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Minutes 06-09-04MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ARTS COMMISSION BOARD HELD AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM~ 129 EAST OCEAN AVENUE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLOR/DA, ON WEDNESDAY, 3UNE 9, 2004 AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Debby Coles-Dobay, Chair Richard Beaulieu, Vice Chair Richard Brightfield Raymond Marcinkoski Kimberlee McGow Anita Remer Michael McGoey, Alternate Linda Sage, Alternate Arleen Dennison, Board Liaison Absent: Suzette Urs Call to Order Chair Coles-Dobay welcomed the Board members and introduced Boynton Beach City Attorney Jim Cherof, who addressed the Board on the topic of the Sunshine Law and the responsibilities of the Board members under it. Sunshine Law Attorney Cherof distributed copies of the three pertinent legal statutes for the information of the Board members. He directed the members to the Web site of the Florida Attorney General, where opinions may be searched and Questions & Answers determined about many Sunshine Law issues. He also recommended that the Board members obtain a manual on this Law that was available on line as well. Attorney Cherof introduced himself, saying that he had been the City Attorney for Boynton Beach since 1990, was a graduate of Florida State University, and was happy to be able to put his Art History background to use. Violations of the Sunshine law are taken seriously by the State Attorney's Office, who has the power to prosecute a violation of this law as a criminal offense. The Florida Ethics Commission can also assess civil penalties to individuals. Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida June 9, 2004 Under the Sunshine Law, citizens have a right to know how decisions are made. To that end, the Law states that meetings must be held in a public place and reasonable notice (not less than 24 hours previously) must be given to the public. Minutes must be kept of the meeting proceedings and those minutes must be provided to the public upon request. All discussions between Board members pertaining to matters that are before the Board or might come before the Board, must be conducted in the setting of a publicly noticed meeting. Conversations on such matters between Board members in any other setting are generally prohibited. However, a Board member is allowed to E-mail or publicly state his or her point of view on an issue that is or will come before the Board as long as it is directed to all Board members and a copy is given to the City Clerk's office so that the document can be made available to the public in advance of a Board meeting. Ms. Dennison, the Board Liaison, is allowed to provide the Board members with facts and information to help them prepare for the meetings. She cannot act as a conduit, however. Board members wishing to communicate a point of view to the other Board members should do so through Ms. Dennison, who will distribute the information. It would be improper to solicit the input and viewpoint of the other members through that communication, however. This type of feedback and discussion should only take place at a properly noticed public meeting. The Board members may freely meet with City employees, members of other Boards, and members of the City Commission to discuss anything it would be appropriate to talk to another Board member about. However, a Board member cannot meet with one Commissioner and say, "]: met with a different Commissioner last week and ]: have their support on funding. What about you?" This would be a violation of the Commissioner's own Sunshine Law prohibitions as the Board member would be acting as a conduit. Public Records Law The documents generated by Board members are considered public records and are furnished to the public upon request. Attorney Cherof recommended that the Board members take very few notes and rely on the minutes to refresh their memory about a particular item of interest. Chair Coles-Dobay asked if a note could be verbally given, and Attorney Cherof stated that this was an excellent way to do it. :In that case, the speaker should request that his or her comment be put in the record. Attorney Cherof will prepare a list of phone numbers in the City Attorney's office and he invited all Board members to call him if they had any questions. He also recommended Ms. Rosemarie Lamanna and Ms. Mary Ramsey in the City's Legal office as excellent 2 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida June 9, 200~ sources of information. They are both well versed in many of the questions that Board members bring forward. Board's Relationship to the City Commission Ms. Dennison asked Attorney Cherof to comment on this topic. Attorney Cherof stated that after reviewing the enabling ordinance for this Board, he determined that its role was purely advisory, although the City Commission could delegate additional responsibilities at some other time. Mr. Brighffield commented that he was glad to hear that he could talk to the Commissioners since he had spoken to Commissioner McKoy about the old high school next door to the museum. He thought it would make a great art center and museum. Ms. Dennison stated that she was very involved with discussions on the future of that building and she would keep the Board informed about it. III. Specific Arts Commission Board Issues At the Board's request, Attorney Cherof gave his opinion and direction on several topics of interest to the Board. With regard to the r/ghts of art/sts, there were many not-for-profit organizations accessible on the Intemet to assist artists in making certain that their