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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-05-14 Policy & Services Committee Summary MinutesPOLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE SUMMARY MINUTES Page 1 of 4 Regular Meeting May 14, 2024 The Policy and Services Committee of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers and by virtual teleconference at 7:01 P.M. Present: Kou (Chair), Lythcott-Haims, Tanaka Absent: Call to Order Chair Kou called the meeting to order. The clerk called roll with all present. Oral Communications 1. Ken H. was disturbed about how much meeting time has been taken up with Hamas and Israel. He suggested moving public comments to the end of the meeting, agendizing it at the end of the meeting or doing research on how other City Councils are handling this issue. Action Items 1. City Council Referral to Review the respective role of the Public Art Commission, staff, stakeholders, and the Council in public art decisions in relation to placement and themes of art. (CEQA Status – Not a Project.) Elise DeMarzo, Public Art Program Director, discussed slides covering staff recommendations for the Public Art Program, the public art commissioning process, conceptual design development and detailed design and implementation. Hsinya Shen, Public Art Commission Vice Chair, provided details about the project initiation and artist selection process slides. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 2 of 4 Policy & Services Meeting Summary Minutes: 05/14/2024 Council Member Lythcott-Haims was curious as to what prompted the referral from Council. She wanted instruction on the importance of history versus the present in terms of what they are trying to reflect in the City’s public art and/or the City’s values and identity. She was interested in how to balance the importance of honoring and respecting the past with their interest in understanding who they are now through art. She encouraged them to engage youth as often as they engage leaders in the selection of public art. She questioned what they would do if they could affirmatively decide to place art around the City. Chantal Cotton Gaines, Deputy City Manager, commented there were questions about the process as well as the City Council’s role in the process related to public art. It was just to have a dialog to further understand the work that the Staff and the Public Arts Commission do and to better understand if there are things Council wanted to ask further questions about. Chair Kou wanted to come back and review the Midtown Poetry Wall and the artwork for 345 Portage (the Cannery). She wanted to know if the Council liaison has been able to get a glimpse of the rendering. She queried how many staff members the Public Art Commission has. She suggested reaching out to the neighborhood association about the Midtown Poetry Wall. She wondered if there were boundaries that needed to be set as a public entity. She discussed using public artwork to draw people into the City. Ms. Shen remarked that the goal was to engage with the local community in Midtown to make sure they understand what the timeline and options may be. She opined that the Cannery was a treasured opportunity to highlight the history of Asian-American involvement in the history of Palo Alto. She explained a publicly available master plan and mission statement the artists that gives an anchoring point for the type of public art they are trying to promote. She stated when they do art projects that are $85,000 and above, they come to the City Council for review and approval. She spoke about selected artists engaging with local community members to understand the site specific history. She also explained that once an artist is selected for a private mural opportunity, they may have in idea for that wall but the owner can reject if they do not believe that is the right artwork for their wall. She described art projects being done all around Palo Alto and projects that were interrelated. Ms. DeMarzo recalled the public art for that project came to the Public Art Commission after the project went to Council. There is a design update coming to the Commission in the packet. She described what they look for when issuing an RFQ for artists. She talked about Greg Brown’s art in Palo Alto, the first artist in residence in Palo Alto. She stated she has one full- time staff member, a part-time staff member to project manage CIP projects and an hourly employee. She shared that their policies, procedures and selection processes are very much within the bounds of best practices. She thought putting boundaries on what art is and is not acceptable is a legally slippery slope. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines emphasized that with a variety of people on the panel, the more likely it will be to catch different viewpoints. She advised that they could do an informational report back to the Council with some version of the materials that was brought to the meeting or they could also provide the full City Council an update during the council SUMMARY MINUTES Page 3 of 4 Policy & Services Meeting Summary Minutes: 05/14/2024 member update section of a standard City Council meeting. She agreed to work on an informational report to go in the Council packet. NO ACTION TAKEN 2. Approval of the Office of the City Auditor Task Order Time Extension for the ADA Compliance and Purchasing Card Audits Kate Murdock, City Auditor, explained that the Auditor’s Office is requesting to extend the task orders for the ADA compliance and purchasing card audits to December 31, 2024. Work has not begun on these audits yet because of the City Auditor vacancy. Council Member Lythcott-Haims indicated this is an obvious push in the deadline necessary because of the vacancy in the City Auditor position. MOTION: Council Member Lythcott-Haims moved, seconded by Council Member Tanaka to recommend the City Council approve the task order time extensions the ADA Compliance and Purchasing Card Audits. MOTION PASSED: 3-0 Future Meetings and Agendas Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines advised that for the month of June the expected items were the audits related to the Public Safety building construction and the automated license plate readers, a presentation from the Downtown Streets Team and a follow-up on the last Council referral related to the procedures and protocols related to Council discretionary spending. Council Member Lythcott-Haims remarked on the stacked agenda. It was her preference to address what had to be addressed in June and kick anything to August that they could. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines explained the thought was that they could make it through that amount of items based on the time estimates they were receiving from Staff. As they see the reports shape up will be a better determinant of how much time it could possibly take. It SUMMARY MINUTES Page 4 of 4 Policy & Services Meeting Summary Minutes: 05/14/2024 would be possible to send the Council referral on discretionary spending to the following meeting if it is too many items. Chair Kou agreed to take Council Member Lythcott-Haims preferences into consideration as they discuss the agenda. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:03 P.M.