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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAC 06-08-23 Approved Meeting MinutesCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES Newport Beach Public Library 1000 Avocado Avenue, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Wednesday, June 8, 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 5:03 P.M. II. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Chair Greer Vice Chair Flanagan Commissioner George Commissioner Little Secretary Simon Commissioners Absent: Commissioner Kaufman (excused) Staff Present: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director Camille Escareal-Garcia, Cultural Arts Assistant III. PRESENTATION 1. Presentation of the FY 2022-23 Cultural Arts Grants Chair Greer provided a brief history of the Cultural Arts Grants awards, organized the group photos, and with Secretary Leonard Simon presented the annual Fiscal Year 2022-23 Cultural Arts Grants Recipients Awards to the following: Backhausdance Amanda Kay, Associate Artistic Director, accepted the grant award and had a photo taken with the City Arts Commission (CAC). City Arts Commission Meeting June 8, 2023 Page 2 Balboa Island Improvement Association (BIIA) Penny Rodheim, Director, and Dr. Dan Abbott, Vice President accepted the grant award and had a photo taken with the CAC. Baroque Music Festival, CdM Vina Spiehler, Board Secretary, accepted the grant award and had a photo taken with the CAC. Laguna Playhouse Erin O'Flaherty, Grants and Community Outreach Manager, accepted the grant award and had a photo taken with the CAC. Pacific Chorale Molly Buzick Pontin, Vice President and Director of Education & Community Programs, and Thelma Valenzuela, Director of Development, accepted the grant award and had their photo taken with the CAC. South Coast Repertory Katherine Miranda, Associate Director of Development, accepted the grant award and had a photo taken with the CAC. Pacific Symphony A representative from the Pacific Symphony was unable to attend. IV. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC - Waived V. PUBLIC COMMENTS None VI. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Minutes of the May 11, 2023, City Arts Commission Meeting 2. Draft of 5/11/23 Minutes Chair Greer called for edits of the draft minutes of the May 11 meeting. Commissioner Marie Little noted on handwritten page 9, paragraph 1: The word “create” should be replaced with “install” and the word “acquired” should be replaced with “hired”. Commissioner Little noted on handwritten page 10, item 6: “artwork” should be replaced with “new promotional material for membership and the upcoming Art In The Park”. City Arts Commission Meeting June 8, 2023 Page 3 Motion made by Secretary Simon, seconded by Commissioner George, and carried (5-0-0-1 with Commissioner Kaufman absent) to approve the minutes of the City Arts Commission (CAC) Regular meeting on May 11, 2023. B. Consent Calendar Items 3. Financial Report Review of financial information. Library Services Director Hartson directed the Commissioners to Packet Page 12 for the financial report and reported that there will be further expenditures in the programming this month due to the Exhibition scheduled later in the month. The budget for the year will reflect a decrease with the addition of those expenditures. There will be a change in the grants budget due to the grants that were awarded earlier in the meeting. Professional services have been maintained with normal expenditures. The Sculpture Garden will reflect a big change due to the honorarium awards for Phase VI and Phase VIII, and the ongoing payments to Arts Orange County for the Phase currently being installed. There will be changes in the Special Events category due to the Sculpture Garden event later in June. Advertising will change because the events are being promoted. Commissioner Georgie inquired if staff anticipates the budget will zero out by the end of the month. Library Services Director Hartson explained that it will probably take one more meeting as the invoices will still be paid in July. The final Year End Financial Report will be available for review at the August meeting. Chair Greer added that the curator is scheduled to install the lobby gallery art at the end of June, along with the transcription of the minutes for the June meeting will also be reflected. Motion made by Vice Chair Flanagan, seconded by Secretary Simon, and carried (5-0-0-1 with Commissioner Kaufman absent) to approve the financial report. 4. 