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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-06-17 Public Art Commission Agenda Packet IS POSTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54954.2(a) OR SECTION 54956 PUBLIC ART COMMISSION Nia Taylor, Chair Lisa Waltuch, Member Loren Gordon, Vice-Chair Ben Miyaji, Member Hsinya Shen, Member City Council Liaison: Mayor Tom DuBois Elise DeMarzo: Public Art Program Director Nadya Chuprina: Public Art Program Coordinator Kristen O’Kane: Director of Community Services Department http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/publicart Thursday, June 17, 2021 7:00 pm Pursuant to the provisions of California Governor’s Executive Order N-29-20, issued on March 17, 2020, to prevent the spread of Covid-19, this meeting will be held by virtual teleconference only, with no physical location. The meeting will be broadcast on Midpen Media Center at https://midpenmedia.org. Members of the public who wish to participate by computer or phone can find the instructions at the end of this agenda. To ensure participation in a particular item, we suggest calling in or connecting online 15 minutes before the item you wish to speak on. https://zoom.us/join Meeting ID: 973 8041 3033 Phone: +1 669 900 6833 AGENDA ROLL CALL AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Members of the public may address the Commission on any subject not on the agenda. A reasonable time restriction may be imposed at the discretion of the Chair. The Commission reserves the right to limit oral communications period to 3 minutes. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: PAC Meeting May 20, 2021 ATTACHMENT STAFF COMMENTS ACTION: 1. Highway 101 Bike Bridge Artwork – Staff presentation on the status of the artwork by Mary Lucking and allocation of additional funds for the completion of the project. ATTACHMENT NON-ACTION: 2. Code:ART2 – Staff update on the status of the October 7-9 event and discussion regarding ways the Commission may assist. ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR YOUR CALENDAR: Next PAC regular meeting – Thursday, July 15, 2021 MINUTES PUBLIC ART COMMISSION MEETING Thursday, May 20, 2021 Virtual teleconference via Zoom 7:00 p.m. Commissioners Present: Ben Miyaji, Loren Gordon, Nia Taylor, Ian Klaus, Hsinya Shen 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 7:01 p.m. AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS – None. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS – None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - PAC Regular Meeting Minutes April 15, 2021, Moved: Commissioner Taylor, Second: Commissioner Shen. All in Favor STAFF COMMENTS - Staff updated the Commission on the recently installed ArtLift Microgrant projects. Staff also updated the Commission on the outcome of an artist selection panel for Temporary Murals commissioned for a construction fence around the new Public Safety Building. Out of 100 applicants, 4 artists were selected to create site-specific digital murals for Round 1 of a two-year rotating mural programming for the site. Staff will return to the Commission for the allocation of funds for phase 2 in the fall. Staff also announced the upcoming deadline for the 2021/23 Artist Prequalified Artist Pool on June 1. ACTION: 1. Election of Officers – Chair Miyaji summarized the protocol for the election of new Chair and Vice-Chair and provided a scope of responsibilities for the elected positions. Chair Miyaji opened the floor to nomination for the position of Chair. Commissioner Klaus nominated Commissioner Taylor for Chair. Taylor accepted. Vice Chair Gordon nominated incumbent Chair Miyaji for the position of Chair. Chair Miyaji accepted. Moved: Vice Chair Gordon made a motion to close the nomination. Second: Commissioner Shen. All in Favor. Commissioners submitted their votes for the position of Chair to staff via text. Staff announced the votes: Commissioner Taylor won the Chair vote (Miyaji – 2 votes; Taylor - 3 votes). Chair Miyaji opened the floor to nomination for the position of Vice Chair. Chair Miyaji nominated incumbent Vice Chair Gordon for the position of Vice Chair. Commissioner Shen seconded the nomination of Vice Chair Gordon for Vice Chair. Gordon accepted the nomination. Moved: Vice Chair Gordon made a motion to close the nomination. Second: Commissioner Klaus. All in Favor. Commissioners submitted their votes for the position of Vice Chair to staff via text. Staff announced the votes: Vice Chair Gordon won the Vice Chair vote unanimously. 2. 4256 El Camino Real – Staff provided a summary of the art in private development project associated with the 4256 El Camino Real and introduced Randy Popp, AIA representing HXH Property, LLC as the project architect. The project, previously known as Hotel Caterina and now Art Hotel, was previously presented to the PAC on November 15, 2018 for the initial review. The project team was originally planning to install public art in the lobby, however taking PAC’s input and concerns raised regarding accessibility of the lobby space, the project team made a new proposal to locate the artwork outside the lobby. Commissioners had some clarifying questions regarding the difference in the art budget on file and the budget for the artwork submitted for the Final Review. The difference may be paid to the Public Art Fund prior to the issuance of the building permit. Randy Popp and Colin Selig then provided further details for the artwork, 2 unique benches made of repurposed propane tanks and a planter designed and fabricated by artist Colin Selig and planned to be installed outside the hotel. The approximate timeline for the realization of the construction project is May 2023. Moved: Commissioner Taylor moved to approve public art in private development associated with the 4256 El Camino Real project. Second: Vice Chair Gordon. All in Favor. NON-ACTION: 3. Commissioner Handbook Adopted by City Council – Commissioners reviewed the working draft of a new annual workplan and discussed different optional formats for laying out the 2020- 21 adopted PAC priorities and examples of public art projects supporting these priorities to be reviewed by City Council. Commissioners Klaus and Shen will lead the effort to finalize the workplan and submit the final document to staff for submission to City Council by the designated submission deadline. 