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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAC 7-13-23 Approved Meeting MinutesCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES Newport Beach Public Library 1000 Avocado Avenue, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Wednesday, July 13, 2023 – Regular Meeting City Arts Commission Members: Maureen Flanagan, Vice Chair Leonard Simon, Secretary Wayan Kaufman, Commissioner Marie Little, Commissioner Barbara George, Commissioner John Blom, Commissioner Melissa Kandel, Commissioner Staff Members: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director Camille Escareal-Garcia, Cultural Arts Assistant I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Secretary Simon called the City Arts Commission meeting to order at 5:02 P.M. II. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Commissioner George Commissioner Little Secretary Simon Commissioner Kaufman Commissioner Blom Commissioner Kandel Commissioners Absent: Vice Chair Flanagan (excused) Staff Present: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director Camille Escareal-Garcia, Cultural Arts Assistant III. ELECTION OF OFFICERS 1. The City Arts Commission shall nominate and elect Commissioners to serve as Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary for Fiscal Year 2023-24. Secretary Simon introduced the item and Library Services Director Hartson explained the ballot process. Commissioner George nominated Commissioner Flanagan for the role of Chair, seconded by Commissioner Simon. With no other nominees, Commissioner Flanagan was voted in as the Chair (6-0-0-1 Commissioner Flanagan absent). City Arts Commission Meeting July 13, 2023 Page 2 Commissioner Little nominated Commissioner Simon for the role of Vice Chair, seconded by Commissioner George. With no other nominees, Commissioner Simon was voted in as the Vice Chair (6-0-0-1 Chair Flanagan absent). Vice Chair Simon nominated Commissioner George for the role of Secretary. With no other nominees, Commissioner George was voted in as the Secretary (6-0-0-1 Chair Flanagan absent). Vice Chair Simon welcomed the two new Commissioners John Blom and Melissa Kandel. IV. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC - Waived V. PUBLIC COMMENTS None VI. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Minutes of the June 8, 2023, City Arts Commission Meeting 1. Draft of 06/08/23 Minutes Vice Chair Simon asked for edits, changes or deletions of the minutes, there were none. Vice Chair Simon opened the item for public comment and there were none. Motion made by Secretary Simon, seconded by Commissioner George, and carried (6-0-0-1 with Chair Flanagan absent) to approve the minutes of the City Arts Commission (CAC) Regular meeting on June 8, 2023. B. Consent Calendar Items 2. Financial Report Review of financial information. Library Services Director Melissa Hartson directed the Commissioners to handwritten pages 14, 15, and 16 of the agenda packet and reported that the information reflected encompasses most of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-23 data, there are still invoices that will continue to be paid through July that were received prior to the end of the FY. The August City Arts Commission (CAC) meeting will include the final year-end comparisons. The CAC were within budget for the year and spent the funds that were allocated in their budget. Commissioner Blom inquired what “Fund Adjustment” meant on page 15 under the Sculpture Garden Budget (budget number 1800012-811059). Library Director Hartson explained that the fund adjustment under the Sculpture Garden Budget were additional funds added to help cover the cost for Phase VIII. The cost of the program was $169,000. They moved $34,000 to the Sculpture Garden allocation. The first fund adjustment included a $10,000 gift from the Newport Beach Arts Foundation for the Sculpture Garden artist honorariums. The second fund adjustment for $14,000 was City Arts Commission Meeting July 13, 2023 Page 3 transferred from the Programming Budget (budget number 01060603-841004), which is reflected in the programming budget detail. The third adjustment was a $10,000 transfer from their Professional Services Budget (budget number 01060603-811008). Vice Chair Simon opened the item to public comment and there were none. 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 there was a new art exhibit in the gallery in June, as well as the Arts Celebration Day, which brought together the Newport Beach Art Exhibition and the grand opening of Phase VIII of the Sculpture Garden. This year was the return of the Art Exhibition after a 3-year break. It was a fabulous event and Library Services Director Hartson thanked the Commissioners, the Newport Beach Arts Foundation and everyone who helped with the event. Upcoming events include the Summer Concert series, the first scheduled for Sunday July 23 at 6:00 p.m. on the Civic Center Green featuring The Sully Band. Vice Chair Simon opened the item to public comment and there were none. Motion made by Vice Chair Simon, seconded by Secretary George, and carried (6-0-0-1 with Chair Flanagan absent) to approve Consent Calendar as submitted by the City staff. VII. CURRENT BUSINESS A. Items for Review and Possible Action 4. 