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 the Colleen Johns exhibit was installed in May and will run through the Art Exhibition and Celebration of the Arts weekend, June 25. Director Hartson recognized Chair Greer for all of her years of service and her commitment to promoting arts within the City. Her involvement in all the various programs has been exemplary and appreciated. City staff intends to present her with something at the end of the meeting. Chair Greer thanked everyone on staff for their support and assistance and she thanked the Arts Commissioners for their support through the years, it made her tenure as Chair all the more successful. She leaves them with all the best in future successes and will continue to support the Commission through the Newport Beach Arts Foundation. Chair Greer stated it has been a pleasure working with the Commission since 2012, and that it City Arts Commission Meeting June 8, 2023 Page 4 takes a village to do everything they do and she thanked them for doing their part. Additionally, she thanked the City Council past and present for all their amazing support of the City Arts Commission and the annual budget that they receive every year. They’ve gone above and beyond with their support of the Sculpture Exhibition program. In closing, Chair Greer stated it’s been a pleasure working with everyone and she looks forward to seeing them in the future. Library Services Director Hartson continued her report by providing information about all the activities scheduled for the month and the installation of Phase VIII. They are also looking forward to the return of the Newport Beach Art Exhibition on June 24, 2023. Festivities will begin at noon; more information will follow later in the meeting. Motion made by Secretary Simon, seconded by Chair Greer, and carried (5-0-0-1 with Commissioner Kaufman absent) to approve Consent Calendar as submitted by the City staff. AYES: Greer, Flanagan, Simon, Little, George NOES: None. ABSTENTIONS: None. ABSENCES: Kaufman VII. CURRENT BUSINESS A. Items for Review and Possible Action 5. Revisions to Council Policies I-9 through I-12 The City Council Policies Review Ad Hoc Subcommittee requests the City Arts Commission review and approve their revision recommendations of City Council Policies I-9 Art in Public Places and I-11 Acquisition of Art by the City of Newport Beach in accordance with a resolution adopted by City Council at their September 13, 2022 regular monthly meeting. Chair Greer stated the ad-hoc committee information can be found on packet pages 16 through 29. Library Services Director Hartson reported that the City Council Policies Review Ad Hoc subcommittee met to review the Arts Commission policies. In review of I-9 (Art In Public Places) and I-11 (Acquisition of Art by the City of Newport Beach), the subcommittee was tasked with deleting or reducing language within those policies. In an effort to streamline and be consistent, it was recommended that “works of art” be changed to “artworks” throughout the policies, in I-11 it was recommended that the City Collection be referred to as what it is currently, “art inventory”. The Commission now refers to art pieces within the City’s collection as the City’s art inventory. Those were the two major changes, along with a summary of all the iterations of convey and conveying be changed to “via conveyance” in all of its forms. Commissioner Little requested an explanation of why they are changing works of art to artworks and expressed the concern that works of art and artworks do not have the same meaning. If the majority of the Commissioners agree, she will support it as well, however the City does have more than just the art on the wall in the lobby. City Arts Commission Meeting June 8, 2023 Page 5 Chair Greer replied to Commissioner Little it was in an attempt to minimize the language as Council wishes to see the change across the board, including the minutes of meetings, and inquired if they would have to be held to that in every application submission. Providing an example, Chair Greer explained that if someone were to want to donate a painting by Picasso, that meets all the qualifications of being a work of art. Library Services Director Hartson responded “artworks” would need to be on the application. Commissioner Little explained that “work of art” refers to fine art of all mediums. “Artworks” generally refers to an individual’s collection of different artworks. She’s not sure that should be changed across the board. Chair Greer explained they tried to be consistent with what they were already doing. Chair Greer asked Library Services Director Hartson her opinion. Library Services Director Hartson replied that art in public places is the display of art in public places, the acquisition of art by the City of Newport Beach is what the City has in their art inventory. Secretary Simon read the definition of artworks and works of art, artworks being a collection of art through various mediums and work of art being a single piece. He does not believe it really matters. Chair Greer commented she believes it does matter and might be worth it to consult with the person who assessed all of the City’s art inventory, who has 18 years experience. The CAC has always sought his consultancy for items such as this. It is the end of the year, and the budget is tight so that may need to wait until after the end of the Fiscal Year (FY). Commissioner George commented that she’s okay with the language of artworks. Commissioner Little stated she’s okay with the decision of the CAC majority. Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, stated he had comments on other items but not this one in particular, he was alright with waiting for a more appropriate time in the meeting. Chair Greer called for a vote for the change. By a raise of hands, the CAC carried (4-1-0-1 with Commissioner Kaufman absent) to change the verbiage in the policies from “works of art” to “artworks”. Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, provided public comment and noted if the CAC wanted to take more time to consider the revisions being suggested, that time is available. The City Council postponed their own deadline for their policies and while they did not extend that to the Boards and Commissions, to date the CAC is the only one that has taken any action on it. In the review there are policies that are not mentioned on the Agenda. Policy I-10 on financial support needs some attention or clarity on what it’s intended to mean, I-12 pertains to sister cities, and he didn’t believe that had been looked at by anyone since 1988 and has to do with culture which is also in the CAC’s purview. In addition to the policies there have been additions to the Municipal Code that have to do City Arts Commission Meeting June 8, 2023 Page 6 with art and culture. The City’s website has the Municipal Code with a search box and when searching the word “art,” there’s some exceptions for artists displaying their work and selling them exempt from business licenses. There are also things about preserving historical buildings and landmark buildings, and both are within the CAC’s jurisdiction. On page 24, the redline mark-up, B. “All proposals to donate, exhibit, loan, sell or Commission Art to the City shall be reviewed by the Arts Commission for recommendation to City Council” has an error in the existing policy that talks about donation of artwork going to City Council for approval, and he didn’t believe it applied to exhibiting artwork. The CAC doesn’t need Council approval for that so he doesn’t believe the word “exhibit” should be included. Rather than saying “via conveyance,” his suggestion for clarity and conciseness is to say “all proposals to convey artwork to the City by donation, loan, sale, or commission shall be reviewed by the Arts Commission”. It is fewer words and more direct. In Part C it says the CAC “shall be responsible to,” the words “be responsible to” could be deleted and continue with the list of things to do. In the body of it he’s not sure why the original has the word “convey” in capital letters. In C-3, there’s a rather convoluted sentence with a lot of “and” and “or” in it. It also refers to the City’s “Commission, Committee’s and Boards” when in most of the City’s policies or verbiage, it’s referred to as the “Boards, Commissions, and Committees” and Mr. Mosher provided examples. At the bottom of the page in the very last line, an “and/or” has been inserted that could be reduced to “or”. At the top of the next page, it continues with “the person donating has to disclose the restoration costs estimated by an appraiser”, Mr. Mosher believes maintenance may also need to be included. Chair Greer paused Mr. Mosher and explained this item had been on their radar for about a month and they hadn’t had time to get to it until this meeting. She stated it would be helpful if Mr. Mosher could submit his comments and changes in writing. Mr. Mosher said he would be happy to write down his suggestions, but he wasn’t sure how that might affect their current decision. The biggest item is on page 25, Policy I-11 Section H-8, which is about the valuation of the art. He believes all that needs to be said is that the City does not provide an appraisal of artwork to the City. The original language is trying to inform the donor that if they are going to try to take a tax deduction, it's up to the donor to get the appraisal. It could be refined to say, “The City does not provide appraisals of artwork conveyed to them”, which would delete two entire sentences. Secretary Simon commented that Mr. Mosher’s comments were very valuable and asked him to provide them in writing, ultimately the document that gets revised will have to be reviewed by the City Attorney for approval. Library Services Director Hartson answered the recommendations from the CAC will go to the City Council ad-hoc subcommittee for review of policies before continuing through its process. If the CAC is not ready to approve the changes, the item can be continued for the July Agenda for additional conversations, which would also allow public comments to be submitted in writing. Chair Greer stated when they did this process in 2014-2015, it took the CAC about four or five meetings to get through it, because it has to be done during a meeting. It is important to go through the process and time is of the essence as there have been requests made by the artists regarding artwork and appraisals. The CAC wants to be able to update the document but also have to keep up with current business of the Arts Commission, so they City Arts Commission Meeting June 8, 2023 Page 7 don’t want to take too long. She urged the Commission to get through it as quickly as possible so that City Council has ample time to get it through their process. Motion by Secretary Simon, seconded by Chair Greer and carried (5-0-0-1 with Commissioner Kaufman absent) to table the item and put it on the Agenda for