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APPMIN 03 04 1996ART IN PUBLIC PLACES COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES LA QUINTA CITY HALL -SESSION ROOM March 4, 1996 The regular meeting of the Art in Public Places Commission was called to order at 3:07 P.M. by Chairman Walling. I. ROLL CALL COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Commissioners Johna Davis, Sharon :Kennedy, Michelle Klein, Elaine Reynolds, Rosita Shamis, and Chairman John Walling. STAFF PRESENT: Community Development Director Jerry Herman and Executive Secretary Betty Sawyer II. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Minutes: Chairman Walling asked if there were any changes to the Minutes of February 16, 1996. Commissioner Shamis asked that the minutes be amended on Page 3, Item 10 to read, "Commissioner Shamis asked if Mr. Haag thought the hotel would be interested in having artwork placed at the median in front of the hotel." There being no additional corrections, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Kennedy/Reynolds to approve the minutes as corrected. Unanimously approved. B. Financial Statement: There being no changes, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Shamis/Klein to approve the Financial Statement as submitted. Unanimously approved. III. PUBLIC COMMENT -None IV. BUSINESS SESSION A. Rancho La Quinta art proposal -presentation by Bill Ware. Chairman Walling excused himself due to a possible conflict of interest. 1. Vice Chairman Shamis introduced Mr. Ware who gave his presentation on his proposed artwork for the Rancho La Quinta Country Club. a. Mr. Ware started his presentation with a display of photos of his prior work. APY3-4 Art in Public Places Minutes March 4, 1996 b. He stated that during his negotiations with Rancho La Quiinta, he had presented them with two alternatives; 1) a horse with a conquistador "Don"; and 2) two horses alone. The piece is a total of 12 feet to the top of the horse's hindquarter, 16-feet to the top of the Don, and 18 feet to the top of the flag. It is a relief piece with detail only on one side of the piece, except where the Don appears above the boulders on the back side. The entire piece will be bolted to the boulders. It will be constructed out of layered aluminum, brass, and bronze. It will not be polished, but will allow the acid rain and nature to create the effect on the metal It will be located at the southeast corner of Washington Street and 48th Avenue. c. Mr. Ware stated the owners had originally wanted the art piece to be their logo. Following discussions, it evolved to this concept of the Don on the horse. The proposal to Rancho La Quinta includes the art piece, lighting, and installation. The landscaping would be provided by the developer. 2. Commissioner Reynolds asked if the Commission was to make a selection between the two drawings Mr. Ware stated that after all the discussions with the owners, they selected the drawing of the Don and horse. Commissioner Davis asked if the entire piece would be metal. Mr. Ware stated yes. 4. Community Development Director Jerry Herman asked Mr. Ware if Mr. Cullinan, the developer, was intending to use his Art in Public Places commitment to pay for the art piece. Mr. Ware stated it was his understanding that this was what they intended to do. Staff asked if the art piece would be owned by the City or the development. Mr. Ware stated he was unaware of the developments plans. It was his understanding that once the piece was installed, they planned a large publicity event to dedicate the piece and draw attention to the development. 5. Commissioner Reynolds asked why the location was at the corner rather than the entrance. Mr. Ware stated he felt this would be a position of better visibility than the entrance. Discussion followed regarding the location. 6. Commissioner Kennedy asked staff if there was enough money in the fund to meet the cost. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated that at present the fund would not be able to cover the cost of the art piece which is $70,000. He further stated this item would need to be continued to allow staff time to see how the developer, Mr. Cullinan, intends to pay for the art APP3-4 Art in Public Places Minutes March 4. 1996 piece; would the entire amount come from his APP contributions or did they intend to pay the difference themselves. With the amount of construction to be done to reach build out, the development would have paid enough into the fund to pay for the artwork. Discussion followed regarding the status of the funds. Community Development Director Jerry Herman asked if the Commission would like to give Mr. Ware any direction regarding their approval of the art piece. Commissioner Kennedy stated she thought it was beautiful and it entirely resembled the Rancho La Quinta theme. Mr. Ware explained the process of constructing the art piece. 8. Commissioner Klein asked Mr. Ware to explain exactly where at: the corner the piece would be located. Mr. Ware explained that the final piece should be 24-feet tall and would be located on the lawn area at the corner of the development. 9. Following discussion, the Commission expressed their approval of the art piece and would look forwazd to meeting with Mr. Cullinan to work out the funding mechanism. 10. Staff stated they would contact Mr. Cullinan to finalize the process so the APP could make a recommendation to Council for their approval. Chairman Walling rejoined the meeting. B. Jefferson Street medians -art pads Chairman Walling asked if this could be continued to the next mieeting so a representative from the Public Works Department could be present to discuss the issue. He suggested staff ask them to bring a map showing possible locations for the artwork. 2. Commissioner Klein asked if the map would show where any of 1:he art pads would be placed. Chairman Walling stated it would show the feasibility of where the art pad locations could be. Chairman Walling further stated that the Commission had asked the Public Works Department for a criteria list regazding safety measures for the APP to be considering when reviewing artwork for the pads. Such items as lighting, size, setbacks from curbs and corners, etc. for the medians. Staff stated they would obtain the criteria list from the Public Works Department. APP3-4 Art in Public Places Minutes March 4, 1996 Following discussion, Chairman Walling asked if there was a Commission consensus to continue the subject to the next meeting. Unanimously approved. C. Temporary art Commissioner Reynolds passed out a folder that was published by the City of Palm Desert regarding their temporary art program. 2. Chairman Walling asked if the City had contributed any funds toward the Arts Foundations temporary art project. Commissioner Kennedy stated they were funded totally by the Foundation. 3. Staff clarified that this would be similar to the Palm Desert program on El Paseo. Commissioner Reynolds stated that a local artist, Colin Watson, had stated he was interested in placing his art piece that was on display at the Sculpture Park, on loan to the City as part of a City temporary a~R program. 