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. Library Services Director Hartson reported there have been directions given from the City Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee for review of City Council policies. The CAC has been requested to review the policies that fall under their purview—which are Policies I-9 through I-12. The subcommittee in place reviewed and made minimal recommendations, most notably changing “works of art” in the policy to “art works” in Policy I-9. That was the only change recommended. In I-11, the same recommendation and all forms of the word “convey” was reduced down to “via conveyance”. In reference to “the City Collection,” the ad hoc subcommittee recommended that be changed to “City Art Inventory.” The City Council ad hoc subcommittee requested changes be sent to them by August. Vice Chair Simon recommended the Commission move on the recommendation for Policy I-9 and expressed an interest in tabling I-11 to the August 10 CAC meeting due to the number of changes made, as well as the fact that the original CAC ad hoc subcommittee is no longer intact. City Arts Commission Meeting July 13, 2023 Page 4 Commissioner Blom inquired about the changes that were recommended by the previous ad hoc committee and stated he objected to the changes because City Council requested the policies be reviewed for condensing the policy, not adding more words; and stated that art works is an internet trend, and it should be reduced to “art.” Commissioner Little stated she agreed, if the wording is not going to be “works of art,” it should be “art.” Artwork can be from a five-year-old. Fine art is generally referred to as works of art. Commissioner Melissa Kandel agreed and commented that artwork and work of art have different meanings and artwork is not reflective of the intention of the policy. Motion by Commissioner Blom, seconded by Commissioner Kandel to change “works of art” to “Art.” Commissioner George requested the opportunity to read the policy using “art” to make sure it is cohesive and commented that if the motion passed, it would also change I-11 and that portion was intended to be tabled until the August meeting. Vice Chair Simon suggested both portions be tabled until the August meeting. Commissioner George was in favor of that idea, as that would also give Chair Flanagan the opportunity to give input. Commissioner Blom and Commissioner Kandel withdrew the motion and second. Library Services Director Hartson suggested a new ad hoc committee be appointed as the previous ad hoc committee is no longer in place. Vice Chair Simon appointed himself, Chair Flanagan, and Commissioner Blom to the Policy Revision Ad Hoc Subcommittee. Vice Chair Simon opened the item up to public comment. Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, provided public comment and introduced himself to the new Commissioners and explained he was not able to comment on this item at the prior meeting in the time allotted, so he submitted his comments in written form. Mr. Mosher added that there should be enough time for the item to return to the August meeting as City Council does not yet have the item on their agenda. Further commenting that City Council is governed by the City Charter, which is a document approved by the City voters. Mr. Mosher read the first two items which pertain to the CAC’s purview and power to make suggestions to the City Council pertaining to all matters concerning art. In 2017, Policy I-9 was significantly changed by the City Council without input from the CAC. Those changes and the original policy can be found on the City’s website. Mr. Mosher suggested the CAC ad hoc subcommittee, with the support of the CAC, return to City Council suggesting the policy be returned to its original state, which would increase the wording of the policy, not decrease it; however, it would also put it back to the way it should have stayed in 2017. City Arts Commission Meeting July 13, 2023 Page 5 Walt Howald, Newport Beach resident, provided public comment and suggested the history of Newport Beach be provided as a presentation to schools and in libraries and stated that history is part of the CAC’s domain, as written in the Charter. Ron Yeo, Newport Beach resident, provided comments regarding local history and his involvement with City government in the 1970’s and suggested the CAC consider addressing the fractures in the City’s museums by providing leadership. He understands the CAC works on limited time and budget constraints, as a resident he would appreciate the Commission carving out some time and money towards history. He appreciated the hard work put into the Celebration of the Arts event, it was a great event and the residents seemed to really enjoy it. Motion by Secretary Simon, seconded by Commissioner Kandel and carried (6-0-0-1 with Chair Flanagan Absent) to table the I-9 and I-11 policy and returning it, with the ad hoc committee’s suggestions, at the August meeting. 5. Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park Timeline and Funding – Phase IX Staff will present Arts Orange County’s 2023-24 Phase IX Sculpture Exhibition timeline and the funding required for Phase IX for the City Arts Commission to review and discuss. Library Services Director Hartson explained the item and the rotational element of the Sculpture Exhibition in the Civic Center Park and directed the Commission to handwritten Page 33 of the packet. The timeline for Phase IX begins immediately. The Sculpture Exhibition is a great way to expose the community to art without the City having to maintain the works of art. The project itself costs $169,000. The bulk of the cost is allocated to Arts Orange County (ArtsOC), who thus far, have managed each phase. Their cost to manage the call for entries and the installation and deinstallation for each phase is $119,000. It has not changed from last year. In addition to the Sculpture Garden there are the artist honorariums. A small honorarium is offered to 10 artists for up to $5,000 each, which totals $50,000 dollars. This makes up the rest of the total cost of $169,000 for the project. The City has provided $135,000 in the budget, which means there will be a $34,000 shortfall that will need to be made up. Last year they received $10,000 dollars from the Newport Beach Arts Foundation. Money was also allocated from programming ($14,000) and professional services ($10,000). The timeline is also up for discussion. In order to meet the June 2024 deadline, ArtsOC has provided a proposed timeline for Phase IX, which is handwritten Page 36 of the Agenda Packet. It has been adapted from the previous timeline to account for the public voting. The Arts Commission and jurors narrow down the submissions received by ArtsOC, which then is offered out to a public vote. The past couple of years the public vote was in December and January, ArtsOC has changed it this year to a November date. Due to the nature of how the process works, funding will need to be in place before the project is submitted for City Council review. The Council deadline of August is not feasible with having the funding in place. Staff requested the CAC discuss and decide if they should request ArtsOC return to the past schedule and consider the amount of funding that will be requested from the Arts Foundation for their support in the project. Library Services Director Hartson expressed her concern with pulling money from other categories given all the other programming projects in place. The budget cannot sustain the reallocation every year. Vice Chair Simon summarized the new timeline deadlines versus the schedule last year in which the project was submitted to City Council in September. He would like to not have City Arts Commission Meeting July 13, 2023 Page 6 to allocate funds from programming and professional services again, which would require a September date for City Council review. Vice Chair Simon inquired from Richard Stein, President and CEO of ArtsOC, how that might affect their process. Mr. Stein explained that they have managed this program from its inception. The reason for the proposed acceleration of the schedule was at the request of the Commission, who felt there was insufficient time for the public polling process, as they believed during the holidays the public’s mindset was more distracted and would lessen the amount of participation. ArtsOC made the accommodation and Phase VIII moved smoothly. While the public input for the online survey could have been increased, the public was given additional chances for input at the City Council initial review, the meeting when the final selections were made, and again when the final selections were presented to City Council. ArtsOC can accommodate the same schedule from last year and noted that last year was the first year that the deinstallation of the prior Phase and the installation of Phase VIII took place simultaneously and it seemed to work out well. Commissioner Little commented about a prior Commission discussion regarding the number of voters who participated last year, and her thought had been that the time of year wasn’t necessarily the problem; rather, the public were given too many sculptures to review. Email participation in surveys has shown that the more information that is provided, the less likely people will participate. Her suggested solution is to leave it in December and decrease the number of options available for votes. If the survey were to be quick and easy, that would increase the number of participants. She received feedback from several participants who questioned the number of choices in the survey. Mr. Stein commented that the participation in previous years were greater until City Council decided to make the survey available to Newport Beach residents only. Commissioner Little suggested that informing the public of the survey opportunity through multiple publicities may also increase participation. Vice Chair Simon