July, providing additional time for continued study and review of Mr. Mosher’s comments that will be submitted in writing. AYES: Greer, Flanagan, Simon, Little, George NOES: None. ABSTENTIONS: None. ABSENCES: Kaufman 6. Review of Phase VIII Sculpture Exhibition Timeline Staff will present Arts Orange County’s 2022-23 Phase VIII Sculpture Exhibition timeline for the City Arts Commission to review and discuss in preparation for the Phase IX Sculpture Exhibition timeline. Chair Greer directed the Commission to Pages 31 and 32 of the packet to review the timeline of Phase VIII of the Sculpture Exhibition and discuss preparations for Phase IX. She also requested Library Services Director Hartson provide a quick summary of the timeline and anticipated expenses for Phase IX given the recent increase in costs. Typically, it would be closer to December when they start preparing, however she expressed concerns of waiting until then and suggested the Commission consider moving up the normal timeline to July. If they can lock in the Arts Orange County’s (ArtsOC) proposal, they can make the request to the Art Foundation in time for their July Agenda. Library Services Director Hartson reported that the City’s budget for Phase IX will be at $135,000 dollars, which will not cover the entirety of the expenses, so they do anticipate there will be an ask to the Foundation for a contribution. However, if Chair Greer is expecting that ask to hit the Foundation’s July Agenda, that will be prior to the CAC’s July meeting. The CAC also needs ArtsOC’s proposal –which they have not yet received. Library Services Director Hartson confirmed the request is to get the ArtsOC’s proposal for the July CAC meeting. She is not yet sure if the City will have to go out for a bidding process. Vice Chair Flanagan commented another reason for getting the process started earlier was to allow ample time for more people to vote. Chair Greer commented that one of the dangers to putting the Sculpture Garden phases out to bid is the bids may come back higher than what the City can afford. The last time it went out to bid, the bids came back higher than the allotted budget and the CAC had to augment the funding with program funds. It may be more prudent financially to try to keep it with the existing vendor. Commissioner Little added that the current vendor already knows what to expect and the City is already familiar with their capabilities. Putting the job out to bid could add more time to the overall timeline of the process. City Arts Commission Meeting June 8, 2023 Page 8 Secretary Simon asked Library Services Director Hartson if, ultimately, it’s left up to the City as to whether or not it goes out to bid. Library Services Director Hartson responded she’s not exactly sure, but she will work with the City’s Finance Department. Secretary Simon stated acquiring ArtsOC’s proposal is what is needed currently, regardless of the policy at this point. Chair Greer commented when she spoke with them last year, they talked about keeping the proposal the same. Commissioner Little commented that another benefit to starting this early is if ArtsOC returns with a proposal that is unattainable financially, it will allow time for potential negotiations. Chair Greer added that everyone at ArtsOC understands the financial capabilities of the CAC. She does not believe they will return with a proposal that is unattainable, particularly if it can be done with the same budget amount as last years. Council and ArtsOC have been very supportive of the program with full understanding of the costs needed to fund it. Commissioner Little requested Library Services Director Hartson relay the importance of the relationship between ArtsOC and the CAC to the Council and the consequences if they were to lose that through a bidding process. Secretary Simon commented that the discussion is getting ahead of what’s currently needed to move forward and requested Library Services Director Hartson acquire the ArtsOC bid and find out if the City will require the project to go out to bid. Library Services Director Hartson confirmed she will work on both. Chair Greer tabled the item until the July meeting with a reminder that time is of the essence. There was no public comment on this item. 7. Docent Program for the Native Plants and Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park Vice Chair Maureen Flanagan provided an oral report recapping the new docent meeting she attended that highlighted native plants and the Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park. Laura Curran suggested working with Sherman Gardens (who have over 100 docents) to see if any of their docents would be interested in also working with the Newport Beach program. They would like to organize an initial tour by the current botanist of the native plants to see if their docents would be interested. Once the docents are trained in the Garden and on the sculptures, the CAC can utilize them at special events. She would like a subcommittee to be created to help start that process. Chair Greer inquired if anyone is interested in serving on a subcommittee with Vice Chair Flanagan. City Arts Commission Meeting June 8, 