4. Chairman Walling asked if the Commission was interested in having a temporary art program. The Commission would need to identify sites and numerous other criteria would need to be put in place, if it was their desire to start such a program. 5. Commissioner Shamis stated that temporary art was a break from what the APP had been considering as La Quinta's goal Chairman Walling stated that such a program would make the City a museum and again the subject of "plop art" would need to be addressed. 6. Discussion followed regarding the possibilities/alternatives for bringing in artwork without having to use APP funds. Commissioner Klein suggested staff find out what costs would be involved in such a program and report back to the Commission. Commissioner Kennedy suggested that this kind of a program cocdd possibly be accomplished in conjunction with the Arts Foundation. Temporary art is nice because it is temporary and could be a public forum without making a commitment. It could give the APP an opportunity to expose the community to art. Chairman Walling stated they would need to address the idea in the Master Plan and maybe amend it to allow this program. Funding sources could be explored. Commissioner Klein suggested staff check with the Sculpture Park to see if they would like to participate in this program. APP3-4 Art in Public Ptaces Minutes March 4, 1996 9. Chairman Walling asked if the Foundation had any philosophy on temporary art. The Commission would welcome any thoughts. Commissioner Davis stated their programs to date had been site specific and not a display of artwork. Commissioner Kennedy stated this was something that could be brought up at the next Foundation's Executive Committee. D. Workshop 1. Commissioner Shamis stated this was brought to the Commission and a subcommittee had been formed to explore the idea and report back With the change in the APP members this had been put on hold. Staff went on to explain that the idea developed by the subcommittee was to have a workshop whereby developers, the public at large, and City staff would come together for a workshop to educate everyone to the process of public; art. The workshop would be conducted by Jack Mackey, from the Se<rttle Arts Commission who would bring with him a team to conduct the workshop. 2. Discussion followed regarding the possibility of funding the workshop and whether there was enough interest to accomplish the task. Staff continued with the background that led the subcommittee to this point. 3. Commissioner Davis stated she thought one local developer she had been working with recently would be interested in having the workshop. 4. Discussion followed regarding working with developers to see if there was an interest. Following the discussion, a new subcommittee consisting of Commissioners Shamis, Klein, Davis, and staff would set up a time and place for a meeting to discuss the matter further and report back to the Commission. 5. Commissioner Shamis asked if Mr. Mackey would be interested in continuing on with the workshop. Staff stated they had spoken with Mr. Mackey and he was interested as well as the three other artists he had spoken with. E. Dedication of art pieces by artist Louis DeMartino and DeMatteis/Emerson Staff stated the Commission needed to determine how the dedications would be conducted. The Commissioners unanimously thought the; press and Council should be included. APP3-4 5 Art in Public Places Minutes March 4, 1996 2. Staff stated they had contacted some cities regarding their process and would continue to look into the methods used by other cities, developers., and artists and report back to the Commission at their next meeting. F. Commissioner Items Artist Kim Emerson appeared before the Commission and gave: a status report on the Fritz Bums project. She anticipated the project being, completed by April, 1996. Commissioners stated this would probably be the first artwork dedicated by the City. 2. Staff informed the Commission that Alber DeMatteis, one of the artists for the Fritz Burns project, had stated he would like to display the gate at the Arts Festival as the City had to date, not found a place to :install it. Commissioner Davis stated the Foundation would have no object'.ion but Mr. DeMatteis would need to work out the details with Susan Francis at the Foundation regarding the location and installation at the Arts Festival. 3. Commissioner Kennedy presented an idea she had recently seen. consisting of a "love seat" bench project. She stated she thought it would be an idea for the Bear Creek Bike Path to be used for benches at the rest stops. Commissioners reviewed different bench ideas. 4. Commissioner Reynolds stated she was informed that the "retention basin" at the corner of Washington Street and Calle Tampico, was not retention basin but rather a "detention basin". Chairman Walling asked staff who was preparing the information requested by the City Council on the criteria for risk hazazds involved with the artwork installation at the basin. (Staff stated the report was being prepared and they would see that the Commission receives a copy of the report. a. Commissioner Shamis expressed her concern that the Public Works Department had not given the Commission all the facts necessary to make an intelligent decision regazding any possible safety hazazds that should be considered in regards to the proposals. The Commission needs to have accurate information before making decisions. b. Commissioner Reynolds stated the grate on top of the concrete pipe which contains the pump, needs to be lowered. Staff verified the location of the pump in the drain as being below the bottom of the basin. Chairman Walling clarified that the pump will remove the water as rapidly as possible, but it will take time before it is all removed. APP3-4 6 Art in Public Places Minutes March 4, 1996 5. Ms. Emerson informed the Commission that a "seat wall" had been. installed by the Public Works Department. As the wall blocks the artwork they would like to request a portion of the wall be removed. It contains and restricts the purpose of the design. She suggested the Commission visit the site and make their own determination. 6. Community Development Director Jerry Herman informed the Commission that the City Council would be evaluating all the Commissions as to their viability at their next meeting. Discussion followed regarding what commissions the City currently has. Commissioner Kennedy stated she understood they were going to look at the APP Ordinance as well, as it related to the Arts Foundation. D. Future Agenda Items 1. Workshop 2. Jefferson Street medians with the Public Works Department 3. Dedication process suggestions. V. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Kennedy/Shamis to adjourn this meeting of the Art in Public Places Commission to a regular meeting on Apri 1, 1996, at 3:00 P.M. This meeting of the Art in Public Places Commission was adjourned at 4:30 P.M., March 4, 1996. Unanimously approved. APPS-4 ~