work was protected through the copyright process. Some of it is was simple as filling in a little bit of information and clicking on it - a database opens up and it is possible to determine whether a particular work is copyrighted or not. Such Web sites act as a clearinghouse for some of this kind of work. Chair Coles-Dobay stated the Board was concerned with the process for obtaining the right to use and display works of art. Attorney Cherof responded that the Public Use doctrine states that some incidental use of a copyrighted object is permitted in educational formats and some other settings that are of benefit to the public in general and where no profit is derived from using it. The Arts Commission could probably have a lot of latitude to advance its purposes as long as there was no profit and if the display and use were limited. He offered to create an outline/checklist for the Board to use when they were considering the use of works of art. Attorney Cherof said there was a//abi/ityfor infringing on a copyright, but that he would have to check with the City's Risk Manager to see if the City had specific coverage for that. There was also the type of liability from having a piece of sculpture fall on someone at an event that the Board created and invited people to. However, the liability would be on the part of the City and not this Board. The Board would be extending an invitation to people on behalf of the City and if the event were to be held on public property, the City's general liability policy would come into play. In the case of 3 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida June 9, 2004 private venues or some place like the Publix parking lot, however, the City would have to make special insurance arrangements. Chair Coles-Dobay asked Attorney Cherof about banners and murals. He responded that the use of banners was limited to two main corridors and the City controls the right to use them for public, non-commercial purposes. The progressive use of banners and murals by Lake Placid was mentioned. Attorney Cherof suggested that the Board determine where it might want to go in the area of murals and banners, and then his office would try to find a way to do it within legal boundaries. Vice Chair Beaulieu asked Attorney Cherof if he saw any problem with the Board funding a project that would have murals depicting the City's image throughout the City. Attorney Cherof saw no problem with that and believed that this had been successfully done all over the country. Attorney Cherof commented that the Board should concentrate its energies on the creative process, and the City would take care of legal matters such as whether something was covered under an ordinance, having permission of property owners, liability, insurance, and so forth. Ms. Dennison brought up the issue of funding and whether this Board should try to organize as a 501(C) (3) and how monies collected by the Board would be handled. Some of the Boards in the other cities are set up that way and have their own bylaws, treasury, and so forth. She commented that the Board's next meeting was with the City Nanager and the CRA Director, and Attorney Cherof said that the City Nanager was the ideal person to ask about funding and organization. The City could probably set up an income and expense account in its budget that would allow Board members to receive monthly reports. ]~n any event, the City Manager would work with the Finance Director to make this happen. If the Board were to establish itself as a not-for-profit corporation, with a separate ability to maintain accounts as opposed to having the City hold its money, the City Attorney's office would team up with an attorney that the Board would engage to represent that corporation. Attorney Cherof felt that there were many attorneys that were interested in the arts and would be more than willing to participate on a voluntary basis. The selling of "bricks" was discussed as a way to raise funds for art. Vice Chair Beaulieu spoke of putting out a call for artists to lend their sculptures and paintings to the City for display on public property and make them available for sale at the same time. The question arose about how to handle this kind of thing. Attorney Cherof stated that the Board would first develop the idea fully and then place it before the Commission in the 4 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida June 9, 2004 form of a recommendation. If the Commission approved the idea, the Legal, Finance, and City Manager's offices would prepare all the paperwork for the project. Ms. McGow was amazed at the amount of information she had come across pertaining to public art and found that there were many municipalities, State, or private organizations that had published guidelines about how to do various things. She thought that the Board could find information of this kind that would help it determine where to begin. Ms. Dennison distributed a May 1999 publication of the Seattle Arts Commission entitled, "Public Art 101 Curricular Book," that she thought would be helpful in this regard. Vice Chair Beaulieu mentioned that the City had one piece of public sculpture (his own), and this was a large turtle currently on display in City Hall. There was no paperwork or process involved in putting that work on display. This led to a discussion of liability and what the Board would have to consider when it recommended a particular project of public art. Attorney Cherof stated that the Board would have to come up with guidelines that recognized the balance between pure expression of art and the reality of works of should not constitute a danger setting. All agreed that wo s