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04/13/2023 Public Art and Design Board Meeting Minutes April 13, 2023 City of Clearwater Main Library - Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 e P y 1 4 Meeting Minutes Thursday, April 13, 2023 2:00 PM Main Library - Council Chambers Public Art and Design Board 1 City of Clearwater Public Art and Design Board Meeting Minutes April 13, 2023 Roll Call Present 5 - Chair Eric Seiler, Vice Chair Jonathan Barnes, Board MemberJerri Menaul, Board Member Theresa Bromm-Boesen, and Board Member Charlene Harrison Absent 2 - Board Member Brianne Roberts, and Board Member Gregory Byrd Also Present— Amber Brice - Cultural Affairs Coordinator, Nicole Sprague— Deputy City Clerk 1. Call To Order The Chair called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. at the Main Library. 2. Approval of Minutes 2.1 Approve the minutes from the September 8, 2022 Public Art and Design Advisory Board Meeting. Member Menaul moved to approve the minutes of the September 8, 2022 Public Art and Design Board meeting as submitted in written summation. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda: Beth Daniels expressed a concern regarding the time it takes to get plaques for public art pieces that include the name of the piece and the artist. The plaque should be incorporated into the agreements. 4. New Business Items 4.1 Introduce New Arts and Cultural Affairs Coordinator 4.2 Discuss Clearwater Arts Alliance Signal Boxes Clearwater Arts Alliance Co-President Beth Daniels said funding from the City allowed the organization to hire artists to create and install signal box wraps in neighborhoods in 2020. The program was a success and additional funding was granted in late 2021 for more signal box wraps. The focus was to install the wraps in neighborhoods that did not have many all amenities. Changes in city staff and neighborhood association contact information caused a delay in the project but two additional boxes have been completed and one is in progress. She said one of the challenges the program faced was FDOT upgraded some signal boxes and tore out ones that were wrapped and replaced them two signal boxes, which had to be re-wrapped 2 City of Clearwater Public Art and Design Board Meeting Minutes April 13, 2023 with additional wrapping needed for the second box. 4.3 Discuss ARPA Grant Update Cultural Affairs Coordinator Amber Brice said the City received$22.48 million in American Rescue Plan Act(ARPA) funds. Council approved $1 million to be allocated for non-profit cultural affairs grants to be used for arts and cultural programming as well as for art installations. Thirteen applications were received for the funding and 10 were deemed eligible. She said the applications will be presented to Council for approval on April 20, 2023. A second round of funding will be available in late summer. In response to questions, Ms. Brice said the Board could help get the word out regarding the funding availability. Creative Pinellas has offered to host a grant writing workshop to help organizations apply for funding. She said the total requested funding from the 10 eligible applications totaled $1.6 million. 4.4 Discuss Americans for the Arts National Survey Ms. Brice said The Americans for the Arts Foundation is a respected non-profit that conducts a survey every five years. The survey is part of a study to measure the economic and social impact of arts and culture on the City of Clearwater and gauges how much locals and tourists spend on events. The City has been tasked with collecting 350 surveys and she is scheduled to attend ten events to try collect the requested surveys. In response to questions, Ms. Brice said the Foundation is specifically looking for responses from events that feature or are geared toward Black, Indigenous, People of Color(BIPOC) and Latino communities. She said the survey responses will give staff a base line to determine how much money the amphitheater brings into the area in the next five years. 4.5 Review the current Clearwater Public Art Fund balance Ms. Brice said the public art fund balance is $102,245.53 and the non-department cultural services fund balance is $69,913.60. The two funds are not combined because city code requires the public art funds be kept separate. 4.6 Review Mercado Project Ms. Brice reviewed the purpose and intent of the Mercado project. A small building that will house tables and chairs for events will have wall 3 City of Clearwater Public Art and Design Board Meeting Minutes April 13, 2023 space available for a public art piece. Staff is working on a call for artists and are looking for ideas that stay true to the community culture. The plan is to open the call for artists to the local Tampa Bay area, have the submissions narrowed down to three proposals by a panel and have the community vote on their favorite choice at the grand opening of the Mercado in the fall. The all will most likely be a mural or a mosaic. 