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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAC 5-11-23 Approved Meeting MinutesCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES Newport Beach Public Library 1000 Avocado Avenue, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Wednesday, May 11, 2023 – Regular Meeting City Arts Commission Members: Arlene Greer, Chair Maureen Flanagan, Vice Chair Leonard Simon, Secretary Wayan Kaufman, Commissioner Marie Little, Commissioner Barbara George, Commissioner Staff Members: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director Camille Escareal-Garcia, Cultural Arts Assistant I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Chair Greer called the City Arts Commission meeting to order at 5:01 P.M. II. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Chair Greer Vice Chair Flanagan Secretary Simon Commissioner Kaufman (arrived at 5:05 p.m.) Commissioner George Commissioner Little Commissioners Absent: Staff Present: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director Camille Escareal-Garcia, Cultural Arts Assistant III. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC – Waived IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS None V. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Minutes of the April 13, 2023, City Arts Commission Meeting 1. Draft of 4/13/23 Minutes Chair Arlene Greer called for edits of the draft minutes of the April 13 meeting. City Arts Commission Meeting May 11, 2023 Page 2 Chair Greer noted on packet page 10, paragraph 5, sentence 7 that the following line should be removed, “The Arts Foundation will also join the City Arts Commissioners in handing out awards.” Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, noted that the header in the April 13 minutes had the date of the March meeting. Motion made by Vice Chair Maureen Flanagan, seconded by Secretary Leonard Simon, and carried (6-0-0-0) to approve the minutes of the City Arts Commission (CAC) Regular meeting on April 13, 2023. AYES: Greer, Flanagan, Simon, Little, Kaufman, George NOES: None. ABSTENTIONS: None. ABSENCES: None. B. Consent Calendar Items 2. Financial Report Review of financial information. Chair Greer directed the Commissioners to packet page 13 for the financial report. Library Services Director Melissa Hartson reported the Commission is on track with spending for the Fiscal Year. The Sculpture Garden Phase VIII payments to Arts Orange County have been disbursed and soon the Phase VII and VIII Artists Honorarium payments will also be reflected. Some of the posts have been made for the Newport Beach Art Exhibition, staff are working with the City’s Finance Department to ensure they meet the deadline for everything to be posted accordingly. The City Cultural Arts Grants have been processed and will be reflected in next month’s report. Chair Greer inquired about the check from the Newport Beach Arts Foundation. Library Services Director Hartson confirmed that is another post that will be reflected in the June Financial report. Secretary Simon questioned the Sculpture Garden budget being $135,000 and $145,000 is reflected as being spent. Library Services Director Hartson explained what’s reflected are the remaining available funds. The only expenses currently to date have been for the management of Phase VIII which total $119,000, plus $50,000 for the honorariums. The encumbrances that will be carried forward will be posted at the end of this Fiscal Year and will not be reflected in next year’s budget. Secretary Simon inquired about the $19,000 yet to be spent under the Programming Category. Library Services Director Hartson responded that those funds will be allocated towards the Art Exhibition. City Arts Commission Meeting May 11, 2023 Page 3 Motion made by Secretary Simon, seconded by Chair Greer, and carried (6-0-0-0) to approve the financial report. 3. Cultural Arts Activities Monthly review of cultural arts activities from the Library Administrative Office for upcoming Library and City arts events and services. Library Services Director Hartson reported that in April they wrapped up the Janet Steele exhibit. Colleen Johns’ work has been installed and will be on display for the next two months. Some routine maintenance has been done on the bench for Sunset Years, a couple pictures were added to the report showing the bench before and after maintenance. Upcoming events include the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-23 Grants Award Ceremony in June and the return of the Newport Beach Art Exhibition. The Grand Opening of the Sculpture Garden Phase VIII will be folded into a day in celebration of the arts with the Art Exhibition. Installation is happening two weeks prior to the Exhibition. Call for entries will be wrapping up at the end of May. The Exhibition is scheduled on June 24, 2023. Commissioner Marie Little inquired about how many artists and pieces have been entered to date. Chair Greer stated she will include the total number in her report for the Art Exhibition Ad Hoc Subcommittee. Chair Greer called for public comments. Motion made by Commissioner George, seconded by Chair Greer, and carried (6-0-0-0) to approve the Cultural Arts Activities report. AYES: Greer, Flanagan, Simon, Little, Kaufman, George NOES: None. ABSTENTIONS: None. ABSENCES: None. Motion made by Commissioner Barbara George, seconded by