HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_ARTAB_08.20.2008Minutes of the Meeting of the
Arts and Culture Board
City of Georgetown, Texas
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Members Present Charles Aguillon, Addie Busfield, Jane Paden, Penny Plueckhahn, Ruth
Roberts, Mandy Sohn
Members Absent: Georgene Richaud
Staff Present. Eric Lashley, Library Director Judy Fabry, Library Administrative Assistant
Others Present: Tamara Hudgins; Jim Carrillo and Meghan McCarthy, Halff Associates
A. Call to order at 2:05 by Chair Ruth Roberts
B. Announcements from. the Chair and Board members. Ruth announced that she had spoken
with Philip Paden and he is nearly finished with the pedestal for the sculpture.
C. Citizens wishing to address the Board Tamara Hudgins addressed the Board about the
importance of having a master plan for the arts for Georgetown. She pointed out that a
master plan might be either geographic or strategic or a combinationof both. She suggested.
that Georgetown has a number of nonprofit arts organizations and most of them are quite
unstable. The A&C Board could help these organizations and unaffiliated artists in the area
by creating a vision for the arts that would bring everyone together She challenged the
Board to set their goals, share them with the community, then start accomplishing things.
Once the Board has a track record, it should be easy to rally the citizens and also to get
money from other funding sources Tamara was speaking as a citizen but she is also director
of the Chisholm Trail Community Foundation.
D. Consideration and approvalof mmutes of last meeting Ruth emphasized the importance of
the Board learning from its recent art purchasing experience (buymg a sculpture and then
needing to have a pedestal custom made). Jane moved to accept the minutes as distributed,
Addie seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
E. Consideration of and possible action on
1. Agenda for Arts Summit - Charles Aguillon, Ruth Roberts. Charles said that upon
reflection, he had decided that representatives from the arts organizations should be
involved in establishing the agenda for the Arts Summit. He proposed inviting the local
arts organizations to send a representative to a meeting with him and Ruth. The Board
agreed to his plan.
2. Kenney proposal from July meetmg - Ruth Roberts Ruth asked for opinions about
Ken ney's plan now that everyone had had a month to read it carefully andconsider it.
The consensus was that the Board should not get involved in this kind of solicitation.
Ruth will write to Mr Kenney and encourage him to take his ideas to the public.
3. Presentation by Jim Carrillo, Halff Associates, about master planning — Eric Lashley.
Jim prefaced his comments about the master planning process with information about
the Parks Master Plan for which he was the consultant, particularly about the planned
amphitheater that will replace the old high school stadium, its relationship to the
performing space that will exist at Garey Park, and the opportunities for art and cultural
events that these spaces offer the Board.
When asked to tell about himself and Halff Associates, he reported that the company is
60 years old and offers complete planning and engineering services. He is a certified
public planner and a landscape architect. He said a planner's most important role is as a
listener, not a designer. A planner is a leader who will help you organize the ideas you
already have. He contrasted this role with that of an architect, who usually is
commissioned to come up with ideas.
Jim's Powerpoint presentation is attached to and made a part of these minutes.
4. Grant criteria, Plano revisited — Penny Plueckhahn. Penny had looked again at the
Plano website and found the grant applications had not changed since the Board looked
at them a year ago. She believed she now has a better understanding of Plano's
bureaucratic structure that supports the arts and identified Jim Wear as the person she
needs to talk with, but he is on vacation until after Labor Day. She plans to visit him in
person when she goes to Dallas again. She also asked whether she could invite him to
come to speak to the Board —at the Board's expense. Ruth moved to invite him to visit,
travel expenses paid. Penny seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
5. Status of Coffee sculpture and review of sculpture proposals — Judy Fabry, Eric
Lashley. Eric handed out copies of correspondence that has passed between the County
and the Texas Historical Commission and the County and City during the past few
weeks. That correspondence is attached and made part of these minutes. The gist of the
exchanges was a question about whether the Arts and Culture Board could install the
Coffee statue on the southeast corner of the Courthouse Square. The outcome of the
investigation was that the area in question is City property and that the statue could be
installed as originally planned.
6. Scheduling a workshop with City Council — Eric Lashley. The Board agreed to
propose a workshop with Council on November 10 2008. At that time they will present
their budget for 2008-09 and will confirm placement of the Coffee sculpture.
7. Artist Registry on visitgeorgetown.org — Tudy Fabry. Judy reported that the Local
Artists listing is up and running on visit.georgetown.org and on library.georgetown.org.
She will continue to advertise it.
8. Certificate of Appreciation — Tudy Fabry. No nominations were made.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m.
Attachments: Carrillo Powerpoint presentation, City/County correspondence
Respectfully submitted,
e Pade ecretary
Ruth Roberts, Chair