HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-02-20 Public Art Commission Summary Minutes
MINUTES
PUBLIC ART COMMISSION
MEETING
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Palo Alto City Hall
Community Meeting Room
7:00 p.m.
Commissioners Present: Ben Miyaji, Nia Taylor, Hsinya Shen, Ian Klaus, Jim Migdal
joined at 7:11
Commissioners Absent: Amanda Ross, Loren Gordon
Staff Present: Elise DeMarzo, Public Art Program Director
Nadya Chuprina, Public Art Program Coordinator
CALL TO ORDER: Chair Miyaji called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS – None
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS – None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: November 21, 2019 PAC Meeting Minutes Moved: Commissioner Shen;
Second: Commissioner Klaus. All in favor. December 19, 2019 PAC Meeting Minutes Moved:
Commissioner Taylor; Second: Chair Miyaji. All in Favor.
STAFF COMMENTS: Staff provided an update on the launch of the cleaning project for the Blue Trees
environmental temporary installation in King Plaza. The blue colorant will be gently washed by a
contractor in close consultation with the City’s Urban Forester and CSD Parks staff. Staff informed the
Commissioners that City Council had scheduled to discuss Boards and Commissions at the February 24th
Council meeting. Staff also announced that the City is recruiting community volunteers to serve on four
Boards and Commissions, including four vacancies for the Public Art Commission with terms ending
May 31, 2023. Staff also informed the Commissioners that the Public Art Program would be opening
recruitment for an intern to join the program during summer – fall 2020.
ACTION:
1. Engineering Services – Staff provided a rationale behind releasing an open solicitation for a
structural engineer to provide on-call consulting services in connection to future temporary public
art installations. The City’s Public Works staff engineers do not have the capacity to work on
temporary public art projects, while limited temporary public art budgets often prevent artists
from including structural engineering services in their scopes. Working with a consultant would
enable the staff to realize a variety of temporary installations throughout the City and Code:ART2
new-media festival, and work with a more diverse artist pool. There was some discussion whether
more funding should be allocated to specific temporary public art projects, rather than hiring a
consultant engineer. Staff recommended the approval of funds up to the amount of up to $50,000
for on-call engineering services for the next three years. Moved: Commissioner Shen moved to
approve the funding in the amount of up to $50,000 for the on-call engineering services for the
next three years. Second: Commissioner Klaus. Motion passed: 4 – 1. Commissioner Migdal
No
2. California Ave Public Art Master Plan – Staff articulated the purpose for the California
Avenue Master Plan and provided a summary of the consultant selection process. Barbara
Goldstein and Associates was identified as the group with the most desirable qualifications and
level of experience. Staff recommended the approval of Barbara Goldstein & Associates to
create a public art plan for the California Avenue corridor. Funds in the amount of $15,000 were
approved by the PAC on September 19, 2019 to develop the California Ave. Master Plan.
Moved: Commissioner Midgal moved to approve Barbara Goldstein & Associates as the project
consultant. Second: Commissioner Taylor. All in Favor.
3. Allocation of funds for Code:ART2 – Staff provided an overview of the Code:ART2 new media
festival and the selection process for its Urban Interventions. A selection panel held in early
March will review and rank applications to recommend finalists. As a funding model, staff
proposed to utilize the public art in private development in-lieu funds to fund the Urban
Interventions. Commissioners welcomed this idea and discussed whether the developers could be
recognized for supporting Code:ART2 programming. Staff recommended that the Public Art
Commission allocate funds in the amount of $36,000 for up to 6 Urban Interventions for
Code:ART2. Moved: Commissioner Taylor moved to approve the funds. Second: Commissioner
Migdal. All in Favor.
4. Allocation of funds for Code:ART2 – Staff provided an overview of the scope of services staff
would require assistance from an event coordinator leading up to and during the new media
festival in October 2020. Staff recommended that the Public Art Commission allocate funds in
the amount of up to $11,500 for the Event Coordinator services. Moved: Commissioner Shen
approved the allocation of funds. Second: Commissioner Klaus. All in Favor.
5. Collection Maintenance – Staff provided an overview of the commissioning history, previous
preservation treatments and condition assessments of the mural titled Boy Fishing by artist Greg
Brown. After a recent painting and gutter repair project at the post office building at 380
Hamilton Ave., staff contacted a fine art conservation team to provide a condition report and
treatment proposal to stabilize the stucco behind the artwork and conserve the mural. Staff
recommended that the Commission allocate maintenance funds for the conservation treatment of
the mural in the amount up to $8,810. Moved: Commissioner Migdal moved to approve the funds
in the amount up to $8,810. Second: Commissioner Shen. All in Favor.
ANNOUNCEMENTS – None.
CALENDAR: Next PAC Regular Meeting – March 19, 2020 at 7 pm.
MEETING ADJOURNED at 7:47 pm by Chair Miyaji.