HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-05-2009 Public Art Advisory CommitteePublic Art Advisory Committee
Thursday, Feburary 5, 2009
3: OOPM
Lobby Conference Room
City Hall
410 E. Washington
A. Call to order
B. Public discussion of any item not on the agenda
C. Consideration of the minutes of the January 8, 2009 meeting
D. Discuss with Mary Frieden, Executive Director of Summer of the Arts
E. Sculpture project at Water Works Prairie Park
F. Committee time/updates
G. Adjournment
MINUTES PRELIMINARY
PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2009
LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM -CITY HALL
Members Present: Mark Seabold, DaLayne Williamson, Ann Khan, Jan Finlayson,
Rick Fosse, Terry Robinson (sitting in for Terry Trueblood)
Members Absent: Patrick Carney
Staff Present: Marcia Bollinger, Nate Kabat, Jeff Davidson
Public Present: Melissa Mitchell, interested party
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL
Recommend approval of the Lemme Leopard Community Initiated Public Art
Proposal at a funding level of $1,000. Moved by Finlayson. Seconded by Fosse.
Motion passed 6:0.
CALL TO ORDER
Seabold called the meeting to order at 3:09 PM.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA
Fosse shared an idea he had for a trail that would produce music by appropriately
spaced ribs/cuts into the pavement when driven over on a bicycle. He calls it the "tactile
trail". He than told the group that this idea made it into a Honda commercial. The
committee was very impressed.
CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 6 2008 AND DECEMBER
4, 2008 MEETINGS
MOTION: Williamson moved to approve the minutes; Fosse seconded. The motion
passed 6:0.
SCULPTURE PROJECT AT WATER WORKS PRAIRIE PARK - REVIEW F FUNDING
OPTIONS AND DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL FUND RAISING
Bollinger handed out copies of the Public Art Budget for the committee to review. The
account currently has $77,850 in it. Currently there are 3 outlays totaling $32,600 and a
possible outlay for the Lemme Leopard for an addition $1,000. Bollinger accounted for
$500 in misc. expenses and expects a $50,000 allocation in the FY 10 budget.
Assuming the FY10 allocation, this brought the total PAAC budget to $93,750. Bollinger
noted the PAAC budget currently has enough to get the Waterworks art project started,
but not enough to cover the entire cost until the FY10 budget is approved. Fosse said he
believes that considering the current budget situation committing future funds is risky.
Finlayson asked if a $50,000 allocation for FY10 is for sure. Bollinger said that amount is
not guaranteed, but that is the historic allocation. Bollinger said there is an opportunity
for boards to present to the City Council regarding budget changes, but since the PAAC
would not be requesting a change in the budget, she thinks a letter would suffice. Fosse
Public Art Advisory Committee
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Page 2 of 4
said the PAAC would know in February how much the City Council plans to allocate to
the PAAC budget so any funds for the Waterworks project should be held until then.
Finlayson asked when the City Council will act on the FY10 budget. Davidson said on
February 24th. Kahn asked when the committee would like to begin the project. Bollinger
said the artist would like to begin soon if possible. Fosse suggested a budget for the
Waterworks project could be approved contingent upon budget approval in February.
Davidson said the committee would know if PAAC gets brought up at the CIP meetings
which would provide a better idea of how much money the committee will likely receive.
Seabold asked if fundraising should be pursued if the budget will be able to cover the
project costs in February. Kahn asked what kind of fundraising is being considered.
Seabold said ideally one large sponsor could be found, but admitted it will be hard to
raise money for art projects given the economic conditions. Finlayson added this project
will be competing for funding with the Summer of the Arts.
Fosse asked the committee if it should act on approving a project budget at this meeting
or if the committee would like to wait. Davidson advised that February would be an ok
time to act on a project budget contingent upon the money coming through. He thought
that would provide the time needed to make a more sound judgment. The committee
agreed to table a decision until February but agreed the project is still worth pursuing.
Robinson asked how big the base of the sculpture will be. Bollinger said she does not
know the base size yet, but through the project design process the committee has
decided that the sculpture meadow would be the best place to locate the sculpture. She
said the hope is to implement a wind harvesting or solar power system to energize the
sculpture lighting. Bollinger agreed to talk with the artist to keep him up to speed with the
committee's decision.
