HomeMy WebLinkAbout13 - Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Local Assistance Specified Grant - CorrespondenceReceived After Agenda Printed
October 8, 2019
Item No. 13
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To: Honorable Mayor Diane Dixon and Members of the City Council
From: Newport Beach Arts Commission
Re: Sculpture Garden Local Assistance Specified Grant
With all due respect to staff, the position put forth in the staff report
reflects neither the reality of the situation or the will of the Arts Commission.
After extensive discussion, the Arts Commission voted for Option B and directed
staff to send that recommendation to the City Council.
The City Council has already reviewed and approved funding for Phase Five
of the Sculpture Garden. This position will be reaffirmed tonight with the
Council's approval of the OC Arts contract, which, incidentally, is on the consent
calendar. Phase Five is scheduled to be installed in May of 2020. As part of the
Phase Five selection and installation process, the Arts Commission intends to
hold, at a minimum, two town hall meetings. At these citywide events, everything
from the criteria for choosing the works for the next phase to the placement of
the works throughout the city to the capital enhancements envisioned for the
garden itself, will be discussed. Input from these town halls will be incorporated
into the selection process.
The majority of the money from the grant will be used, under the proposal
supported by the Arts Commission, to fund Phase Six and Phase Seven, with
anticipated installation dates of December 2020 and September 2021. These
installation dates comply with the grant mandate that city funds be committed
and expended, and then reimbursed, prior to December 31, 2021.
Under the Arts Commission proposal, $200,000 of the $500,000 grant
funding will be used for capital improvements in the garden. These capital
expenditures will range from rehabilitating the paths and walkways to expanding
viewing and seating areas to, perhaps, placing lighting in certain areas to facilitate
evening activities. Utilization of grant funds for these capital enhancements will
save the City $200,000 in funds they would have to otherwise take from some
other budgetary source.
The balance of the grant funding will be used to facilitate installation of
Phases Six and Seven, scheduled to come on line in late 2020 and mid -2021.
Again, by utilizing grant funds for these two phases, the city will be able to utilize
the $300,000 being reimbursed by the grant funding to facilitate other activities
and programs while, at the same time, keeping its commitment to the community
to both expand community engagement in the selection and installation process
while maintaining a minimum of twenty works of art throughout the garden at
any one time.
Contrary to the assertion of the staff, this proposal is not an acceleration of
the installation schedule. In fact, this proposal slows down the schedule so as to
allow for significant community input into how the garden will evolve while also,
by securing funding for the next three years, allowing the Arts Commission to
seek and obtain additional outside funding sources, thus reducing and/or relieving
the City of additional financial obligations. In short, this proposal provides the Arts
Commission with the long term financial stability necessary to maintain and
enhance the sculpture garden with nominal financial support from the City.
Your Arts Commission has worked hard to both secure this grant funding
and develop a program through which the funds received enhance the sculpture
garden, limit the obligation of the city in terms of funding our museum without
walls and create the environment envisioned when the original plans were
introduced and accepted.
We hope you will support the Arts Commission's vision.