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CACMIN 07 23 1998REGULAR MEETING OF THE CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION A regular meeting held in the La Quinta City Hall Session Room 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, California July 23, 1998 I. CALL TO ORDER A. This regular meeting of the Cultural Arts Commission was called to order at 7:02 p.m. by Community Services Director Dodie Horvitz who asked Commissioner Hull to lead the flag salute. Community Services Director Horvitz asked for the roll call: B. Present: Commissioners Benay, Chappie, Hull, Reynolds, Shamis, and Welch. It was moved and seconded by Commissioners Hull/Reynolds to excuse Commissioner Vossler. Unanimously approved. C. Staff Present: Community Services Director Dodie Horvitz, Assistant City Manager Mark Weiss, Community Development Director Jerry Herman and Executive Secretary Betty Sawyer. II. PUBLIC COMMENT: A. Community Services Director Dodie Horvitz introduced Community Development Director Jerry Herman and Assistant City Manager Mark Weiss who stated they were there to give any support they could to the Commission. III. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: Confirmed. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR: None. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None. VI. BUSINESS ITEMS: A. Introduction of Commissioners. Each of the Commissioners introduced themselves and gave their background and involvement in the Community. B. Election of Chair: It was moved and seconded by Commissioner Shamis/Reynolds to nominate Kathryn Hull as Chair. It was moved and seconded by Commissioner Benay/Chappie to nominate Patrick Welch. There being no other nominations, nominations were closed and Kathryn Hull was elected Chair. CAMy Documents\WPD0CS\CAC7-23-98.Wpd Cultural Arts Commission Meeting July 23, 1998 C. Election of Vice Chair: It was moved and seconded by Commissioner Benay/Chappie to nominate Patrick Welch as Vice Chair. It was moved and seconded by Commissioner Reynolds/Shamis to nominate Rosita Shamis as Vice Chair. There being no other nominations, nominations were closed and Commissioner Shamis was elected Vice Chair. D. Selection of Meeting Day. Following discussion, it was determined that the Commission would meet on the second Thursday of each month. VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIALS A. Chairman Hull informed the members that the Cultural Commission meeting Minutes of June 25, 1998, and Art and Public Places Commission meeting Minutes for June 1, 1998, had been distributed for their review. No action would be taken. B. Chairman Hull informed the Commission that the Arts Rag Article had been received from the President of the Americans for the Arts. Included is a copy of the speech that was given at the conference that would be of interest to the Commission. VIII. COMMISSIONER ITEMS: A. Review of Art in Public Places Master Plan and Cultural Plan: Commissioner Welch asked if Commissioner Shamis would review the Art in Public Places (APP) Plan for the newly. organized Commission. Commissioner Shamis stated that with the combining of the two Commissions, the new Commission should include in the combined Work Plan whatever they plan to do for the next six months. This plan should then be given to the City Council for their direction. With their direction they can go forward with their plans. 2. Chairman Hull stated the first item of work for the new Commission should be the combining of the two Master Plans which will become the foundation for developing the Work Plan. This needs to be placed on the next agenda as well. In the interim each member needs to read and prioritize the items that should be addressed first. Then as the Commission discusses what elements should make up the Master Plan, they can begin working on the Work Plan. 3. Commissioner Welch asked if the two plans could be combined and go from there. There shouldn't be a need to revise the two plans as both Commissions had obviously spent a lot of time determining what the plans should consist of. C:\My Documents\WPDOCS\CAC7-23-98.wpd 2 Cultural Arts Commission Meeting July 23, 1998 4. Chairman Hull stated there were additional items that she would like to see added. It was suggested that both Work Plans be made available to the Commissioners. B. Review of Commission's Ordinance 1. Chairman Hull stated the Art in Public Places Commission had been in the middle of making revisions to their Ordinance before Council had combined the two Commissions, and it would be beneficial if those revisions were made available to the entire Commission. 2. Commissioner Welch stated that Commissioner Chappie had been working on this and asked for her direction. Commissioner Chappie stated their purpose had been to broaden the Commission's ability to raise funds. She had contacted several cities to obtain suggestions on how to modify the City's ordinance and had taken those revisions to the APP Commission for their review; however they had been unable to act on those revisions before the Commissions were combined. 3. Commissioner Welch asked if the new Ordinance which combined the two Commissions, allowed for these changes. Commissioner Chappie stated it did not. It only combined the two Commissions. 4. Chairman Hull asked that this be added to the Commission's next agenda. 5. Commissioner Benay stated the Cultural Commission had also been looking into alternative sources for funding; not necessarily through the community or fees, but maybe grants. 6. Commissioner Chappie stated the entire Commission needed to understand the purpose of the Ordinance revision. 7. Commissioner Welch suggested a subcommittee be formed to review the revisions. 