o art er to those who g view them. Attorney Cherof again suggested that the Board concentrate on the creative aspects of the arts and allow the City's many support services (Risk Management, City Attorney, City Manager, ITS) to facilitate its suggestions and recommendations. Chair Coles - Dobay confirmed that the Board would recommend programs and criteria to the City Commission and the City's support organizations would do whatever was necessary to see that legal and other requirements were met. The topic of the Sculpture Park on Pineapple Way in Delray Beach was brought up. Mr. Brightfeld Vice Chai� Q, Beaaliiet mentioned that he was impressed with the quality of the sculpture in that area. The Board agreed on the need for it to have a sense of what the overall plan was for the redevelopment of the downtown, and they looked forward to the next meeting when they could discuss this with the City Manager and the CRA Director. Industrial. Avenue — Boynton Arts Boulevard Mr. Brightfield stated that the future of art in Boynton Beach hinged on the Old High School and Industrial Avenue. He thought that a good first recommendation would be to change the name of Industrial Avenue to something like Boynton Arts Boulevard. Sidewalks could be put in and when businesses went out of business there, the City could acquire the space to put in some future galleries or art studios. He asked if the 5 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida June 9, 2004 current Commission was aware of the art on Industrial Way. Some thought that the former Commission had been familiar with it, but that some of the current Commission might not be aware of it. The idea that art helps to clean up cities was mentioned, referring specifically to the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, which had transformed the decrepit area in which it had been placed. Mr. Marcinkoski referred to the condition of Industrial Avenue now compared to the way it had been many years ago and the hard work that the businesses on that street had undertaken to bring it to where it is today. They hauled six hundred six yards of trash out of the area on their own. He thought it was unusual that one whole side of a street was City property but that the City was not required to maintain it. He thought they had made a good start and should possibly do the whole street. Ms. McGow stated that one of the Board's goals could be to bring in people from out of town to the art areas but that it would also be important to bring the citizens together and augment a sense of community and identity. Spreading the art around throughout the community would help to bring this about. Mr. Marcinkoski mentioned the Australian pines on Industrial Avenue and wondered who should be obligated to cut them down and remove them. He thought that there should be a spirit of cooperation such that if the business owners cut the trees and piled the branches up, that the City could take them away. The City was not currently picking up such things as tree branches on that street. Chair Coles -Dobay thought this would be a good question for the following meeting when the City Manager would be present. Vice Chair Beaulieu invited the Board to attend an Open House on Industrial Avenue on June 10, 2004 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Vice Chair Beaulieu, Mr. Marcinkoski, and Mr. Brightfield expressed a desire to see a plan developed for Industrial Avenue. Assess Developers for the Arts The Board spoke of recommending that the City collect a percentage of the value of construction projects for a public art fund. A Board member commented that in New York, 1% of all new developments must go to the arts, and Delray Beach assesses developers 1.5% for art. Chair Coles -Dobay said that the Board would have to establish criteria surrounding funding, including this percentage. 6 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida June 9, 2004 Organization Attorney Cherof offered to speak to the City Attorney for any municipality the Board found that it might wish to model itself after. Chair Coles -Dobay said that the City of Tamarac was doing the same thing and were also new, but perhaps a step or two ahead of this Board. An Ordinance from the City of Tamarac providing for the establishment of a Public Arts Program was distributed. Mr. Brightfield ' - - •' : -. • • asked why the City couldn't try to obtain part of the property - 'on Gateway and Congress for a park instead of another ugly plaza. Chair Coles -Dobay stated that this was a private development and so this was not something that the Board would recommend. Mr. Brightfield Vice Chair B aulicu stated that the City of Delray Beach seemed to have more control over this kind of issue. Chair Coles - Dobay thought that the Board could try to obtain funding for art in the subject project and there might be a way the Board could recommend that a percentage of a project be dedicated to art. Mr. McGoey asked Attorney Cherof whether the Board would have to get legal approval if it sent out a mailing to the City, and Attorney Cherof responded that if it contained a solicitation for funds, it would have to go through his office first. The Board thanked Attorney Cherof for his participation and direction. IV. Boynton Beach Image Statement The Board brainstormed about one of the Board's assignments, to come up with a Mission Statement for the IMAGE of the City of Boynton Beach. Chair Coles -Dobay stated that the Board would work on this Image Statement tonight and further refine it after obtaining the input of the City Manager and the CRA Director at the next meeting. An image tagline should be derived from the