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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - PAC Meeting Minutes 05/02/23Public Art Commission Meeting Minutes– 5/2/23 Ames City Hall, Room 135 Members Present: Erica Briest, Kyle Hauswirth, Theresa Stromberg-Murphy, Candace Zwank, Joseph Merchant, Karen Kedrowski, Janice Reutter I.Meeting Called to Order at 17:31 by Kyle Hauswirth II.Consent Agenda and minutes of April 4th meeting were approved. Motion to Approve Erica Briest Second by Janice Reutter Passed unanimously III. Public Forum: No guests III. City of Ames Liaison: Brian Phillips informed us that we have a new tent as well as promotional crayons. He approximates that there is $300.00 remaining of what the Commission has authorized him to spend on promotional items. V. Old Business A. What to do with Public Art Kyle Hauswirth introduced a document he has been working on entitled “Do’s and Don’ts of Public Art.” This document was discussed and met with approval by PAC members. He will meet with City staff to wordsmith the document and the commission can expect it to return at a later meeting for formal approval. (See Attachment 3). B. Decommissioned Fire Hydrants: The location of the next slate of 4 painted fire hydrants needs to be determined. Commissioners were encouraged to scout out good locations in City parks at sites of dog waste bag (Mutt Mitts) dispensers. VI. New Business A. Ice Arena: Brian Phillips informed the Commission that the contract with the mural artist is in final phases of getting signed. We are still on track to get the mural painted during July when arena is down for reconstruction. B. Roundabout: Candace Zwank discussed her plans for another meeting in the coming month. C. AMES (Accessible Map Envisioning Sculptures.) -Discussion: There was a discussion about the goals of the project (to use art to make public transportation easier for those who have disability and more friendly for those with language barriers or for children). There was a discussion about the point of reference for the project –the Seattle Link Light Rail system (See attachment 1). CyRide routes are assigned a color. Several shelters are present throughout the Cyride system (about 28 shelters). For now the project is envisioned to include only shelters present in the City and not on ISU campus although this could change with ISU assent. There was discussion of different ways to envision making this project a tangible reality. One was to assigning a symbol to each route appropriate to the color of the route–(ie “Red Rooster” for the Red Route) and to incorporate this artistically represented symbol at stops along the route. Another is to create differe tartistic symbols/markers for each stop with a shelter, using stereotypical “red objects” at the shelters on the red route such as “red wagon” or “red apple” or “red rooster.” These objects could be rendered by artists in a form recognizable to CyRide riders and accessible to those with disability or language limitation. Items of concern for project include sensitivity to theft, vandalism, safety of shelters. There was discussion that hopefully the project could be eligible for Inclusion/ Accessibility Grants. The Commission discussed starting with a pilot on 1 route and building from there Kyle Hauswirth proposed to form subcommittee to discuss a proposal. (Merchant/ Theresa Stronberg-Murphy,Kedrowski Briest, Hauswirth, Zwank D. Problem Pedestals: Discussion of the costs of demolition (see attachment 2) E. New Ideas: 1. Photo Contest: Intended to encourage area photographers to take pictures of PAC public art items in the City of Ames inventory. Winning photos produced through such a contest would be used to create a calendar for sale or for computer wallpaper or for features on City of Ames Website. VII. Ragbrai coming to Ames. An individual has been given a grant to do a wheat pasting mural in each community. Will be attached to a wall. 10x10 feet. Octagon has applied for COTA funding for additional murals. We will have at least one mural. There will be volunteer opportunities. Erica Briest will represent Ames at Miracle League in Florida in November Discussion of changing time of meeting to 6PM. This was not greeted enthusiastically Meeting Adjourned at 654PM. Attachment 2: Message from Brian Phillips to PAC RE Problem Pedestals I’ve received the details regarding the cost to demolish the 16 brick piers along 5th Street. You may recall that in March, PAC approved a recommendation to City Council to deaccession the ceramic reliefs and remove the brick piers. Public Works staff has received a quote for $24,000 ($1,500 each) to demolish all the piers, remove the footing below grade, and replace the sidewalk with colored concrete. This quote does not include removing the 32 terra cotta inserts (the portion of the piers that are in the public art inventory). Public Works staff and the contractor believe, based on the way in which the inserts are installed, there is not a strong likelihood that they can be removed intact. Further, it would be labor intensive and costly to attempt to remove them before demolishing the piers. Therefore, this proposed cost includes demolishing the inserts, too. The brick piers and the terra cotta inserts were the result of a complicated streetscape and art project, and so there is some complexity (and some uncertainty 24 years after the fact) with how they were originally financed. Staff will be proposing to the City Council that the $24,000 estimated demolition cost be financed 1/3 from PAC funds ($8,000) and 2/3 from the Road Use Tax Fund ($16,000). The Road Use Tax Fund is used to finance activities that occur in the right- of-way, so staff feels this is an appropriate supplemental source of funding. PAC’s Public Art Administration Account has $24,265 in available funds, and an additional $6,000 will become available in this account in July. If anyone would like to discuss this proposal further (e.g., proceeding with demolishing the reliefs rather than saving them, or the overall proposed costs, etc.), please let me know individually, and I will place this item on the agenda for PAC to discuss in June. If by the end of next week I don’t hear a request for PAC to discuss further, then I will plan to move ahead with Council approval to deaccession and demolish at the May 23rd City Council meeting. –Brian Phillips Attachment 3 Do’s and Don’ts of Public Art DO: ● DO Take photos! Public art is for you! Feel free to post pictures of yourself, your family, or the art on social media. Filming or photography that requires special equipment (such as tripods, lighting rigs, or selfie sticks) or exclusive use of an area is not allowed. ● DO Ask questions! Talk to your friends and see how other people might respond! Art is meant to be collaborative! More information about Ames’s Public Artworks can be found online at the Ames Public Art Commission’s Web Page or by calling the City Manager’s Office at 515-239-5101. ● DO Keep a safe distance from you and works of art. This helps to avoid accidental touching or bumping from bodies, backpacks, bikes, or other unexpected objects! ● DO Look for the sign designating Ames’s Public Art! This gives you information about the artwork and designates it a piece of Ames’s Public Art. ● DO Report damage. If you see damage to a piece of public artwork, please let us know right away so we can address it. DON’T: ● DON’T Apply tape, sticky tack, or otherwise attach posters or flyers. This can cause significant surface damage to artwork, especially pieces that have coatings, veneers, or paint! Please hang flyers in other places. If there is a concern you have about a piece of artwork or space around the piece, please contact PAC instead. ● DON’T Hang or play on a piece of public art. Many of our sculptures are both delicate and heavy, not designed to support the weight of a person. ● DON’T Lift or move a piece of public art. Instillation and movement of a piece is done by a team of professionals. If you see a problem with the way a piece of art is installed, please report it instead of trying to fix it! We have professionals ready to do the job. ● DON’T Touch, unless a sculpture tells you that you can! Please do not touch the artwork, plinth, or anything used to protect the art. Although public art is durable, we want to keep the pieces in good shape so that everyone can enjoy them. Pieces that are meant to be touched and interacted with will have more information on the placard on how to do so. Need to report a problem, ask a question, or get more information about a piece of art? Please give the City Manager’s Office a call at 515-239-5101.