explained that last year there were 65 submissions the Commissioners reviewed before selecting the first 20 submissions. The public was then provided with an additional 15 sculptures for a total of 35 to select from. He suggested providing the public with only 20 sculptures that the CAC chooses for the survey. Commissioner Kandel inquired about how the survey is promoted and publicized. Cultural Arts Assistant Escareal-Garcia explained there was a press release, a web banner posted on the City’s website, and an e-blast sent out to the Library and City’s mailing lists. Vice Chair Simon commented that if they return to the previous years’ timeline and only include the Commission’s top 20 choices, they may have a better response. He also suggested increasing the honorarium to help cover increased freight costs for the artists. If they changed to a three-year cycle rather than a two-year cycle for the Phases, that may also help save money. Mr. Stein answered that a three-year cycle is definitely a possibility, however, the durability of the sculptures would need to be considered during the selection process. City Arts Commission Meeting July 13, 2023 Page 7 Vice Chair Simon expressed that he wanted to table this discussion for the August 10 meeting. Mr. Stein suggested another possibility in having the phases rotate every three years: rather than do 10 honorariums at one shot, they could be split throughout the three-year period. Vice Chair Simon commented that there are many moving parts that would also require City Council involvement. Commissioner Blom suggested creating an ad hoc subcommittee. The Commission agreed there is a need to settle on a funding request from the Newport Beach Arts Foundation. Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, provided public comment that it would be good to receive more votes in the polling period and the new timeline might help for that. He believed that 30 options to vote on is better than decreasing the amount lower. He suggested a different voting system in which people are given options to “love it,” “feel neutral,” or “hate it” rather than choose top three. That way, people could vote on as many as they want, and it would be a more meaningful exchange than the current voting system. People might find that easier to participate in and less stressful. For a longer-range system, the subcommittee could look at policies which currently have no reference to the sculpture garden other than “art in public places.” It would resolve having to reevaluate the process every year. Commissioner Kandel commented she would be interested in looking at other ways to promote the survey more robustly, either as part of the ad hoc subcommittee or on her own. Vice Chair Simon stated that ad hoc subcommittees are created by the Chair, he would make sure Chair Flanagan was aware of Commissioner Kandel’s interest in looking at past marketing campaigns and possible future options. Motion by Vice Chair Simon, seconded by Commissioner Little and carried (6-0-0-1 Chair Flanagan absent) to move the timeline back to follow the 2022 Phase VIII timeline and make the presentation to City Council in September. Vice Chair Simon requested staff reach out to the Arts Foundation to see what they would be able to contribute. Commissioner Kaufman commented she is uncomfortable taking money from the programming and professional services again due to programs and sculpture maintenance that should have been completed and were not. City Arts Commission Meeting July 13, 2023 Page 8 B. Monthly Reports 6. Utility box Art Ad Hoc Subcommittee Vice Chair Simon and Chair Flanagan Vice Chair Simon reported there is nothing new, however he requested the item stay on the Monthly Reports section of the Agenda. There will be a more detailed report at the next meeting. Commissioner Blom requested information on this project. Vice Chair Simon explained there are already two utility boxes that have been digitally wrapped with art, this project is an attempt to have more wrapped. VIII. CITY ARTS COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) There were no announcements. The following current business items were recommended for future agenda items: • Revised Sculpture Exhibition Phase IX Timeline and Proposal from Arts Orange County. • Funding request for Sculpture Exhibition Phase IX from the Newport Beach Arts Foundation. • Commissioner Blom requested that a subcommittee be formed for the feasibility of expanding the Sculpture Garden in other public parks. IX. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Walt Howald, Newport Beach resident, commented on the possibility of the Commission picking up a project incorporating local history. Vice Chair Simon responded the Commission was in receipt of his email and they would review his request. X. ADJOURNMENT – 6:12 p.m. Vice Chair Simon adjourned the meeting and directed everyone’s attention to the Concerts on the Green flyers that were made available for everyone. The next meeting for the City Art Commission is scheduled for August 10, 2023. Approved by: Maureen Flanagan