final Statement. To kick off the discussion, Chair Coles -Dobay read excerpts from the History of Boynton Beach. The Board members referred to copies of the May 3, 2000 Public Image Task Force: City /Chamber /Community Working Together document and the Strategic Initiative Teams 1.2 and 1.3, Art and Historic Commissions Survey. Ms. McGow put the Board's thoughts and comments on a chart. A combination of comments and brainstorming ideas follows: • Maintain greenways and landscaping. • Palm Beach Post described MLK as worst slum in South Florida. • Big difference between Delray Beach and Boynton Beach - can detect you are in Boynton Beach as soon as you cross the line. • City Hall area is attractive but the buildings to the north are not. 7 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida June 9, 2004 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Promote historical and cultural heritage to tie people to the community Boynton Beach is accessible by land and sea Gateway to Gulfstream Destination Bustling, small town Ocean access Strategic location Dynamic cultural community Preservation of life style ]:-95 and Turnpike close yet Boynton is insulated from chaos. South Florida's best-kept (undiscovered) secret Great place to raise a family Family-oriented Small, safe town City of Boynton Beach designation too formal - should be just Boynton Beach. Sense of roots - our kids are Floridians even if most people came from elsewhere. What do our children know about Boynton Beach? Metropolitan feel A lot of amenities Accessible to other amenities 20 minutes to beach; 20 minutes to Everglades - 20 minutes to airports Neighborhoods as small towns within larger one. Hometown feel Boynton Beach is second largest city in Palm Beach County in terms of population. Palm Beach County provides 75% of the Country's winter vegetables. A lot of equestrian facilities in the unincorporated area and some in the City A diversity of cultures and languages Art-friendly but not necessarily tourist destination People come to Boynton from all over United States when they are on spring break or to visit their families here. Chair Coles-Dobay gave Ms. Dennison a draft of an ]:mage statement that she had prepared, and Ms. Dennison distributed it to the Board. Chair Coles-Dobay felt that the image statement would become a roadmap or guideline. ]:n the future, when considering whether to put up a sculpture in a certain location, the Board could refer to this guideline to see if the proposed artwork would be representative of the City's image. The Board determined that it would ask Mr. Hutchinson to provide a copy of any image statement that he might have prepared. 8 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida .~une 9, 2004 A Board member read from the Delray Beach Mission Statement, which is: "To create a renaissance that enhances the unique cultural historical and natural resources which makes this an attractive community to a diverse and balanced population." They also use the motto "Ali-American City" and "Village by the Sea." Another Board member offered, "Happy Texas is a Town Without a Frown." Chair Coles-Dobay encouraged the Board members to read and become familiar with the documents that the Board Liaison had provided at the previous meeting, since they contained a lot of information and guidance. Chair Coles-Dobay particularly wanted the members to read the Art and Historical Commission Survey from 2001 because it had some guidelines pertaining to the percentage for public arts funding and this Board's recommendation to the City Commission for art projects in new development. Ms. Dennison will obtain a map from the City's G]:S department showing the City's boundaries and distribute it to the Board members. V. General Discussion Mr. Marcinkoski broached the idea of having a fund-raising kick-off for the Arts featuring the original Lipizzaner stallions that are in Myakka City, Florida from January through March each year. Mr. Marcinkoski is acquainted with the owner of these stallions and would be glad to work on such a project. The performance would require a football field. Ms. Dennison distributed a list of current art assets in Boynton Beach containing the facilities, description, and amenities, and also a list of art venues and businesses licensed in Boynton Beach. Ms. Dennison receives a lot of E-mail from art organizations in the County and has initiated a database for reference purposes. She also started a Resources List containing information on good Web sites the Board might wish to access. Chair Coles-Dobay and Vice Chair Beaulieu attended an arts convention in Broward County and distributed a handout pertaining to the Broward Public Art Selection Process. A sample logo designed by Mr. Brightfield was distributed along with a "What is Art" handout. Chair Coles-Dobay said that at some time the Board would have to decide about whether to focus on visual or functional art and whether it wanted to include performance art. There was a sense that performing arts was not meant to be included in the Board's focal area, although it was recognized that the Board's focus could evolve 9 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida 3une 9, 2004 to this at some future point in time, once programs of higher priority had been established. Vice Chair Beaulieu received a packet of information from Ms..lulie Waresh at the Palm Beach Post and distributed it to the other Board members. A Palm Beach Post newspaper article about the Arts Commission was also distributed. VT. Next Meeting: 3uly 7, 2004, 6:30 p.m., Schoolhouse Children's Museum VII. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (061004) 10