11/18/2008
PUBLIC ART & DESIGN ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES
CITY OF CLEARWATER
November 18, 2008
Present: Sarah Butz Board Member
Mark Flickinger Board Member
Alex Plisko Jr. Board Member
Howard Warshauer Vice-Chair
Absent: George Ann Bissett Board Member
Josh Bomstein Chair
John Timberlake Board Member
Also Present: Margo Walbolt Cultural Affairs Manager
Christopher Hubbard Public Art Specialist
Marsha Beall Staff Assistant
The Vice-Chair called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m. at the MSB Building.
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily
discussed in that order.
2. Approval of Minutes – September 10, 2008
Member Warshauer moved to approve the minutes of September 10, 2008 as submitted to
motioncarried
members. The was duly seconded and unanimously.
3. Old Business
a.) Private development status
Since Mr. Hubbard’s report at the September 10 board meeting, many of the private
development projects have had their permits voided or their permits have expired.
There are two new projects:
Bayside Arbors, Phase III - this is a planned apartment/condo rental complex. The
developers decided to do the in-lieu of option in the amount of $52,997.
Bayshore Arbors Retirement Community - Mr. Hubbard spoke to the developers on this
project and they are interested in doing an on-site public art piece.
Therefore, to date this brings private development contributions to the public art fund to
$211,676.98. Some of these discretionary funds are being considered to support the public art
pieces at Clearwater Bayfront Promenade and Carpenter Field.
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b.) Public Development status
Fire Station # 48 – at the last PADB meeting members moved to approve Christopher
Fennell as the selected artist for the public art project at this site. Mr. Fennel plans are to erect a
“Ladder Fire”, a 20’ tall memorial sculpture made from recycled aluminum ladders curled into a
fireball.
The contract is on hold at this time. City Councilmembers plan to discuss being involved in
the public art final approval process for the Public Art program. This discussion is scheduled to
take place at the December 1 City Council Work Session.
c.) Cleveland Street Banners
The current Cleveland Street Jazz banners are on display at this time and will remain until
the Christmas Holiday decorations go up. The banners are part of the downtown's Cleveland
Street District outdoor art gallery and complemented the city's annual Clearwater Jazz Holiday.
The project was coordinated by Cultural Affairs and funded by the DDB.
Mr. Hubbard presented a slide show of the banners selected for this season’s display.
There are ten designs, with 30 banners displayed. The cost to produce the banners averaged
around $230 each. The life expectancy of the banners is ten years and may be exhibited each
year.
A new Call for Artist will go out in December for the next round of banners. The new
banners will represent baseball and baseball fever and will be installed in February 2008 to help
welcome the Philadelphia Phillies back to Clearwater.
d.) Architecture & Art Initiative
Ms. Walbolt called to mind a discussion held during the September board meeting
regarding a local citizen Bill Fisher sponsoring a project to design six (6) lifeguard stations on
Clearwater Beach. Mr. Fisher has his own architectural firm and is willing to design the stations
and also secure donations to pay for each station. City staff reviewed the project and
suggested starting with two (2) stations. They could be built by Summer 2009. Since the funds
would come in to the City as donations over $5,000, the project will need to eventually come
before the PADB.
4. New Business
a.) Downtown Boat Slips & Promenade
Mr. Hubbard reported that this public art project is going forward as planned. No timeline
has been established at this point, however. Public Art discretionary funds will be used to
augment this project. Artwork for this site was identified through the Master Plan as an iconic
city image project. A citizen information session will be organized in order to get plenty of public
input. The best-identified area to place this piece is on the green space down the bluff on the
left hand side of Cleveland Street.
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b.) Clearwater Beach Library/Recreation Center
The Direct Artist Selection Panel recently met and voted to recommend to the Public Art
Design Board the commission of Catherine Woods as the project artist for that site. Ms. Woods
has previously worked with the Pinellas County PADB doing the PSTA art project. Based on
the needs on our site, Ms. Woods fused glass artwork would be the best fit. There are
approximately $8,000 available funds for this project. Member Flickinger made a motion to
motion
accept the Direct Artist Selection Panels recommendation of Catherine Woods. The
carried
was duly seconded and unanimously.
c.) Carpenter Field Clubhouse Renovation
The Carpenter Field Clubhouse renovation is an approved City Capital Improvement Project
making it an eligible site for a public art project. Carpenter Field is in close proximity to Wal-Mart
property, therefore a prime site for an outdoor public art piece near the trail connection off
Coachman Road. This area is visible to the public while visiting Bright House Fields, Carpenter
Field, Pinellas Trail and from the future Enterprise Road overhead. Since Wal-Mart will be
contributing $55,207.50 in-lieu of contribution to the discretionary funds, it seems a likely place
to consider. Member Flickinger expressed some apprehension regarding the viability of this site
and wanted to make sure that everyone will have a clear vision of where the artwork would be
place in order to get the most impact on citizens. Member Plisko’s opinion was to consider
additional dialogue about a more public accessible location in Clearwater.
d.) 2009 Meeting Dates
2009
The following schedule was decided upon for the PADB meetings. Additional
meetings will be called on a needs basis:
January 20, 2009
April 21, 2009
July 21, 2009
October 20, 2009
5. Items not on the Agenda
October 22 - Ms. Walbolt mentioned that a Webinar was held on October 22 at the MSB
Building. The Cultural Affairs staff participated in an American for the Arts’ Public Art webinar
broadcast. Local public art administrators were invited. Member Butz attended as well as a
PADB member from Tarpon Springs. On December 3, City and Pinellas County Cultural Affairs
staff will present another webinar focused on Artists. Information will be sent out in the near
future.
November 18 - Member Flickinger announced that this evening at 5 p.m. at the Florida
Botanical Gardens: scientist Tom Smith, Ph.D. and artist Xavier Cortada are unveiling an eco-
art project in the Gardens. The project, a mangrove installation commissioned by Pinellas
County Public Art and Design Program, features hundreds of red mangrove seedlings in clear
water-filled cups.
November 20 - On November 20, noon-1 p.m. Robert Schoeller will be giving an Artist Talk
at City Hall. Mr. Schoeller has a studio in Clearwater and one of his paintings is now on display
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Member Plisko mentioned he has a USF graduate who did his thesis on the redevelopment
on the downtown bike trails. He has a large-scale model (10 by 4 foot) and presentation that the
school would like to see him present to a group. Mr. Hubbard and Member Warshauer will be
pleased to meet with him.
Member Plisko also expressed concerns over the lack of attendance of some board
members. He impressed the importance of being committed to showing up at the meetings.
Members discussed the policy regarding attendance. Ms. Beall mentioned the Clearwater Code
addresses this issue. She sends an attendance record after each meeting to the city clerks
office. If a board member misses more than three (3) meetings in a row, the city clerks' office
will then request direction from the city manager regarding removal. Included with the January
meeting notice will be a statement reminding all members of the importance of consistent
attendance.
6. Adiourn
The meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m.
The next meeting will be January 20, 2008 at Municipal Services Building, Room 130 at
2 p.m.
Chair. .
Public Art and Design Advisory Board
Att~
Marsha
Public Art 2008-11-18
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