Back to Homepage

Learn about the City's plan to construct and move the water treatment plant - Clean drinking water is an essential right

Agendas and Minutes

Public Arts Advisory Committee (View All)

Public Arts / Historic Commission Joint Mtg

Agenda
Tuesday, April 23, 2019

PUBLIC ARTS COMMISSION / HISTORIC COMMISSION
MARKING ASHLAND PLACES COMMITTEE MEETING
April 23, 2019
MINUTES

PAC Commissioners Present:		Staff:
Jeff Phillips Stanley Smith Andy Stallman HC Commissioners Present: Dale Shostrom Beverly Hovenkamp Piper Von Chamier Contributing guest author: Peter Finkle		Fotini Kaufman, Associate Planner

CALL TO ORDER: 9:00 AM, Lithia Room, 51 Winburn Way

INTRODUCTIONS

DISCUSSION

Fotini made a presentation about how the city’s allocation of the Transient Occupancy Tax is funded and distributed by the City of Ashland. These funds are set aside for the sole purpose of promoting cultural tourism.

Fotini proposed that the most efficient approach to securing monies from the TOT fund to support this initial phase of the MAP project, is for the joint committee to secure and manage the $22,000 that is currently available in the City budget, rather than going through the individual PAC and HC Commissions. The advantage of this approach is that it more clearly recognizes that the MAP project is a shared enterprise of the two commissions insofar as its goal is to recognize important historical sites through an artistic representation in the form of plaques. The plaques essential function is to provide information about the significance of the five designated sites in the Railroad Historic District. They are not public art per se, but rather an artistic rendering of images and texts about the respective historical sites. However, the artistic design and manufacture of the plaques serve to in draw visitors’ attention in order to engage them in learning more about the significance of the various buildings to the history of Ashland.

The Committee discussion then focused on anticipated costs of procuring the services of a design and manufacturing vendor, such as Masterwork Plaques, along with the installation, which would require the assistance of the City Public Works Department.

Dale reported that the City was open to the idea of replacing concrete in the sidewalks where the plaques would be located. Dale was informed that the sidewalks along A Street were scheduled to be replaced in the year 2021. He had led members of the Committee on a walking tour of the five designated sites immediately prior to this meeting. The group deliberated over the specific locations for each plaque, and came to a general consensus about the most advantageous placement of the plaques in each location. Stanley took photos of the preferred location for the plaques in each of the five sites.

The Committee revisited the pros and cons of making a direct commission to a single vendor or producing an RFP or an RFQ to solicit more bids. Fotini had met with the City attorney to inquire whether there were any legal impediments to making a direct commission. He indicated that it was permissible to make a direct commission, although he encouraged the committee to think about opening the project to more bidders. This led to another Committee discussion about the concerns for how best to involve local artists and foundries in this project. A consensus emerged that the committee members would make their case for issuing a direct commission to Masterwork Plaques in this first phase of the project, and subsequently seek local artists to bid in the creation and construction of the Hub.

     III.    ASSIGNMENTS

Stanley will continue to research how to make use of Bitly to lessen the impact on the plaque design of the url directing the viewer to the website providing more information on the background and history of the site.

Piper will work with City staff to learn about how the GIS can be used in a website.

Dale will contact two or more concrete companies about possible bids for the installation of new concrete around the plaques.

Beverly will work on formulating a narrative that provides a rationale for making a direct commission in this first phase of the MAP project

     IV. ADJOURNMENT

Meeting adjourned at 10:35 a.m.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, May 7^th at 9:00am