUTES PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE DECEMBER 6, 2018 – 3:30 PM LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM – CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Tam Bodkin Bryk, Vero Rose Smith, Steve Miller, Ron Knoche, Juli Seydell Johnson, Andrea Truitt NOT PRESENT: Wendy Brown STAFF PRESENT: Marcia Bollinger, Morgan Musselman PUBLIC PRESENT: Thomas Agran, Eddie Boyken WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS: ANDREA TRUITT AND EDDIE BOYKEN The Committee introduced themselves to and welcomed the new members Andrea Truitt and Eddie Boyken. Andrea Truitt is the Volunteer and Community Relations Manager for Summer of the Arts. Eddie Boyken is a recent college graduate and has been a resident of Iowa City for 31 years. FAREWELL TO TAM BODKIN BYRK Marcia Bollinger presented Tam Bodkin Bryk with a certificate of recognition to thank her for her participation on the Public Art Advisory Committee. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA There was no public discussion of items not on the agenda. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 1, 2018 MEETING Juli Sydell Johnson moved to approve the November 1, 2018 meeting minutes. Ron Knoche seconded. Motion passed unanimously. DISCUSSION RELATED TO FUNDING OF PUBLIC ART PROGRAM Steve Miller informed the Committee that he had spoken to Marcia Bollinger about the history of the Public Art Program and its funding. Miller stated that the funding has fluctuated from $100,000 when it first began to $6,000 and now to this fiscal year’s allotment of $25,000. Miller told the Committee there are different ways they could ask to increase the Public Art Program’s budget, but they must first address the program’s strategic plan and the question of why they want the budget to be increased. Miller presented the Committee with a draft of a strategic plan from six years ago that was developed by a subcommittee of the Public Art Advisory Committee. To provide background information, Bollinger presented the Committee with a 2012 memo of a proposal for funding FY14 Public Art Program through Hotel and Motel tax revenue. Tam Bodkin Bryk stated that she remembers the Committee discussing this proposal because the Riverfront Crossings District was under development and the Committee wanted adequate funding for new Preliminary public art installations in that district. Bollinger noted that the program’s increase in funding following this proposal was ultimately not provided through use of the Hotel/Motel Tax. Miller stated that he thinks the Committee should draft a strategic plan and collaborate with the Downtown District on what the Committee supports as a source of funding, whether it’s Hotel/Motel Tax or a percent out of construction projects, or other possibilities. Thomas Agran asked Juli Seydell Johnson what the restrictions on funding through the Hotel/Motel tax are for Parks and Recreation. Seydell Johnson replied that it goes into the Mercer/Scanlon budget to help with ballfield and swimming pool maintenance because when tournaments are hosted there, out of town teams stay at local hotels. Seydell Johnson stated that whatever Parks and Recreation uses the funding for has to be connected to generating more hotel stays. Seydell Johnson stated that she does not know of any formal restrictions, but that is how the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department uses the funds. Bollinger stated that she is also gathering information as to how the Hotel/Motel tax is regulated and allocated. Bollinger distributed a list of potential public art projects for the future that consists of a number of ideas that the Committee has discussed in the past. Bollinger stated that the Hotel/Motel tax is used by public art programs in many cities including San Antonio and San Diego, and that Phoenix uses state lottery revenue. Miller asked if the City had given Bollinger a reason for not approving the proposal to use some of the Hotel/Motel tax to fund the Public Art Program. Bollinger stated that the City had not given the Committee a yes or no, but had observed that the program could use more funding and raised program’s budget to $15,000. Miller asked Seydell Johnson how stable the amount received through the Hotel/Motel tax is. Seydell Johnson replied that she believes the amount the Parks Department receives each year is fairly stable. Seydell Johnson stated that she thinks the first step is to determine how much the Committee needs based on projects they want to pursue and ask for that amount in the budget process, and let the specifics of where the money comes from be worked out as a result. Agran noted that this is a project he has been working on individually and that he understands that right now is a good time to ask for money because the City is doing its budgeting. Agran stated that he believes there is no wrong time to ask for more money or to advocate for new projects. Agran stated that there are other neighboring communities that have public art programs whose funding comes from 1% to 2% of the respective city’s capital construction costs, so there is a lot of precedent for this policy, including programs that have adopted it without a strategic plan, or with a strategic plan as a contingency. Agran noted that if the Public Art Program wanted to get a $100,000 budget, which would be lower than what they used to receive, it would be about a third of a percent. Agran stated that he thinks it makes sense for the Committee to make a clear ask for more funding based on general goals that align with the City’s general goals, versus individual projects, as related to the health of neighborhoods and equity in how money is spent, etc., and that he thinks the Committee could do so by suggesting a tiered approach. Agran stated that he encourages the Committee to draft a proposal to submit to Council