8. Commissioner Shamis stated the Commission should determine their priorities before forming subcommittees. 9. Chairman Hull asked if Commissioner Chappie could blend the two ordinances before the next meeting for the Commission to review and if necessary, a subcommittee could be formed at that time. C:\My Documents\WPDOCS\CAC7-23-98.wpd 3 Cultural Arts Commission Meeting July 23, 1998 10. Commissioner Welch asked if the revisions would affect developer fees. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated the revisions included an increase in the amount of the percent for the fee. C. Temporary Art Program 1. Chairman Hull asked if members would like to have the Temporary Art Program placed on the next agenda. Commissioner Shamis stated they needed direction from Council on this item as well. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated the Temporary Art Program had been approved by Council, but the contract was too stringent for artists to work with. Discussion followed regarding the problems that had been incurred due to the contract. Following discussion, it was decided this item would be added to the agenda for discussion. D. Community Workshops 1. Chairman Hull asked Commissioner Shamis to explain the APP's purpose for the workshops. Commissioner Shamis stated they were hoping to have a workshop that included the City Council, staff, local developers and the community to educate everyone as to what public art was, and how it could be incorporated into the development of the City. Chairman Hull stated this could be included in the Work Plan and discussed at that time. E. California Culture Net Website 1. Chairman Hull asked Commissioner Benay to explain. Commissioner Benay stated the website was not working at this time as the person working on the website had been out of town. They had put in place the ability to communicate with her and would be able to give a more detailed report at the next meeting. F. Inland Empire Tourism Council Publication 1. Chairman Hull asked for a report. Community Services Director Horvitz stated she had contacted Jennifer Nutter of the Inland Empire Tourism Council and she would be sending the information which would be forwarded to the Commissioners. 2. Commissioner Shamis asked for an explanation of what this was. 3. Commissioner Benay explained that Riverside County Inland Empire has a tourist agency which has a calendar of events that is distributed to all the different organizations. However, the only event represented from the C:\My Documents\WPDOCS\CAC7-23-98.wpd 4 Cultural Arts Commission Meeting July 23, 1998 Coachella Valley is the Date Festival. They had spoken with Ms. Nutter at the CALAA conference in Los Angeles and told her they would take responsibility to send her information on the cultural activities that occur in the Coachella Valley to be included in the publication. G. Discussion of Subcommittees 1. Chairman Hull stated that as the business items are discussed at the next meeting, the need for subcommittees could be addressed at that time. The subcommittees will be important because there were 14 members doing all this work and now there are seven. Subcommittees could help to complete the work in a more timely manner. 2. Commissioner Reynolds stated she had recently visited the town of Pedregal in Arizona and passed out pictures. She thought it was a good example of how artwork could be incorporated into the design of a city. 3. Commissioner Shamis stated she had obtained a CD Rom from John Nagus, Community Arts Manager for the City of Palm Desert, about the Public Art Program for the states of Washington and Arizona. She would like to show this CD Rom to the Commission. Chairman Hull asked that this be placed on the next agenda. 4. Chairman Hull asked that a list of the artwork that had been installed and had been proposed, be passed out to all Commissioners. She also asked that they be briefed on the APP activities. 5. Commissioner Benay asked if they should discuss the Valley Wide Arts program at the next meeting. Chairman Hull stated she would contact John Negas, Community Arts Manager for Palm Desert, as to what involvement they will have in the program. 6. Commissioner Reynolds asked if the Artist Participation Day could be placed on the next agenda. The program was held in October of last year and they need to make plans as soon as possible. 7. Commissioner Welch stated he thought Council had deleted workshops from the APP Work Plan. Community Development Director Jerry Herman explained that workshops had been deleted, but the Artist Participation Day was not. The Artist Participation Day was a joint effort with the local schools to have artists spend a day at one of the schools giving a demonstration on their particular type of artwork. C:\My Documents\WPD0CS\CAC7-23-98.Wpd 5 Cultural Arts Commission Meeting July 23, 1998 8. Commissioner Benay stated the Cultural Commission had been working on the Artist of the Month program and it needed to be finalized. Staff stated it was included as part of the Work Plan and had not yet been taken to the City Council. Commissioner Benay stated this program was designed to affirm and recognize local artists and their different types/styles of artwork; their picture with a brief article would be published in the La Quinta Newsletter and La Quinta Post, to introduce them to the community. 