Minutes
Public Art Commission
8:00 a.m.
July 21, 2017
Attendance
Commissioners: Friend, Garrington, Merchant, Block-Brown, Bussell, Fuhrmark, Lemhouse (council liaison), Seltzer (staff liaison)
Absent
Friend called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.
Minutes of the June 16 meeting were approved with corrections.
Council Update
Councilor Lemhouse provided a brief update on the recent budget process. The approved budget retains existing service levels and also provides for two additional staff positions: Climate Energy and Development Services Manager a new position in Community Development. He noted the City had to accommodate expenses related to an increase in PERS and Health Care.
He also explained the Council decision several months ago to hire five new police officers. The proposed budget includes funding for two officers by a .04 increase in property tax, a .50 fee on utility bills and anticipated revenue from the State marijuana tax.
In addition, the anticipated revenue from Ashland’s local marijuana tax was dedicated to the Housing Trust Fund.
Lemhouse also mentioned the Nevada Street Bridge to accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and emergency vehicles, Team Ashland and Council Strategic Planning.
Update on Krista mural
Garrington noted the wall has been painted and looks very nice. The artist will contact the PAC when the contractor she is working with is available to meet at the site and explain the brackets that will be used to mount the mosaics.
Update on Watershed Art Dedication
Bussell explained the dedication of the Karen Rycheck totem has been postponed indefinitely because of schedule challenges within the Watershed Art Group. She suggests a letter of thanks be sent to the artist from the PAC. Seltzer will draft the letter for review by Friend.
The PAC’s preferred location for the third piece is not predicated on the location of the new water treatment plant but could be subject to impact from construction. The site for the third piece has not yet been approved by the Public Works Department. And Council has not yet evaluated the final location for the proposed water treatment plant.
Update on Gordon’s presentation
The committee reviewed the outreach advertising Gordon’s visit and community presentation on Monday, July 31 and again to the City Council on Tuesday, August 1. The committee complimented and thanked committee member Fuhrman on his work designing and distributing posters promoting the presentation. San Nipper has agreed to film the presentation and after post production work it completed it will be posted on the website.
The group also acknowledged the memo from Friend and Garrington that was sent to the Council. The memo included the list of all the process steps and public outreach.
Update on Street Painting
Seltzer provided background on the request of a neighborhood to paint a design on the pavement of an intersection and the Council approval. Several months ago, the public works department asked if this type of project would be required to go through the Public Art Commission. Seltzer and Friend discussed the project and agreed that since projects that go through the public art acquisition process defined in AMC 2.29, the City would be responsible for the maintenance of the street art. Since the art is likely to deteriorate given its placement on street pavement and vehicular traffic, the decision was made to not require street art to go through the PAC process.
Some committee members felt strongly that the decision should have been made by the entire committee not by staff and Committee Chair. Friend noted their concern and committed to future decision being made by the full commission.
Meeting adjourned at 9:15
Next meeting date:
August 18