4. Update on the King Plaza Artwork Focused on Equity – Staff briefed the Commission on the current status of the draft for the call for artists, its scope and tentative timeline. Staff asked the Commission to continue thinking about the name for the program. ANNOUNCEMENTS –Staff and Commissioners thanked outgoing Commissioner Klaus for his dedicated service on the Commission. Staff announced the upcoming AFTA conference taking place June 8-11 in a virtual format. CALENDAR: Next PAC Regular Meeting – June 17, 2021 at 7 pm via Zoom. MEETING ADJOURNED at 8:31 pm by Chair Miyaji. City of Palo Alto Staff Report to Public Art Commission June 10, 2021 RE: Agenda Item 1 Recommendation: Staff recommends that the Public Art Commission approve additional funding in the amount up to $43,400 to amend contract C17167868 with artist Mary Lucking to complete the artist designed railing for the Highway 101 bike and pedestrian bridge. Summary: Due to delays in the overall Highway 101 bike and pedestrian bridge project and the escalation of materials, fabrication, and shipping costs since the last amendment to Lucking’s contract in 2018, additional funds are necessary to complete the artist designed railing for the project. Background: Mary Lucking was approved by the Public Art Commission as the project artist in February 2017. Lucking’s contract in the amount of $ 90,000 was approved by City Council March 27th, 2017 (see staff report #7850). The Conceptual design was reviewed and approved by the Public Art Commission on August 17, 2017. Inspired by the wetlands and the many creatures that live below, Lucking proposed creating sculptures for the overlook that can double as creative seating. More traditional benches, interpretive signage, and bike racks will be available nearby. The cast aluminum pieces have a brushed finish and sculpted texture that will make them visually engaging and interesting to touch. In 2017, the budget allowed for the three pieces to be cast and installed and still leave some funding available to allocate toward an artist designed railing at the overlook area, but not enough to fully fund the railing. At the time that PAC approved Mary Lucking’s design for the seating elements and railing, the commission expressed strong support for the artist designed railing and inquired if additional funding could be allocated for this purpose. Staff informed the PAC that since there was not enough information yet to determine the additional cost, that staff would return to the PAC once the amount of additional funding necessary is determined and make the request. Because the Bike Bridge is in a marine environment, a very corrosive-resistant alloy is necessary for the artist-designed railing panels. After consultation with multiple fabricators, artists, and public art project managers experienced with commissioned sculptures in similar environments, it was determined that 316L stainless steel was the most appropriate alloy for Mary Lucking’s bridge railing design. This material is costly, but will provide the durable corrosion resistance needed for this location. The cost for this stainless steel material was determined in 2018 to be $11,920, therefore, staff requested that the Public Art Commission add $10,000 to the Bike Bridge public art project in April 2018, which along with the project contingency, would cover this expense as well as increased costs of materials for the sculptural seating elements and additional engineering of these sculptures requested by the City. The contract amendment was approved by City Council May 29, 2018 (see staff report # 9230). Discussion: Due to the slope and curve of the overlook area of the bridge, the artist must wait until the vertical support posts are installed by the general contractor in order to take precise lidar scan measurements and begin the ten-week panel fabrication process. Each panel will have to be custom made and will be slightly different in size. Precision is of utmost importance in these measurements to ensure safety of the railing. The posts are scheduled for installation in June, and it is important that the artist is able to begin the ten-week fabrication process as soon as possible to minimize delays to the bridge opening. The bike bridge was originally scheduled to be completed in early Spring of 2019. Due to overall delays in the project, Lucking has been waiting two years longer than expected to initiate panel fabrication. In this time, the cost of stainless steel, like many building materials, has risen. Shipping costs have risen to transport her completed artistic seating elements from Arizona to Palo Alto as well. The covid-19 pandemic caused the artist’s Arizona fabricator to postpone many of their projects during 2020. In early 2021, when the Bike Bridge construction was nearing the expected time for the posts to be installed, this fabricator had resumed their backlog of projects, and were too busy to execute Mary Lucking’s railing panels in the contractually mandated 10-week period. After reaching out to multiple fabricators, Lucking identified an alternate Bay Area fabricator that could create this work in necessary timeframe, and may be able to deliver them sooner. The new fabricator required some structural modifications to the railing panels’ design. This has incurred additional charges for structural engineering, design, and oversight. The fabricator will be able to measure between posts, fabricate, and deliver Lucking’s railing panels in the ten- week timeline from when the railing posts are installed, but the cost of their work is estimated to be $24,400 more than the original budget amount. In addition, the contract amendment will cover increased expenses associated with increased shipping costs, additional structural engineering reviews, design and oversight. Therefore, staff requests that the Public Art Commission increase Mary Lucking’s budget for the Bike Bridge project by $43,400 for a total contract amount up to $153,400, including contingency for any further possible cost increases for materials and fabrication. Bridge Project Status: The bridge is partially constructed, and the center span of the bridge is scheduled for installation June 12th and 13th. Public Works is trying to complete the bridge by the end of August. Resource Impact: The funds in the amount of $43,400 for the contract will come from the pooled art funds in the Art in Public Spaces CIP (AC-86017). The Public Art for Municipal Projects Ordinance (Ordinance Number 5301, Municipal Code 2.26.070) requires that 1% of the CIP budget for municipal projects is allocated for the commission of public art. The Highway 101 Pedestrian/Bicycle Overpass Project CIP (PE-11011) contributed 1% of the project’s funding in the amount of $143,600 to the Art in Public Spaces (AIPP) CIP in order to fund the public art component of this project recommended in this memorandum. Additional contingency funds may come from funds derived from bike/pedestrian plan funds previously transferred to the AIPP CIP. Timeline: The posts are scheduled for installation in late June, and it is important that the artist is able to begin the ten-week fabrication process as soon as possible to minimize delays to the bridge opening. Upon Public Art Commission approval of the additional funds, Purchasing will expedite the contract amendment process to ensure that artist Mary Lucking can engage her fabricator to begin work as soon as the vertical posts are installed in the coming weeks.