LEMME ELEMENTARY -COMMUNITY INITIATED PUBLIC ART PROPOSAL -
Continued from December 2008 meeting.
Bollinger, Seabold and Williamson explained the project to the committee members who
were absent for John Bacon's presentation at the previous PAAC meeting. Bollinger also
passed out pictures presented to the committee at the December meeting. Seabold and
Williamson expressed their support for the project. Seabold noted this project would set
a precedent for future school projects dealing with high quality and well thought out
public art projects. Finlayson thought the proposed $1,000 contribution seems like a
reasonable request. The committee agreed.
MOTION: Finlayson moved to approve an amount for the Lemme Leopard Community
Initiated Public Art Proposal of $1,000; Fosse seconded. The motion passed 6:0.
COMMITTEE TIME/UPDATES
Bollinger informed the committee of a literary walk plaque that is coming out of the
ground near the public library. There has been discussion of who is responsible for
paying to have this fixed. Bollinger explained that the Literary Walk was initially intended
to be expanded over time to include other elements in the surrounding downtown area
which would have placed this plaque under the jurisdiction of the PAAC. Currently the
plaque is not technically included in the PAAC inventory and so repairs would not be the
responsibility of the PAAC and must be maintained by the public library. However, the
public library would like the PAAC to assume responsibility for the plaque since that is
what was originally intended.
Public Art Advisory Committee
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Page 3 of 4
Robinson explained the plaque was not installed correctly by the contractor, Knutson
Construction. Robinson suggested that the whole plaque be reset into newly poured
concrete so that it is secure for the future. He also noted the bronze plaque is bent and
will need to be repaired. Kahn said Knutson Construction should be contacted and
asked to repair the plaque free of charge since it was their error. Fosse noted that the
bronze plaques on the literary walk have become warn over time and present a hazard
when they are icy or wet and the committee should consider that issue when replacing
or expanding them.
Finlayson asked if the PAAC would be responsible for paying to fix the plaque. Bollinger
clarified that the PAAC would only need to pay for the repairs if the plaque was admitted
into the PAAC inventory. Kahn noted the PAAC is already worried about the budget, so
this project might not be good to take on right now. Fosse said one option would be to
ask the library to pay for the repairs this time and than admit the plaque into the
inventory after it is fixed. Bollinger did not know how much the repair would cost, but
reminded the committee that maintenance of artwork is a part of doing business so she
would pull together the cost information.
Bollinger updated the committee to the proceedings of Poetry in Public noting that the
response this year has been lukewarm. Bollinger also informed the committee that
Poetry in Public was included in the application for Iowa City's recent "City of Literature"
designation by UNESCO. She said Christopher Merrill plans to publish Iowa City Poetry
in Public poems on the City of Literature website he is creating. She reminded the
committee that Williamson served on the selection committee for 2008 and wondered
who would be interested in filling that role for 2009. Williamson said she enjoyed the role
last year and would like to serve on the committee again.
ADJOURNMENT
Fosse motioned to adjourn; Robinson seconded. Meeting adjourned at 3:57 pm. Next
meeting scheduled for February 5th, 2009.
Minutes submitted by Nate Kabat.
a>
~_
Eo
~o
O N
U ap
s~
o ~
,N ~
~ ~
¢-~~
~ 1, p
Q N ~
~~m
~s~
~.~~
a~
..~
0
V
it
O
.>
^C
T.,
V
...,
D
a
b
0
U
~ ~
v O
p O
~ N
'~
C,
C~
~C ~C ~C ~C O ~C ~C
~ ~ N --+ O N
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
O O O O O
~
~
W ~
.-~ ~
'--~ ~
r-. ~
~ ~
,-~
0 0 0 0 0
C
O
C eel
~
~ A
~
~ ~
Cd ~ y •G ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~'" ~ '
~
A
~
~
~ i.
~ ~C
"
~
b
U
~ ~ N
II II II
~1 W
~~COO