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CACMIN 11 20 1996 CULTURAL COMMISSION MINUTES November 20, 1996 I. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Cultural Commission was called to order at II :30 a.m. in the La Quinta Civic Center Study Session Room. Chairperson Hull presided over the meeting and led the Pledge of Allegiance. MEMBERS PRESENT: Commissioner Honey Atkins Commissioner Susan Benay Commissioner Kathryn Hull (Chairperson) Commissioner Archie Sharp (Vice Chairperson) Commissioner Judy Vossler MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Susan Francis One Vacancy STAFF PRESENT: Mark Weiss, Assistant City Manager Dawn Honeywell, City Attorney Cristal Spidell, Secretary It was moved by Commissioner AtkinsN ossler to excuse Commissioner Francis from the meeting due to illness. Unanimous. ll. CONFIRMATION OF AGENDA Due to availability of the City Attorney, it was moved by Commissioner Atkins/Sharp to move V. Business Items, C. Review 1996-97 Cultural Commission Work Plan forward for consideration. Unanimous. V. BUSINESS ITEMS A. Review 1996-97 Cultural Commission Work Plan Staff suggested the Commission discuss the Work Plan at its regular place on the agenda after they have received clarification of joint meetings with other Boards and Commissions from the City Attorney. Ms. Dawn Honeywell, City Attorney addressed the Commission regarding scheduling of joint meetings and the Brown Act. Ms. Honeywell indicated that there are a number of exceptions to meetings in large groups in regards to the Brown Act. One exception is to call the meeting a valley-wide cultural conferénce and let it be known that it is a summit or exchange of ideas as opposed to a fonnally noticed meeting. As long as no specific action is taken it is within the guidelines of the Brown Act. Another exception would be to hold a regular Cultural Commission meeting and invite outside organizations to attend the meeting. The outside organizations would not be in violation of attending this meeting because according to the Brown Act "the attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at an open and publicized meeting organized to address a topic of local community concern by a person or organization other than the local agency, provided that a majority do not discuss amongst themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter of the jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency". Staff suggested if the Commission wished to pursue a joint meeting they should work up a specific task within the Work Plan, include it as an amendment to the Work Plan, and forward it for approval by the Council as part of this agenda item. Chairperson Hull stated that the joint meeting could be part of the Cultural Arts Master Plan, and therefore approval is not necessary from the City Council, however as a courtesy they could be advised that the workshops are going to be more inclusive then originally planned. (Further discussion on this item continued in the order as it appears on the Agenda). 1 m. PUBLIC COMMENT - None IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Cultural Commission Minutes for October 28, 1996. The Commission made three clerical changes to the Minutes. It was moved by Commissioner Atkins/Sharp to approve the Minutes of October 28, 1996 as corrected. Unanimous. B. Department Report 1. Attendance Report for the Month of October 1996 2. Upcoming Events Staff reviewed the Attendance Report and Upcoming Events with the Commission and explained that the numbers on the Report reflect total attendance numbers for the activity during the reporting period. v. BUSINESS ITEMS. A. Cultural Arts Master Plan The Staff Report was reviewed with the Conunission and they discussed the responses received for the Community Cultural Arts Questionnaire that was printed in the November Chamber of Commerce Newsletter. Several of the responses received listed the Arts Foundation and the Arts Festivals, and the lack of musical events in La Quinta. Staff also noted that the questionnaire was not distributed at the Mayor's Luncheon because it had been canceled. Chairperson Hull spoke with individuals about responding to the questionnaire and they said they did not know what to say, and some did not feel what they had to say would make a difference. Chairperson Hull believes a workshop is needed to gather information. Commissioner Benay feels that advance notice is needed to prepare people for what the Commission does next to generate interest. . Commissioner Vossler asked about distributing the questionnaire at the Mayor's Luncheon on December 5th. Commissioner Sharp said that he walked around his neighborhood and asked if anyone had answered the questionnaire and the responses he received were negative. Commissioner Vossler stated that the responses from Commissioner Sharp on the questionnaire were insulting. She also feels if he is out representing the Commission trying to get people to fill out a questionnaire and he comes across with a negative attitude how else are they going to respond. Commissioner Benay does not feel the responses/responders should be singled out because it was a survey asking opinions. Commissioner Atkins feels that as a Commission it is their job to nurture, encourage and support the cultural organizations of the City of