Secretary Leonard Simon, and carried (6-0-0-0) to approve Consent Calendar as submitted by the City staff. AYES: Greer, Flanagan, Simon, Little, Kaufman, George NOES: None. ABSTENTIONS: None. ABSENCES: None. City Arts Commission Meeting May 11, 2023 Page 4 VI. CURRENT BUSINESS A. Items for Review and Possible Action 4. Utility Box Art Pilot Program Discussion Staff recommends that the City Arts Commission discuss the feasibility of a Utility Box Art Pilot Program. Chair Greer stated the ad-hoc subcommittee information can be found on packet page 17. Library Services Director Hartson reported this item was discussed and suggested the Commission consider creating an Ad Hoc subcommittee to review other cities’ utility box art programs. This isn’t a new concept, and a number of cities participate in the program in a variety of ways. The subcommittee could review the different proposals to see which would work best for Newport Beach. Public Works installed utility box art at the new fire station, the cost for that was just over $4,000 for the two boxes. Things to consider in the proposal include the themes, content, guidelines, artist eligibility, possible honorariums, and application requirements. Additionally, they need to consider how to select artists and how long the art will be on display. It is recommended that that the vinyl wraps can withstand approximately five (5) years. Maintenance and funding will also need to be considered. There are a number of cities who use different program structures, the Arts Commission is in a position to piece together what will work best for their City prior to submitting a recommended proposal to City Council. Secretary Simon inquired if the art would ultimately be installed by Public Works and if there would be an interdepartmental charge for it. Library Services Director Hartson explained they would have to work with Public Works due to the fact that the utility boxes belong to them. Secretary Simon suggested reaching out to Public Works for an inquiry as to what that may cost if the program were to come to fruition. Additionally, it may be prudent to inquire from other city utility entities that already have the program in place for an estimate of their costs and expressed an interest in being part of the Ad Hoc Subcommittee. Chair Greer indicated the Subcommittee would likely help with a lot of the research on the other city programs as time is limited for staff. Commissioner George inquired about the $4,000 cost of the two boxes for the fire station, what it included and who funded it. Library Services Director Hartson explained the $4,000 was what it cost to get the art put on the boxes, she is not aware of the detailed breakdown, and the funding was incurred by Public Works. Secretary Simon suggested trying to get the detailed breakdown from Public Works of the $4,000 so not to reinvent the wheel. Commissioner Little didn’t feel Public Works would have the staff to install the art, and envisioned a professional would need to be hired to complete the work. City Arts Commission Meeting May 11, 2023 Page 5 Library Services Director Hartson replied that Commissioner Little was correct, Public Works staff did not install the art, they hired the installers. Chair Greer suggested this would likely work much like the call for entries for the Sculpture Garden and hoped the Utility Box Art Ad Hoc Subcommittee would do some research and come back with the information, and inquired if this would need City Council approval. Library Services Director Hartson answered that this program would require City Council approval. Secretary Simon inquired if it would be included in the upcoming budget. Library Services Director Hartson explained the upcoming budget has already been drafted, they would have to work within the Commission’s framework of funding. According to the City Manager’s approved budget, it will remain flat over the next year. Program enhancements were submitted, however they were not approved, so the Commission will be working within the same budget as the current Fiscal Year. They will have to get creative with funding. Chair Greer inquired which budget amount would be available for the Cultural Arts Grants. Library Services Director Hartson responded she believed it was $30,000. Chair Greer stated that from 2011 through 2019 they always had $40,000 and it was lowered to $30,000 and with the rate of inflation, it will be difficult to work within the Cultural Arts grants. Library Services Director Hartson stated there was a valiant effort in raising the budget. Chair Greer proposed appointing Secretary Simon to chair the Utility Box Art Ad Hoc Subcommittee and requested a volunteer to be a second member. Vice Chair Flanagan volunteered. Chair Greer announced that Vice Chair Flanagan and Secretary Simon would be the Utility Box Art Ad Hoc Subcommittee members and requested public comments. Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, commented he just came from a Finance Committee meeting for the City Budget, and it has not yet been approved by City Council, there may still be time to lobby for more funding. He believes a wrap is a much better idea than letting artists paint directly onto the boxes for a host of reasons. He attended a meeting of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District, and they are responsible for some of the wrapped utility boxes in Costa Mesa. Their city started the program first, the Sanitary district has a small group that works on their program, and suggested they would be a great resource for information, as well as their City Manager. Chair Greer commented that Charlene Ashendorf is the City Arts Commission Chair for Costa Mesa and would be a great resource, and believed Library Services Director Hartson knows her well. City Arts Commission Meeting May 11, 2023 Page 6 B. Monthly Reports 5. Newport Beach Art Exhibition Ad Hoc Subcommittee Commissioners Arlene Greer, Maureen Flanagan, and Leonard Simon. Chair Greer reported the 2023 Art Exhibition is in process and has registered 56 artists with 97 artworks. The City Arts Commission is accepting applications through Friday, May 26 at 5:00 p.m. The Exhibition is scheduled to begin Saturday, June 24 with the artwork displayed in and just outside of the Community Room. Mayor Blom has agreed to assist the Art Commission with presenting the awards at the awards ceremony in the Council Chambers at 4:30 p.m. The artists will meet and greet the community and talk about their artworks in the Community Room. Childrens activities by Arts in Motion will be onsite and the Library’s Friends of the Library will be there that day to sell books. The City Arts Commission Pavilion on the Green is an opportunity to enjoy activities on the Green with friends and artists, music will be provided by John DePatie and his band. Food will be available for purchase and catered by the Bistro Express cafe. The artwork will be available for sale and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Newport Beach Arts Foundation to support programming for the City Arts Commission. They are looking forward to the community joining them and celebrating the event and perhaps enjoying the lobby gallery exhibit of Colleen Johns and her beautiful oil paintings. Everything extends from the City Park down to the library. Chair Greer thanked Vice Chair Flanagan and Secretary Simon for the work they’ve contributed thus far, in addition to Cultural Arts Assistant Escareal-Garcia and Library Services Director Hartson. She strongly urges the Commissioners who have not submitted their artist lists to provide an update that can be distributed by staff along with the list of artists that have already been approved, for cross-referencing by the Commission and as a way to note how their efforts have been fruitful. Library Services Director Harston replied staff could do that. Commissioner Barbara George commented that her list includes artists that are no longer in service, that may also be useful for an update. Commissioner Little stated she did the same but did not bring the list for the meeting. The Commission opened the item up for public comment. 6. Newport Beach Art Foundation Liaison Commissioners Maureen Flanagan and Arlene Greer. Chair Greer reported that there isn’t much to report and passed around some of the new promotional material for Art In The Park for review. It’s available through the Newport Beach Art Foundation, they did a great job. The consultant they hired is doing a great job. She is very impressed with the response to email blasts and many people attended the most recent meeting. Jeff Dunn is a local artist, and he was asked to submit work for the Art Exhibition. Both he and Amelia Wynn have joined membership to the Art Foundation. Mrs. Kennedy, who has a master’s in arts and business, has joined the Board and has been nominated on the slate for Secretary. City Arts Commission Meeting May 11, 2023 Page 7 Commissioner George commented that Mrs. Kennedy has a gallery on Irvine and Seventeenth, near Kean’s Coffee. Secretary Simon inquired who is the Board President on the slate. Chair Greer replied that would be her. She was flattered that they asked, however after speaking with the City Attorney, she will have to let them know that would be a conflict of interest in accepting anything before her last day as Chair on the City Art Commission, which is June 30, 2023. Everyone is working very hard over there. They have big sponsors and are increasing their rates. Thus far they have 21 people who have signed up for Art in the Park. As early as it is, that’s a great start. Last year they had just over 100 artists. Their publicity marketing is very impressive. Vice Chair Flanagan stated the slate for the Board is Chair Greer for President, Jeff Herdman for Vice President, Mrs. Kennedy for Secretary and Social Media PR is Megan McNulty. The election was held last night. Chair Greer suggested handouts for the Art Exhibition at the Balboa Art Walk on May 21, 2023. Cultural Arts Assistant Escareal-Garcia replied she’s already had flyers made; she will give some to the Commissioners who will be attending the Balboa Art Walk. There were no public comments. VII. CITY ARTS COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) The following current business items were recommended for the June CAC agenda: • Discussion of process for call for entries of the Sculpture Exhibition, the contract process, and how to ensure that artwork is not pulled out or sold upon confirmation of installation into Civic Center Park. • Utility Boxes Art Ad Hoc subcommittee report. VIII. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS None IX. ADJOURNMENT – 5:35 p.m. The next meeting for the City Art Commission is scheduled for June 8, 2023. Approved by: Arlene Greer