2023 Page 9 Secretary Simon volunteered to work with Vice Chair Flanagan. Laura Curran, Corona del Mar resident, provided public comment and thanked Vice Chair Flanagan and the Commission for their interest. There’s a great program already in place in Corona del Mar and it makes sense to cross utilize some of the resources from Corona del Mar with Newport Beach. Working with Newport Beach will also provide a great opportunity for their docents to work with both native plants and art and she believes there will be a good amount of interest. She showed the Commission a couple of examples of apps to use as tools that have worked for Corona del Mar. Tree of Life is one that is available in both English and Spanish. B. Monthly Reports 8. Newport Beach Art Exhibition Ad Hoc Subcommittee Commissioners Arlene Greer, Maureen Flanagan, and Leonard Simon. Chair Greer reported that the Newport Beach Art Exhibition is Saturday June 24, and the art is to be submitted on Friday afternoon, June 23, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. or the morning of the event from 8:30-10 a.m. The artwork will be displayed in the Community Room and on the plaza. Mayor Blom has agreed to assist the Commission with the awards ceremony in Council Chambers. The artists will be talking about their work in the Community Room. There will be children’s activities contracted by Arts In Motion, who will be onsite along with the Library Friends. The City’s Pavilion on the Green is an opportunity to enjoy the activities in the Garden with music by John de Patie and his percussionist. Food will be available for purchase by the Bistro Express café (Mario’s Pizza). The artwork will be available for sale and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Newport Beach Arts Foundation to support the Arts Commission programming, who is looking forward to being available to help with the festivities that day. Chair Greer would like to create a volunteer list for the day to help support on both Friday and Saturday. She would like either emails or a sheet passed around for everyone to provide information on their availability. Once she has the volunteers from the CAC lined up, she can return to the Arts Foundation with information on gaps they need to fill. Chair Greer thanked the Commission for the calls they made to artists. They currently have 144 artists lined up with 266 artworks. Cultural Arts Assistant Escareal-Garcia thanked Chair Greer for going to the Balboa Art Walk, that really made a big difference in the numbers. She believes the number of artists is 156, however she will have to confirm that. Chair Greer congratulated everyone as the event is back to where it was before, and it was a lot of hard work. The juror will be Professor Joseph S. Lewis, who has a very impressive bio. His works are in museums all over the country and he is educated as a professor at University of California, Irvine (UCI). There are sheets to be distributed to help with attendance on the table, and she asked that Commissioners take a few and post them around the City where they will be seen. There will be a banner on Balboa Bridge that Mr. Callahan has offered to hang. There will be ribbons on the art that will allow people to see the exhibition winners. City Arts Commission Meeting June 8, 2023 Page 10 Laura Curran, Corona del Mar resident, provided public comment that she is interested in the online capability, and it might be a good topic for the local station news and UCI, which will also help attract attendees. 9. Utility Box Art Ad Hoc Subcommittee Commissioners Leonard Simon and Maureen Flanagan Secretary Simon reported that the utility box art wrapping is on the Agenda, there isn’t anything in the works right now because currently there is not a budget for the project. It can stay on the monthly report and as they get some answers and ideas from Public Works, he can provide updates. It might be helpful to create a list of utility boxes that would get the most traffic. 10. Newport Beach Arts Foundation Liaison Commissioners Maureen Flanagan and Arlene Greer. Chair Greer encouraged Commissioners and public in attendance to reach out and encourage people to apply for Art in the Park. The last meeting will be August 26. They will likely be circulating at the Art Exhibition, which will help to create interest. There is approximately $23,000 dollars towards this program. She asked that Commissioners feel free to let the Arts Foundation know if they have any idea suggestions or an interest in getting involved. The meeting was full last time, there has been an increased interest from people wanting to be involved with the Arts Foundation. Chair Greer thanked everyone for everything on the table. VIII. 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 future agenda items: • Sculpture Exhibition Phase IX Timeline and Proposal from Arts Orange County. • Utility Boxes Art Ad Hoc subcommittee report. • Native Plants and Sculpture Ad Hoc subcommittee report. IX. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS None X. ADJOURNMENT – 6:25 p.m. The next meeting for the City Art Commission is scheduled for July 13, 2023. Approved by: Leonard Simon