Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_ARTAB_04.16.2013Notice of Meeting of the Arts and Culture Board City of Georgetown, Texas Tuesday, April 16, 2013 The Arts and Culture Board will meet on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 04:30 PM in the Library Classroom, located at 402 W. 8th St., Georgetown If you need accommodations for a disability, please notify the city in advance. Arts and Culture Board Members: Betty Ann Sensabaugh, Shana Nichols, Philip Baker, Liz Stewart, Gary Anderson, Dar Richardson, Amanda Still Arts and Culture Board meets every third Tuesday of the month at 4:30 p.m. unless otherwise specified. Call to Order at 04:30 PM A.Call to order B. Announcements regarding upcoming events C. Citizens wishing to address the Board D. Consideration of approval of minutes of March 19, 2013 meeting E. Consideration of and possible action to 1.Art Center update – Eric Lashley 2.Cultural District Designation project, including scheduling a public meeting and the video portion of the application – Eric Lashley, Judy Fabry 3.Arts and culture budget request for 2013-14 – Eric Lashley Certificate of Posting I, Jessica Brettle, City Secretary for the City of Georgetown, Texas, do hereby certify that this Notice of Meeting was posted at City Hall, 113 E. 8th Street, a place readily accessible to the general public at all times, on the _____ day of _________________, 2013, at __________, and remained so posted for at least 72 continuous hours preceding the scheduled time of said meeting. __________________________________ Jessica Brettle, City Secretary Minutes of Meeting of the Arts and Culture Board City of Georgetown, Texas Tuesday, April 16, 2013 Members Present: Gary Anderson, Philip Baker, Dar Richardson, Betty Ann Sensabaugh, Liz Stewart, Amanda Still Members Absent: Shana Nichols Staff Present: Eric Lashley, Library Director; Judy Fabry, Library Administrative Assistant A. Chair Philip Baker called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. B. Announcements regarding upcoming events Liz Stewart reminded board members of two upcoming events: (1) a free Senior University lecture by Peggy Kelsey, author of Gathering Strength, on April 18 at 7:00 p.m.; and (2) the last Georgetown Symphony Society concert (all Mozart) on Sunday, April 28 at 4:00 p.m. in the Klett Center. C. Citizens wishing to address the Board. There were no citizens to address the Board. D. Consideration and approval of minutes of March 19, 2013 meeting. Betty Ann Sensabaugh moved to accept the minutes as distributed. Liz Stewart seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. E. Consideration of and possible action on: 1. Art Center update — Eric Lashley. Lashley reported that the new general contractor has projected July 10 as the date for occupancy of the Art Center. Misty Adair, who is in charge of the summer art classes for children project, will decide soon whether to cancel only the classes scheduled before July 10 or whether to cancel the entire summer program. Lashley said that the City will do some PR regarding the slow progress on construction and the possible effects on the programming Art Works had planned. Lashley spent some time explaining the process of restoring the windows in the building, which is one of the main reasons for the renovation delay. The windows were installed in the pocket that exists between the exterior stone wall and the interior stone wall. Many of the lintels are badly deteriorated and need to be replaced. Before any work may be done on the windows, a temporary beam has to be installed above them to bear the weight that the windows normally bear. Then, due to the original construction, each window must be dismantled and repaired in place. Fortunately, since the original depths and widths of the windows are being retained, finishing of the walls may take place at the same time as repair of the windows. 2. Cultural District Desianation oroiect. includina schedulina a public meetina and the video portion of the application — Eric Lashley, Judy Fabry. Fabry described the work she has done so far on the application, including the list of cultural assets, the existing incentives for businesses to locate in the district and evidence of public-private cooperation, and the ways in which the district will be sustained and developed. Remaining to be done is a public meeting at which the plans for the district are described and input from citizens is solicited. After brief discussion, the Board agreed by consensus to hold the meeting on May 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the Friends Room at the library. Fabry will take care of advertising the meeting in the newspaper and by emails to the arts organizations. Lashley talked about the video that Keith Hutchinson, the City's public information officer, has agreed to make to accompany the application. He will interview Micki Ross (Williamson Museum), Marissa Austin (Palace Theater), Sam Pfiester (El Monumento Restaurant), Mayor Garver, Jane Estes (Georgetown Art Works), someone from the Heritage Society, and Cari Miller (Convention and Visitors Bureau). Audio from these interviews will provide background for images of the proposed cultural district or of the asset each represents. The video will be about 5 minutes long. 3. Arts and culture budget request for 2013-14 — Eric Lashley. Lashley reviewed past budgets and itemized expenses from the past two years. He reported that there is $15,500 remaining in the Board's budget, which has been carried over for two years. Already committed funds from that balance include $1800 for prizes for the TSOS summer show and about $800 for Main Street sculpture brochures. Lashley brought up a potential expense in the Art Center renovation that neither the City nor Georgetown Art Works can pay for — high-end audio visual systems for both the gallery and the studio. The one in the gallery would be more expensive because it would be used to display video art. The studio system could be simpler because it would be primarily for educational purposes. There is some pressure to find a donor for this expense, which has been estimated at $42,000, because the wiring for the systems should be done now, regardless of whether the system is installed now or not. The vendor is unwilling to provide drawings for the wiring unless he has a commitment to purchase the systems. Discussion of this issue followed. Stewart asked whether the system isn't excessively large for the space. Still asked whether the plan is still to move the Art Center to the old police station when it is vacant, and if so, why invest in this expensive equipment now? Lashley said that, yes, the police station is still the desired location for the Art Center and that the equipment could be reused there. No motions were made regarding spending Arts and Culture Board money for this purpose. Further discussion of the Board's budget request took place. Richardson recommended increasing the honorariums that are paid to sculptors who lend their pieces for display downtown. The Board has been paying $100 per piece since the inception of the project. Richardson said that other cities that are participating are now paying $250-$500 and that artists are going to take their pieces where they can be compensated adequately for their trouble. Richardson said he thought $300 per piece would be competitive. There was general consensus that the Utility Box Project should be continued and that the Board should spend money for advertising arts events and for rack cards promoting the pieces of sculpture downtown. Similarly, everyone agreed that the grants to arts nonprofits should be resumed, support of the gallery tour should be continued, and that development of the warehouse incubator space should be pursued. Lashley said he would have figures to propose for all of these items at the next Board meeting. Stewart moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:45. Respectfully submitted, Liz Stew ecretary h i Baker, lrip air