at any time. Agran stated that Iowa is number 41 in the lowest state spending on art and that there are a lot of compelling political reasons that Iowa City should be a leader in prioritizing public art in the state. Ron Knoche stated that the City does provide a lot of support to the arts in Iowa City outside of the money that is specifically allocated to the Public Art Program, and that he thinks the Committee needs to remain aware of the funding that goes on outside of the funds the Committee has specific control over. Vero Rose Smith asked if it would be more advantageous to talk about increasing public art funds through the Committee as supporting other economic development initiatives that the City has undertaken. Seydell Johnson stated that she would also add community engagement initiatives to that. Bollinger stated that the budget public hearings process begins in January and that would be the time to propose an increase in funding. She agreed that it is important to bring it up to Council, and state that the Committee will get back to Council with specifics at a later date. Bollinger suggested creating a subcommittee. Miller motioned to form a subcommittee to discuss increasing the Public Art Program’s funding and develop a proposal to be considered by City Council. Rose Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Miller, Smith and Boyken agreed to participate on the subcommittee. UPDATE ON CITY HALL LOBBY ART PROJECT Bollinger stated that the subcommittee selected one of Tim Adams’ proposed designs, which features the woodlands effect, as a general starting point, because they liked the finish and the simplicity. Bollinger stated that Adams was initially simulating a birch tree in the proposal, but because birch is not native to Iowa, he then suggested shagbark hickory which is a native tree. Bollinger stated that the subcommittee had also talked about how to incorporate a connection to Iowa City in the piece and that they have decided to use the tree design to replicate the population growth of Iowa City from the 1850s to today. Rose Smith stated that the piece will have feature sections of metal that peel back to mimic the appearance of shagbark hickory. Bollinger stated that the piece will feature a forest that begins with smaller trees that then transition into larger, more mature trees to reflect the diversity and population growth of Iowa City. Bollinger asked the Committee if they had any suggestions, ideas, or general comments. Bodkin Bryk asked if Adams is excited about the project. Bollinger responded that he is excited and that he has been very easy to work with and supports all of the suggestions that have been provided. Bodkin Bryk asked if the initial proposed timeline is still in place. Bollinger responded that Adams will be attending the January meeting to present the final design and respond to questions. Once the design is finalized, there will be a six-week production period and then he will install it at the end of March. Rose Smith stated that Adams has been very easy to work with, that she is confident the timeline is feasible, and that Adams has been very receptive to feedback and suggestions as well, both in terms of aesthetics and ideas as well as practical considerations. Bollinger stated that Kumi Morris had a conversation with her son in which he mentioned that the Japanese term “Komorebi” describes the way sunlight filters through trees, and that this could be the title of the finished piece. Bollinger stated that they had also discussed using colored lighting, and that blue was suggested due to how it matches the aesthetics in the lobby. The committee discuss various lighting color options. Bollinger stated that the Committee will be receiving more information on this project during the next meeting in January. UPDATE ON SNELSON SCULPTURE RELOCATION Seydell Johnson stated that they are continuing to move forward with the traffic circle design and that they have experimented with up lighting for the sculpture. Seydell Johnson stated that they had a few other concepts involving more hardscaping around the sculpture, but that the budget doesn’t allow that, and that she prefers the green around the sculpture anyway. Miller asked if the sculpture could be lowered. Seydell Johnson stated that the Summerwill’s and Paul’s who are invested in the relocation of the sculpture are adamant that it be high because much of Snelson’s work is suspended, as well as to avoid interference with the sculpture. Bollinger showed the Committee photos from the experimentation with lighting for the sculpture. Bollinger stated that they will use white light. Seydell Johnson stated that the park is currently open but that they are planning on having the grand opening in late July. COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS OR REPORTS There were no committee announcements or reports. STAFF REPORTS Bollinger stated that an online submission process has been put in place for Poetry in Public this year. Bodkin Bryk asked if Bollinger will also be allowing physical submissions in addition to online ones. Bollinger replied that is a printable version that will allow participants to write out their poems if they prefer that format. ADJOURNMENT Knoche motioned to adjourn. Miller seconded. Meeting adjourned at 4:25 pm. Public Art Advisory Committee Attendance Record 2018 Name Term Expires 4/5 5/3 6/7 7/12 8/2 9/6 10/4 11/1 12/6 Bodkin Bryk, Tam 01/01/19 x x x x x O/E O/E x x Brown, Wendy 01/01/20 x x x x x x x x O/E Erin Fitzgerald 01/01/20 x x x x x x x -- -- Knoche, Ron x x x x x x x x x Seydell- Johnson, Juli x x x x x x x x x Vero Rose Smith 01/01/21 x x O/E x O/E x x x x Steve Miller 02/01/21 x x O/E x x x x x x Andrea Truitt 01/01/22 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- x Key: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused --- = Not a member