HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 457-10TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: COMMUNITY SERVICES
DATE: DECEMBER 13, 2010 CMR: 457:10
SUBJECT: California Avenue Fountain Update
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
The, Palo Alto Public Art Commission worked with artist Bruce Beasley to develop a proposal
for a new fountain design for California Avenue near Park Boulevard beginning in 2005 and
continuing through 2008. At the November 11, 2008 Council meeting in which the Art
Commission proposed the Beasley fountain (CMR:428:08), there was some public opposition to
the proposed fountain in favor of a repair or replacement of the existing damaged fountain. The
Council asked the Public Art Commission to start over and work with key stakeholders to create
a proposal for an improved artist-designed fountain and allow for public input to direct the final
fountain design.
The Public Art Commission held a community meeting in May of 2009 in which key elements
for the replacement fountain were identified for inclusion in the Request For Proposal. The
community requested that the fountain make, "a splashy water sound", that the design reflects
the site-specific spirit of California A venue, and that the fountain not interfere with pedestrian
and bike traffic flow on the median island. These requirements, among others, were included in
the final Request for Proposals for a new California Avenue fountain, which was released in
December 2009 with a budget of $50,000 from the Art Commission's ClP budget. Twenty-five
proposals for new fountains were received in January 2010 and the Public Art Commission
subcommittee selected five of those proposals to go forward to a selection panel. At that time,
the project was put on hold for budgetary reasons.
DISCUSSION
The current fountain is in terrible disrepair and no longer functions. Given the sensitive nature
of this site, The Public Art Commission is proceeding with the selection process and wishes to
inform Council on the details of the fountain selection.
A selection panel of stakeholders met November 4, 2010, to review the five fountain designs and
select which of the five will go forward as finalists for public display and input. The panelists
included the three Public Art Commissioners on the subcommittee (Ally Richter, Terry Acebo-
CMR:457:10 Page 1 of3
Davis, and Douglass C. Brown), former Council Member Jack Morton, CAADA representative
Feeta Bishop, community member Jan St. Peter, and California Avenue business employee
Robert Syrett. Three artist finalists were selected.
The Public Art Commission plans to use Open City Hall to solicit input on the three final designs
for the new California Avenue Fountain during the period of January 5-18. The process is as
follows: Notifications will be sent to residents within 600 feet of the fountain site notifying them
of the opportunity to make their preference of design known. December utility bills and a sign at
the fountain site will also announce the Open City Hall Fountain link. The artists are creating
more detailed drawings which will go on public display late December on California Avenue, on
the Civic Center bulletin board, at Lucie Stern, at the Art Center, and at Palo Alto libraries. The
Public Art Commission is working with CAADA to secure places on California Avenue to
display images of· the proposed fountains and provide flyers with the Open City Hall
information. Weather permitting, the Public Art Commission has discussed having the images or
models on display at the California Avenue farmer's market with a laptop available for people to
make their choice or offer technical assistance to anyone who might need it.
Because California Avenue caters to large populations of employees who may not be Palo Alto
residents, but eat and shop in the area, the Public Art Commission feels it is important to include
that population in the public input process. When the public logs into Open City Hall, they will
see the three finalists' images, select their favorite, and may also send a message to the Public
Art Commission at that time. Upon completion of the Open City Hall public input period,
visitors will be able to see the breakdown of which fountain received the most votes, a
breakdown of the voters by residency, as well as the ability to see if there is a difference in what
Palo Altans chose versus residents of neighboring communities and beyond. Open City Hall
offers the unique ability to have a controlled input process by which the Commission can
evaluate the overall choice as well as the choice of Palo Alto residents before they make the final
decision at their public meeting January 20th . The results of the Open City Hall information will
be distributed to the Public Art Commissioners and available to the public at that meeting.
The Public Art Commission created the Request for Proposals with input from the public and
key stakeholders, narrowed the proposals to those which most closely fit the parameters set
forward by the community, involved stakeholders in the finalist selection, and are soliciting
public input on Open City Hall. The process has involved numerous public meetings, three staff
liaisons, and an enormous effort to be inclusive and transparent while trying to respect the Public
Art Commission's duty to make aesthetic decisions regarding Art in Public Places. The Public
Art Commission is looking forward to finally bringing a new fountain to California Avenue.
An updated City Manager's report will be prepared and circulated to you once a final design is
chosen in January.
RESOURCE IMPACT
$50,000 from the California Avenue Streetscape CIP have been allocated to replace the existing
pump, demolish and remove the exiting fountain, prepare the site for the new fountain, and repair
or patch any areas of the median after the new fountain is installed. The Art Commission has
dedicated $50,000 from their CIP budget to pay for the new artist-designed fountain.
CMR:457:10 Page 2 of3
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
The Palo Alto Art Commission's role in the selection of the final fountain design is consistent
with it's role as defined in the Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan. This process is also consistent
with policy G-2 of the Governance section, "Use advisory bodies and ad hoc committees to assist
City staff and the City Council on policy issues". The use of Open City Hall is also supported by
policy G-3 in the governance section, "Enhance communication between residents,
organizations, and the City Council by providing access to information via electronic media and
other methods." The expansion of art exhibitions into the public real are consistent with
Community Services section policy C-23, "Explore a way to expand the space available in the
community for art exhibitions, classes and other cultural activities."
