City of Lawrence
Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission (LCAC)
Monthly Meeting, September 10, 2014
City Commission Room, City Hall, 6 E. 6th Street
Members present: Chair: Katherine Simmons, Lois Greene, Patrick Kelly, Kathy Porsch, John Hachmeister, Michel Loomis.
Members absent: Mandy Enfield, Richard Renner, Christie Dobson, Jerry Johnson
Also present: Diane Stoddard, City Liaison; Muralist K. T. Walsh; and KU journalism students Laura Kubicki, Jazmine Polk, Callie Burns, and Emma Hogg.
MINUTES
Chair Katherine Simmons called the meeting to order at 7:16 p.m. in the Lawrence City Council Chambers at Lawrence City Hall
Action Items:
· The August 13, 2014 minutes were accepted with two names of members who did not attend the meeting moved from the members present list to the members absent list.
· John Hachmeister made the following motion, which was seconded by Kathy Porsch and approved unanimously by the LCAC members present:
The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission recommends approval of the following two mural projects presented by Muralist K. T. Walsh 1) New York Elementary School about the history of the school, to be painted by the students enrolled in the school; 2) Lawrence Community Shelter Children's Playground Mural, to be painted by children resident at the shelter.
· Kathy Porsch made the following motion, which was seconded by Patrick Kelly and approved unanimously by the LCAC members present:
The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission will host a community-wide reception to introduce Christine McClelland, the City's first Arts and Culture Director, to the Lawrence community at large.
· Kathy Porsch made the following motion, which was seconded by Lois Greene and approved unanimously by the LCAC members present:
The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission recommends 2014 Phoenix Awards as follows:
Dr. Marilyn Stokstad – Arts Educator
Lauralyn Bodle – Musical Arts
Heidi Raak and The Raven Book Store – Creative Spaces
Lawrence Civic Choir – Performing Arts
Lora Jost – Visual Arts
New Business:
1. Mural 1, K. T. Walsh: New York Elementary School, working with 4th and 5th graders, about 80 kids will work on a mural on the north wall of the school about the history of their school and the neighborhood around it. They have split into teams to design and paint the mural. They also fundraising to raise the $1000 needed to build a concrete board wall on which to paint the mural so it can be moved more easily if the building is eventually sold and renovated or torn down.
2. Mural 2, K. T. Walsh: The Lawrence Community Shelter Children’s Playground Mural will be painted by children who are residents of the Community Shelter. Members of the general public will only see the mural if they drive into the parking lot. John Hatchmeister moved and Kathy seconded a motion to recommend approval for both mural projects.
3. Kathy asked whether the City plans a reception to introduce the new Director of Arts and Culture to the community at large. Diane said there were no plans to do so. Kathy moved and Patrick seconded a motion for the LCAC to host a reception to introduce the new Director of the Arts to the Lawrence community at large.
Old Business:
1. Update on Cultural Plan project and 9th Street Corridor Project
Diane reported that the RFQ seeking a consultant for the Cultural Plan initiative has been released and the City has been receiving responses, which are due Sept. 21. She said the City plans to have the consultant hired in October to get started on the input process and that the City will establish an email distribution list to keep interested people throughout the community updated and give them a way to provide input into the development of the Culture Plan.
Diane reported that the RFQ has been released for the Ninth St. corridor project, a redesign of Ninth St. between Massachusetts St. and Delaware St., and there has been a lot of interest from all over the country. She said the City is looking for consultants who are very skilled at placemaking projects, have successfully carried out similar projects elsewhere, and have on their team people familiar with complete streets that accommodate bicycles and pedestrians as well as automobiles. Diane said the design will be built around public input. Responses to the RFQ are due by Oct. 1 and the City intends to have a design team under contract by November. The team will then put together an engagement plan for community stakeholders and property owners. Diane said an email distribution list is already available for people to sign up to stay abreast of developments.
Diane said the schedule for both of these initiatives was set up with the intent that responses to the RFQs would be ready for Christine McClelland, the City's first Arts and Culture Director, to address when she comes onboard September 29.
Committee and Liaison Reports:
City Owned Art Maintenance Committee: Chair Katherine Simmons indicated that discussion of the East Lawrence Recreation Center tile murals, which have been severely vandalized, will be discussed at the October meeting when the artist, David Lowenstein, can be available.
Lawrence Community Arts Grants Committee: Chair Kathy Porsch asked Diane whether all reports from the winners of the 2013 competition had been submitted. Diane said one is still outstanding. The City is uploading the reports so they will be available for review online, she added.
Percent for Art: Diane reminded the LCAC members that Earlier this year LCAC recommended, and the City Commission approved, a new procedure for making Percent for Art requests that calls for City staff to report in September on the capital improvement projects the City has in its budget for the next fiscal year. The City Commission approved that recommendation in the form of Percent for Art Resolution No. 7070. In compliance with that resolution, Diane presented a report on the items in the City's anticipated 2015 capital expenditures budget that will be eligible for Percent for Art. Kathy asked why the report showed two sets of numbers. Diane said one set indicated the available funding if all projects proceed as scheduled and the other indicated the amount that will result if the projects dependent on other resources (e.g., voter approval to fund a new police station) receive those resources. The LCAC then has until the City's budget deadline to add into its budget a specific Percent for Art request in addition to its regular annual operating budget. Kathy asked whether the LCAC can request Percent for Art if another project comes forward that was not part of the capital improvements budget at the time the budget as approved for a given year, such as the out-of-budget-cycle approval of City funding for the sports complex at Sixth St. and the K-10 bypass. Diane said the procedural change in Resolution No. 7070 does not prohibit the LCAC from making recommendations on projects that happen outside of the regular budget cycle. She added that it may not make sense to incorporate works of art directly into a project, but Percent for Art funds resulting from such a project could be used for new public art elsewhere in Lawrence.
Phoenix Awards Committee: In the absence of chair Mandy Enfield, committee member Michel Loomis presented the nominations for consideration. She summarized each recommendation packet and, after discussion of the nominations, the LCAC members selected the nominees. Patrick Kelly agreed to serve as M.C. at the Phoenix Awards Ceremony, which will take place at the Lawrence the Arts Center on Nov. 2 starting at 2 p.m.
Lawrence Arts Roundtable Liaison: Kathy Porsch reported that the guest speakers were Lynn Ward, curator of the Lecompton Territorial Capital Museum and Paul Bahnmaier, president of the Lecompton Historical Society and that they expressed interest in collaborating with Lawrence arts or culture organizations and groups and individual artists. The two encouraged visits to their website for information about events and to contact them with any ideas about collaborations.
City Liaison: No items
Commissioner Items: No items.
Chair Items: No items.
The meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m.