4.7 Review FL 580 Water Tank Project Ms. Brice said Public Utilities is repairing two water tanks on SR 580 this year and repainting the exterior of the tanks is included in the project. Public Utilities reached out and asked if it would be possible to include art on the tanks. It is an excellent opportunity to incorporate public art in a space that is generally bland. The City's grant coordinator found a funding opportunity through the National Endowment for the Arts and if awarded, the total cost of the project would be $60,000.00 to the City. The tank that is more visible to the public would have a larger mural on one side and the other tank would have a smaller or singular image. In response to questions, Ms. Brice said there is $30,000 currently set aside for the project. She said a call for artists will be issued via social media, press releases, and asking local art organizations to help get the word out to the art community. There is a link on the City's website that will direct interested parties to the information. When artists submit a proposal, they indicate the cost of the upkeep of the piece. 4.8 Discuss Employee Art Contest Ms. Brice said there are four glass cases at the Municipal Services Building parking garage for art display. An employee suggested an employee call for art and four pieces were chosen for display. The employees will receive a prize for being chosen and the images will be scanned onto material that will withstand the heat and sun exposure. 5. Old Business Items 5.1 Review Clearwater Fire Department Station 46 Project Ms. Brice said the station is located on the beach and she toured the site with Fire Chief Ehlers. The art installation for this project will be located outside and the budget is $85,000.00. The Fire Chief and Lead Engineer were shown a piece that was installed in the Seminole City Centerin 2017 that they liked. Ms. Brice spoke to the artist who said the piece cost $120,000.00 and the price of materials have only increased since then. The 4 City of Clearwater Public Art and Design Board Meeting Minutes April 13, 2023 artist said she can see if less expensive materials may be used but indicated she has several projects ahead of this. Ms. Brice requested guidance from the Board on if a call for artists should be issued for this project. Discussion ensued with consensus that it would be appropriate for the city to put out a call for artists for this project. The idea for the art at this location has changed several times over the years. 5.2 Crest Lake Park Public Art Ms. Brice said a total of five sculptures have been installed with posts and chains surrounding them to prohibit anyone from climbing on them. She is working with Public Communications to create "Keep Off'signage for the pieces. Staff is considering a ceremony or unveiling of the sculptures to honor the artist. Discussion ensued with concerns expressed that the original intent of the sculptures were to be interactive. The Board had several conversations regarding the sturdiness and safety of the structures so that people didn't get hurt and the structures would not be damaged. Neighborhood Divisions Manager Samantha Moullet said after the sculptures were installed, it was discovered that the metal edges were child height high, and staff had concerns regarding safety. She said the posts and chains surrounding the sculptures are decorative and do not obstruct the view of the art. This project has educated staff as they look for future installations for Imagine Clearwater. In response to questions, Ms. Brice said the new police substation installed a terrazzo floor with a thin blue line incorporated into it representing law enforcement as the public art component. Concerns were expressed that the art is not visible to the public and that the Board was not notified that a decision for the art had been made. Ms. Brice said one of the exterior walls of the building was designed to hold a mural which could be funded in the future. In response to questions, Chief Innovation Officer Micah Maxwell said there is a pedestrian overpass being discussed by FDOT on Gulf to Bay Blvd. and he will request information from Forward Pinellas on the status of the project. The previous Cultural Affairs Coordinator was gathering information for lighting on Memorial Causeway and staff will bring any information to the Board in the future. He said there is a list of future projects that the Board will address when the time is right. He said staff 5 City of Clearwater Public Art and Design Board Meeting Minutes April 13, 2023 will work on processes and communication with the Board. 6. Director's Report Ms. Brice said the Board needs to vote on the chair and vice -chair for the year. Member Menaul moved to re -appoint Eric Seiler as Chair. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Member Menaul moved to re -appoint Jonathan Barnes as Vice -Chair. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Ms. Brice said a Coachman Park public art survey is on the City's website that everyone is encouraged to take and provide feedback. The park has several spots designated for public art and community feedback will be important. In response to questions, Ms. Brice said art will not be installed until the project is completely finished. The first art installations for the park will most likely be murals on the exterior of the library and the Board will be involved in the discussions when the time is right. 7. Board Members to be Heard: None. 8. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 3:01 p.m. Chair Public Art & Design Advisory Board Attest: 6 City of Clearwater