La Quinta. She further stated it is her opinion that it is inappropriate for a Cultural Commissioner to make derogatory remarks about cultural organizations in the City, and that if there is a Commissioner who holds the cultural organizations in such contempt that person should resign from the Commission. Commissioner Sharp reviewed his responses with the Commissioners. Commissioner Sharp said that some of his responses were done with a sense of humor that some people found to be offensive. He apologized and stated that he would not change any of his answers - his responses were that as a citizen not a Commissioner. Commissioner Atkins believes the Commissioners should be supportive of the organization, and to make derogatory, snide, or amusing remarks is inappropriate. Commissioner Benay does not feel that Commissioner Atkins' asking Commissioner Sharp to resign should be discussed at this time because it is not part of the Cultural Arts Master Plan. 2 Chairperson Hull reminded the Commission that when you do a survey not all the responses are positive ones, and Commissioner Sharp's responses were how he sees what is going on in the city. Staff will contact the Chamber of Commerce for permission to distribute the questionnaire at the Mayor's Luncheon on December 5th. Staff will change the questionnaire so that it is printed on a full s~eet of paper which will provide ample space for responses. The questionnaires will be distributed and collected at the luncheon if permiss,ion is granted. Commissioner Benay asked whether a person could go to the La Quinta Post Office to ask people questions, and she would volunteer her time to do this. Staff suggested Commissioner Benay obtain permission from the Post Master first. Staff will provide her with questionnaires. The Commission discussed various ideas on the format, time, location (high school, Senior Center, Council Chambers), and who to invite to the joint conference which could be held in January 1997. Chairperson Hull will meet with Mr . Weiss to work on a draft outline of the meeting, and the invitation letter and present it to the Commission at the next meeting. Commissioner Vossler would like to have a meeting of this sort annually, and add it to the Work Plan. She also suggested having a community workshop in February or March. This will be discussed further at the next meeting. B. Consider Cultural Calendar as Component of Work Plan Staff reminded the Commission that at the last meeting they expressed a desire to develop a cultural calendar and incorporate it into the Work Plan. Staff did a rough draft of the task and asked the Commission to fill in the blanks. This information would then be included in the discussion of the Work Plan. After discussion amongst the Commissioners about the Cultural Calendar, it was moved by Commissioner VosslerlBenay to table this item until after meetings with the community and other valley commissions are held. Unanimous. C. Review 1996-97 Cultural Commission Work Plan (continued) Commissioner Benay would like the workshops to be very specific, and to have an outline of the agenda so that those invited will be well aware of the subject matter and she would like the Council to be informed of the workshops in advance. The Commission had additional discussion whether to make the workshop part of the Master Plan or make it a separate Work Plan task. It was decided to place it under the Master Plan task. Mr . Weiss will remove the Cultural Calendar from the Work Plan since it has been tabled, and advise the Council of the concept of a valley-wide workshop when he presents the Work Plan for approval by the City Council. It was moved by Commissioner Benay/Atkins to .approve the Work Plan as corrected. Unanimous. D. Review Possible Letter(s) of Commendation The Commission reviewed the letters of commendation sent laSt week to La Quinta High School Theater Arts Department, Round Table West, La Quinta Arts Foundation, and Coachella Valley Community Concerts. No other suggestions were submitted. Commissioner Vossler has received comments from recipients of the letters. VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIALS A. Desert Sun News Article Dated November 10, 1996 - Received & filed. VII. COMMISSIONER ITEMS A. Chairperson Hull had received an invitation from La Quinta High School to attend "Romeo & Juliet" and she asked staff if it was appropriate to accept the gift. Staff advised that they were not aware of a prohibition on accepting tickets, but reminded the Commissioners they may need to report it on their Statement of Economic Interest Form. Chairperson Hull told the Commission that a video has been ordered for arts education. B. Coounissioner Vossler asked about the start time of the next meeting. After discussion the Commission decided to discuss this further at the next meeting. 3 VID. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner Atkins/Benay to adjourn the Cultural Commission meeting to the next scheduled meeting on Thursday, December 12, 1996. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 1: 15 p.m.. IX. NEXT MEETING INFORMATION Thursday, December 12, 1996 12:00 Noon La Quinta Civic Center Study Session Room · Community Workshop in February .. Commissioner Handbook · Cultural Arts Master Plan · Discussion of Cultural Commission Meeting Time 4