Agendas and Minutes

Public Arts Advisory Committee (View All)

Public Art Commission February 17, 2012

Agenda
Friday, February 17, 2012

Minutes
Public Art Commission
February 17, 2012
Regular Meeting
 
Attendance
Commissioners: Davis, Friend, Pugh, Bussell, Garrington, Shiplet (staff), Capovilla (student liaison)
 
Absent
Slattery (Council liaison)
 
Guests
Michael Piña, Planner, Deborah Hofer, SOU representative, Jim Mills, Owner of Caldera Brewery, and Nicki, also from Caldera Brewery
 
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 8:15 a.m.
 
Minutes
Minutes from the January meeting were approved.
 
SOU Endorsement Request
Deborah Hofer, from SOU gave the group a short presentation on their upcoming event, Southern Oregon Arts & Research (SOAR), in which the community is invited to tour SOU art, nursing, and theater labs to get a better understanding of the work they do. She invited the PAC to come tour these facilities. Stated that admission for all is free and parking is available for free on those days as well. She said she is requesting this endorsement for the purpose of hanging a banner across East Main Street only. Commission asked for information on why this request needed to be made and staff member, Shiplet, explained the banner process and requirements.
 
Pugh/Garrington m/s to endorse the SOAR event by the PAC.
Discussion: the commission requested that SOU make every possible attempt to get the information out to the community, they suggested contacting the Tidings/Tribune for placement in the Revels and Tempo. Hofer stated that SOU has already requested articles and will also be giving brochures to all hotels and bed and breakfasts in the area. The commission asked that SOU also get the information to the high school, especially as the tour date is a day off from school. Hofer appreciated the suggestion.
Voice vote: All ayes, motion passes.
 
Caldera Brewery Request
Jim Mills, owner of Caldera Brewery gave a brief overview of the history of the Caldera Brewery building and how a storm door on the building came to be installed and painted with a mural of their caldron logo. He stated that they recently received a letter from the Community Development Department of the City stating that they mural violates sign code and would need to be removed. Michael Piña, planner with the City, explained the sign code and how the mural is viewed as an additional sign, which puts Caldera over their allotted limit. He explained that without understanding the PAC’s no-commercial advertisement in murals policy he suggested that Caldera might be able to gain assistance from the PAC.
 
The commission reminded staff and the Caldera representatives that when the sign code was updated, it was never intended that the PAC murals policy would work as an exemption to that code. They suggested that Caldera go through the mural process with a new design, one lacking any commercial references and not related to the brewery or brewing in general, and the PAC would be glad to work with them to enliven that part of the building.
 
Group discussed the challenges associated with other buildings in town, including the Ashland Art Center and their “mural” designed awning which also is in conflict with the Sign Code and does not allow for any additional signage. The PAC reiterated that they want a clear distinction between a sign and a mural.
 
Caldera Brewing representatives agreed that a new mural, done through the proper process was the best way to proceed. Commissioner Davis agreed to send Caldera representatives all the mural process information.
 
Review of DRAFT Fire Station RFP
 
The commission reviewed the document, made minor changes, including re-instating and modifying the bullet, “Consider water and lighting in the design of the artwork”, on page two remove the statement that we would be including with the RFP photographs of the site, as that will be changing so drastically from its current state to the remodeled state. The commission would like dimensions of the site plan included to aid the artist in conceiving of the piece with the proper size.
 
The commission discussed a timeline draft created by Commissioner Davis. They discussed whether or not the June 1 deadline was appropriate, ultimately deciding that it was. After discussing all that is required after the submissions are received, the group decided to move the final award date from September 1 to October 1, just to ensure that it goes through the process without any rush or errors due to time constraints. They agreed, however, they would like to award as soon as possible to avoid any increases in costs related to construction or materials.
 
The commission discussed the desire to have an architect or engineer on the final evaluation panel, to help ensure that the piece does not have any of the structural issues that have been faced with previously installed public art (specifically mentioned the piece on the corner of Pioneer and Lithia).
 
Bussell/Pugh m/s to approve the RFP, with revisions made today. Voice Vote: all ayes. Motion passes.
 
Hardesty Memorial Pedestal
Commissioner Bussell stated that she had received one more bid of $1280, which was ok but she would like to seek at least one more. She created a rough design for the new pedestal, trying not to have it be too large but still fit the engineer requirements for safety. The commission discussed whether or not there would be enough support on the ends of the piece. Ultimately they decided that as the new design fits closer to the actual shape of the piece, there should be greater support. Commissioner Bussell stated that she wasn’t happy with the color choice she viewed at the most recent bidder, the charcoal color had too much of a green cast. The commission suggested looking at natural cement color to see if that grey worked better.
 
The commission discussed the need for another concrete person bid. They gave Commissioner Bussell the names of several local landscape architects, who may have used concrete fabricators in the past to install art in their designs. Commissioner Bussell with talk to those suggested and requested that if the group thinks of others they send her an e-mail.
 
Update to City Council
Commissioner Davis agreed to do a written update to Council, with information similar to the gallery guide.
 
Reminders
Commissioner Davis reminded the group that the Enders Alley mural recommendation is scheduled for the February 21st Council meeting. She will be in attendance, but as it’s on the Consent Agenda, she doesn’t think the entire commission needs to be in attendance.
 
The Commission discussed the need for recruitment of new members. They discussed the desire to have at least one new member be male to gain a balanced perspective in the group. The group discussed the possibility that the times of their meetings might be a challenge to some, and showed openness to re-scheduling if that truly is a deterrent.
 
Meeting adjourned at 9:25 a.m.

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