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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_ARTAB_06.18.2013Notice of Meeting of the Arts and Culture Board City of Georgetown, Texas Tuesday, June 18, 2013 The Arts and Culture Board will meet on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 04:30 PM in the Library Conference Room, located at 402 W. 8th Street, Georgetown, Texas. If you need accommodations for a disability, please notify the city in advance. Arts and Culture Board Members: Amanda Still, Betty Ann Sensabaugh, Dar Richardson, Gary Anderson, Liz Stewart, Philip Baker, Shana Nichols 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 and approval of minutes of May 21, 2013 meeting E. Consideration of and possible action regarding 1.Sidewalk ordinance and sculpture – Matt Synatschk, Historic Planner 2.Art Center update – Eric Lashley 3.Cultural District Designation project – Eric Lashley, Judy Fabry 4.Arts and culture budget for 2013-14 – Eric Lashley 5.Downtown and Community Services boards—Eric Lashley 6.Art for Public Safety building—Eric Lashley 7.Board meeting schedule – 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, June 18, 2013 Members Present: Gary Anderson, Philip Baker, Shana Nichols, Dar Richardson, Betty Ann Sensabaugh, Liz Stewart, Amanda Still Members Absent: None 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: Dar Richardson said that there will be an article in the next issue of the Georgetown Focus about the Texas Society of Sculptors summer show at the library. He also reminded the board that the opening reception for the show will be on Sunday, July 21, from 1-3 p.m. Prize winners will be announced at this event. C. There were no citizens wishing to address the Board. D. Consideration and approval of minutes of May 21, 2013 meeting. Richardson moved to accept the minutes as distributed. Liz Stewart seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. E. Consideration of and possible action regarding 1. Sidewalk ordinance and sculpture — Matt Synatschk, Historic Planner. Lashley said that Mr. Synatschk could not attend the meeting due to illness of a family member, but that he would speak at the next board meeting. Lashley explained that the City has allowed a number of downtown businesses to place furniture and merchandise in front of their storefronts that block access to the sidewalks and are in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Since making the downtown ADA-accessible has become a City priority, Mr. Synatschk has been asked to write a sidewalk ordinance that would address, among other things, the issue of maintaining ADA clearances on the sidewalks. Since part of what might provide obstructions is sculpture, he was seeking the input of Arts and Culture Board members regarding how sidewalk "art" might be included in the scope of the ordinance. Recently Mickie Ross announced that the Williamson Museum was commissioning a sculpture of Three-Legged Willy for the sidewalk in front of the museum and another business person approached Eric Lashley with a similar proposal. Neither had even thought about the issue that they would be placing something on property that belongs to the City. Dar Richardson suggested that the City should survey the downtown and create pads that would be the only locations on which sculptures could be placed. Stewart asked whether the Arts and Culture Board then would have to judge whether sculptures that businesses might choose are worthy of being displayed. Richardson thought that safety issues and susceptibility to vandalism are more likely to be issues than the quality of the art, but he was assuming that the Arts and Culture Board would be involved in the selection of all sculptures, not business owners. He described the way other towns have raffled off the opportunities/spaces to have sculptures in front of individual businesses. At the request of several board members, Lashley said he would ask Synatschk to provide information from some cities that have working sidewalk ordinances. 2. Art Center update – Eric Lashley. Lashley reported that he attended a meeting of the Art Works board the previous evening and had learned that they are not happy with the way construction of the Art Center has been progressing. They want the general contractor to make firm the date of August 1 for completion. Lashley said he has been trying to hold the contractor to the 8/1 date, but the subcontractors are not being very cooperative. They can make more money working on larger projects, so they do their work at the Art Center piecemeal, in between the more lucrative jobs. Lashley said that Laurie Brewer also is anxious to get the Art Center finished by 8/1 and that she will take over the task of leaning on the contractor. Lashley also reported that the Georgetown Focus had carried a nice article about Georgetown Art Works and the Art Center. This week Art Works' art camps began meeting at the library and they seem to be going well. 3. Cultural District Designation project – Eric Lashley, Judy Fabry. Fabry passed around the master copy of the Cultural District application. Lashley mentioned the article in the Georgetown Impact newspaper about the application and that Jim Bob McMillan has spoken very positively to the reporter about the City's likelihood of getting the designation. 4. Arts and culture budget for 2013-14 – Eric Lashley. Lashley said that $50,000 for the Arts and Culture Board has been added as a line in the Library budget for 2013-14, which means it will become a regularly funded item. He said that he's been asked to designate exactly how much will be spent for the items he mentioned in the budget request: Art Center utilities, promotional materials for public art, art shows and performances, grants, and administrative costs. He said the board could address that mandate at the next meeting. Fabry passed out copies of the spreadsheet showing the Board's expenses for the 2012-13 fiscal year. Lashley also said he would like to use $4,000 of the Board's carried over appropriation (approximately $12,800 remains) to upgrade the two toilets at the Art Center. He wants the restroom facilities to be adequate for social gatherings and easy to maintain. He wants the toilets to be wall-hung, ADA compliant, Sloan valve units, which will cost an additional $2,000 each. While the board was in consensus that the money would be well spent for this purpose, no motion was made. 5. Downtown and Community Services boards—Eric Lashley. This item carried over from the previous month's discussion. Lashley said that Cari Miller, director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is open to combining the boards of CVB, Main Street and Arts and Culture into one large board but Shelly Hargrove, Main Street manager, wants her board to retain its autonomy. Lashley believes there will be competition among the boards for $10,000 that has been designated for sharing among the departments in the Downtown and Community Services division and that a joint board would eliminate some of the competition or at least level the playing field. Baker said that this issue has been kicked around for a number of years and nothing ever happens. Lashley said that Laurie Brewer has visualized a totally separate board with representatives from downtown businesses, the Downtown Georgetown Association, Arts and Culture, CVB, and Main Street. Richardson said that he believes a committee such as Brewer has envisioned—he called it a steering committee—is a good idea. Such a board could meet when an issue arose that needed shared decision-making, but then the work would be parceled out to the appropriate board(s). Still and Baker voiced support for the steering committee concept. Anderson said combining the boards would work only if the person at the top, probably Laurie Brewer, kept a firm rein on the organization. 6. Art for Public Safety building—Eric Lashley. Lashley apologized for not having anything to report on this project. He said he had been waiting to become involved until some personnel issues were resolved. He believes that has happened and said that he will meet with Chief Nero, Chief Sullivan, and the architect before the next Arts and Culture Board meeting. 7. Board meeting schedule – Eric Lashley. Two board members said they would not be at the July meeting. Stewart moved to cancel the July meeting. Nichols seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Liz St Owa Secretary h i Baker, Ii rp/) 1a air