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: . CMR457:09
PREPARED BY: ___ ~ __ --=-__ L_a_~ __ Do ___ _
Liaison to the Public Art Commission
REVIEWED BY: ----~r--_f+--'=---~d_-----
Director, Community Services
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: . 8 ,JAMES KEENE
. ~ City Manager
CMR:457:10 Page 3 of3
Attachment A
TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: CITYMANAGER
DATE: DECEMBER 7,2009 CMR: 457:09
REPORT TYPE: INFORMATIONAL
SUBJECT: Update on California Avenue Phase II Improvements and Fountain Selection
Process
This is an informational report and no Council action is required. The purpose of the report is to
provide the Council with an update on the Phase II improvements for California A venue and the
replacement fountain selection process that is currently underway. '
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
At the November 11, 2008 City Council meeting, staff brought forward a proposal from the
Public Art Commission to replace the fountain at California A venue with a fountain designed by
artist Bruce Beasley. The Commission had worked with the artist over approximately three
years to develop this proposal to replace the fountain at California Avenue. At the meeting, there
was some public opposition to the Beasley fountain proposal in favor of keeping and
repairing/replacing the existing fountain. The Council voted to have staff evaluate the placement
of a Beasley piece at Mitchell Park as part of the new library and community center bond
measure project and to have the Public Art Commission work with California Avenue Area
Development Association (CAADA) and neighborhoods to develop a proposal for an improved
fountain. The Council also· directed that the· Public Art Commission create a fountain design
with input from the public through a process. similar to the selection process for the Michael
Szabo piece at Mitchell Park.
Based on the Council's direction, the Commission held a subcommittee meeting in May 2009 to
discuss the new fountain proposal and to hear input from the California A venue community
before developing a new Request for Art Proposals (RFP). The meeting was well attended by
key community stakeholders concerned about the fountain proposal. At the meeting, the
subcommittee also discussed the public input process that would occur prior to the final selection
of a new fountain. Based on this discussion and input, the Commission has worked to develop a
new RFP that incorporates the community's input and also outlines the community engagement
process that will occur during the selection of the final fountain.
CMR: 457:09 Page I of3
The new RFP will be distributed and made available to the public on December 4, 2009.
Proposals are due Tuesday, January 12, 2010. The Commission has budgeted $50,000 for this
fountain. In the scope of services for the RFP, it has been identified as essential that the new
fountain make a "splashing water sound" and that the design "reflect the site-specific spirit of
California Avenue." The design of the fountain must fit within the existing fountain footprint.
As identified in the RFP, artist finalists will be selected by the Public Art Commission. The
finalist selection panel may also include staff members from Community Services and Public
Works, the landscape architect working on the California Avenue improvements and selected
community members.
Members of the broader community will then be invited to provide feedback on preferences for
the final design options. The Commission may also hold a public meeting where each of the
artist finalists would be given the opportunity to make a presentation about their proposal.
Additionally, given the strong initial community input on this fountain proposal, the City
Manager has suggested that an option for a more traditional fountain be included with·the other
. design options for community input. If the community preference is for the more traditional
option, the funding for this option would come from the California Avenue capital improvement
project budget and not the Public Art Commission budget. That said, the City Manager also
affirms the importance and great value of public art and the role and expertise of the Public Art
Commission. Their selfless contribution deserves our respect.
Based on the current schedule, the community input process for the fountain would occur from
January 29 through February 8. The final artist would be selected by the Public Art Commission
after weighing the community's preference in the final design option. This process is consistent
with the community input and artist selection process that was utilized for selecting Michael
Szabo as the artist for the Mitchell Park sculpture.
The Art Commission has worked diligently to address the initial concerns raised by community
members about a replacement fountain. Hopefully, the incorporation of public input in the
review and selection process will be inclusive enough to create a win-win situation for the much
needed replacement of this fountain on California A venue. In order to keep the public informed
on the project, staff will be creating and posting a sign at the fountain site with the anticipated
schedule and a web address for community members to look up additional information.
As was mentioned above, staff in Community Services are working closely with Public Works
staff to ensure iliat the design and construction of the fountain integrates well with the Phase II
improvements planned for California A venue. The landscape architect will· be 'a key partner on
the project team. The Phase II California Avenue Streetscape Improvements will include new
trees, benches, kiosks, street resurfacing, possible planters and possible lane configuration and
addition of enhanced (colored) crosswalks. These improvements will be coordinated during the
fountain design and construction phases. The landscape architect will review the selected artist's
fountain concepts and complement the fountain with the new bench seating and landscaping to
ensure the fountain is a focal point of the plaza area. The Phase II project will undergo design,
community outreach and board/commission approvals this spring with the anticipation of
construction beginning in summer or fall 2010 pending City Council approval.
CMR: 457:09 Page 2 of3
TIMELINE
December 4, 2009
January 12,2010
January 29,2010
January 29-February 8, 2010
February 4,2010
February 18,2010
Spring
Spring
SummerlFall
RESOURCE IMPACT
Fountain RFP released
Fountain proposals due
Public Art Commission selection of finalists
Community input on finalists
Artist Presentations
Finalist approved by Public Art Commission
Begin Fountain Concept Design and Phase II Final Design
Board/Commission Approvals of Phase II Improvements
Begin Fountain Construction and Phase II Improvements
The Public Art Commission has budgeted $50,000 in public art funds to put towards the design
and construction of a new fountain at California Avenue.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This report is consistent with prior Council direction on this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW I .
The actions in this report do not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA) guidelines; therefore, no environmental assessment is required.
PREPARED BY:
DEPARTMENT APPROVAL:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
CMR: 457:09
l~
KELLY MORARIU
Assistant to the City ManagerlInterim Division
Mana er, Arts & Sciences
ETTS
Interim Community Services Director
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