9. Commissioner Benay asked for a report on the Bear Creek Bike Path project. She asked this to be placed on the next agenda. Claudia Gamble, of the Arts Foundation, had informed them she would be coming back to make a presentation on the progress of the project, but a date for that presentation had not been determined. Community Development Director Jerry Herman explained that the City Council had contributed $5,000 for an art piece to be installed at the top of the Bear Creek Bike Path. This project was to be reviewed by the Commission and a recommendation made to the City Council. Chairman Hull asked that this item be agendized for either the next or following meeting. 10. Commissioner Welch asked if the landscaping for the DeMartino art piece at the corner of Washington Street and Highway I I I had been completed. Community Development Director Jerry Herman informed the Commission that Council had authorized the distribution of a Design and Build contract. Staff had distributed the requirements to 15 local firms with a deadline of August 21". Once received, the proposals would be presented to the Commission for a recommendation to the City Council. 11. Commissioner Chappie asked about the status of the Washington Street Bridge Widening artwork. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated it was now a Public Works project and could be brought to the Commission for a cursory review. 12. Commissioner Shamis asked if the entry signs would come before the Commission for review. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated it was a Council project and a mock-up of the proposed signs would be placed at the two Highway 111 entrances for review. Should the Commissioners have an opinion, they could express it to the Council on an individual basis. It would not be presented to the Commission for their input. 13. Commissioner Benay asked about the Obelisks. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated Council Member Henderson had brought this project to the APP and it was the decision of the APP that they could not participate in this program as this was a manufactured art piece and not an C:\My Documents\WPD0CS\CAC7-23-98.Wpd 6 Cultural Arts Commission Meeting July 23, 1998 original. This was also the case with the Historical Preservation Commission. Council decided to continue with the program, revised the ordinance to allow the funds to be used for this purpose, and authorized the expenditure of $14,000 from the APP fund for design and construction. 14. Chairman Hull stated her concern about their recommendations being ignored. The members were appointed because of their ability and expertise in the different areas and maybe they need a stronger voice to inform the Council that they are not the artist they think they are. It concerns her that the APP Commission stated they did not want to use their money for this project and Council decided to do so anyway. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated the way the Ordinance was written, the APP did not have the authority to spend the money. All recommendations are made to the Council and it is their authority to decide how the funds will be utilized. 15. Commisioner Reynolds stated the Ordinance would not allow money to be spent on the obelisks as they were an assemblyline product and not considered to be artwork. Council refined the Ordinance and removed that portion of the Ordinance so the funds could be used for this purpose. 16. Commisioner Shamis stated it was important to her to have Council direction on what the Commission should do. There is no sense putting time into a project if it is not what the Council wants them to do. 17. Community Services Director Dodie Horvitz stated the Work Plan is where the Commission should start. Once the Plan is reviewed and approved by the City Council it becomes the vehicle by which the Council informs the Commission as to their direction. 18. Commissioner Welch stated it was his opinion that this was the system and he accepted it. 19. Commissioner Shamis stated her concern was that the Work Plan and Ordinance are wonderful, but what should the focus be for the next six months. The Commission needs to be more specific under the direction of the City Council. Discussion followed as to the Commission's direction. 20. Chairman Hull suggested having their joint meeting with the Council early in the year to gain this direction. Assistant City Manager Mark Weiss stated he and Chairman Hull had spoken several times and it was understood that this Commission was an advisory body to the Council. Whether the Council chooses to follow their recomendation is their choice. Council has adopted an Ordinance which is broad in its framework for the purpose of providing C:\My Documents\WPD0CS\CAC7-23-98.wpd 7 Cultural Arts Commission Meeting July 23, 1998 a basic direction to the Commission. The Work Plan is the Commission's recommendation and is presented to the City Council for their consideration. Once approved, it determines the Commission's priorities. Once the Commission has determined their priorities, then there should be a joint meeting with the City Council to confirm their direction. 21. Commissioner Benay asked if there was a method of communication whereby Council could provide the Commission with any specific direction. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated this was usually done through staff. 22. Chairman Hull and Commissioner Shamis asked that the next meeting concentrate on the Work Plan to set their priorities. 23. Commissioner Benay asked to have a copy of the Temporary Art Contract. 24. Commissioner Reynolds asked if they could also have a copy of the City of Palm Desert's Temporary Art contract. VII. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Welch/Shamis to adjourn this regular meeting of the Cultural Arts Commission to the next regular meeting to be held on August 13, 1998. This meeting of the Cultural Arts Commission was adjourned at 8:08 p.m. Unanimously approved. C:\My Documents\WPDOCS\CAC7-23-98.wpd 8