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Minutes 01-23-07 MINUTES OF THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH ARTS COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2007 IN SUITE 108, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Richard Beau Lieu, Chair Suzette Urs, Vice Chair Cheryl Arflin Barbara Ready Barbara Lentz Nubia Richman Christine Moeller, Alternate Debby Coles-Dobay, Public Art Administrator Absent: Angela Budano Debbie Brookes, Alternate I. Call to Order Chair Beau Lieu called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. II. Roll Call of Members All members were present except Angela Budano and Deborah Brookes. A quorum was present. III. Agenda Approval The agenda was approved by consensus. IV. Minutes Approval November 28, 2006 The minutes were approved by consensus. V. Business Items A. Announcements 1. Email Address UpdatejVerification Ms. Coles-Dobay distributed an updated list of board member names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses, and asked that the members verify the accuracy of their information. The members were amenable to receiving minutes byemail. 2. Art & Culture Magazine Article An article about public art in this magazine entitled "A Sense of Place" mentioned Boynton Beach and its public art fee ordinance. A copy was distributed to the members. Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Boynton Beach, Florida January 23, 2007 3. Broward Light Project Event Ms. Coles-Dobay announced the unveiling of the Broward Light Project by nationally and internationally known public artist, Dan Corson, on January 25, 2007 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. It will take place in Huizenga Plaza in downtown Fort Lauderdale, located on the corner of Andrews Avenue & Las Olas Boulevard. The project consists of illuminated trees and a laser-lit lawn. Colorful laser lights are projected in a variety of patterns when activated by visitors, including medallions on the walkway and the trees lining the park. This light show will be a continuing feature at the Plaza. 4. Chamber Guide Article Ms. Coles-Dobay distributed copies of the Greater Boynton Beach Quality of Life & Relocation Guide prepared by the Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce. In it were articles about the Boynton Beach Arts Commission. 5. Schoolhouse Children's Museum Film A CD film composition on the murals at the Children's Schoolhouse Museum was available for viewing after the meeting. The film featured the work of the muralist Halena Wolf, and was meant to be the beginning of an ongoing effort to showcase the existing art in public places in Boynton Beach. Ms. Coles-Dobay planned to use a series of short films like this to advertise on the Arts Commission Web site and on BB1V, a television station that would broadcast City news and announcements to Comcast subscribers in the City limits. B. Board Amendment to Voting Ordinance This ordinance was distributed to the members for their perusal and information. It pertained to voting conflicts and other information required by board members in the discharging of their duties. C. Board Member Changes Chair Beau Lieu announced that he and Suzette Urs would be retiring from the board after the March meeting. He believed Ms. Budano also planned to retire early, but she was not present to confirm it. Chair Beau Lieu asked the board to consider voting for a new Chair and Vice Chair at this meeting, but the consensus was to wait for the presence of the full board. Ms. Ready would serve as Chair if elected. Ms. Arflin was interested, but not ready to commit. Two potential new board members were present: Alan Burgess and Halena Wolf. The board welcomed them and each gave a brief description of their background, interests and activities. Alan Burgess graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia in television and film production. He worked in a construction firm in Philadelphia designing and implementing ways of monitoring projects. Mr. Burgess recently moved to South Florida and spoke of his experiences at the Milagro Center in Delray Beach, a cultural center giving art and academic instruction to "at risk" kids. He was now engaged in a startup company, Educate Kids. They had formulated a remediation program for standardized testing and were in the process of 2 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Boynton Beach, Florida January 23, 2007 implementing it in 26 schools in Palm Beach County. Mr. Burgess described himself as a filmmaker, photographer, artist, writer and poet, with a passion for art. Halena Wolf graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and became a china and tabletop giftware designer for large companies such as Lenox. She went on to explore historical restoration in Boston, Providence, and Newport, where she learned many finishing techniques. Ms. Wolf had operated a decorative painting business in Boynton Beach for ten years where she did faux finishes and murals along with some private commissions and portrait work. She was motivated to join the board because she wished to interact with those who shared her interests. D. Dedication to Robert Ensler Ms. Coles-Dobay announced that individuals wishing to make a donation in memory of Mr. Ensler should send them to the Boynton Regional Symphony Orchestra. The board decided to send a letter to the family expressing the board's deepest sympathies as well as appreciation for Mr. Ensler's contribution to the arts and support of the Arts Commission. Ms. Coles-Dobay would draft a letter and circulate it for comments prior to mailing. E. Projects 1. Offices at Bamboo Lane This development was to have an artistic, modern bicycle rack as its contribution to public art. Submissions from the artists were due on January 31. Two board members were needed to sit on the selection panel on February 15. The time and place were to be decided, but Ms. Coles- Dobay would try to schedule it for 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Ms. Ready, Ms. Arflin, and Ms. Moeller expressed interest in serving on the panel. 2. Carolyn Sims Project Update Ms. Coles-Dobay displayed the maquette for this project provided by the artist, Edward Varga. There was much positive comment about the piece. It had symbolic arms of a man, a woman, and a child, reaching out to the community to make a better life, from a base of what appeared to be rays of the sun topped with Florida flora and fauna. The completed piece would be displayed at the Carolyn Sims Community Center. Ms. Coles-Dobay distributed a flyer of scheduled workshops and tours where people could: 1) Watch the artist build the Carolyn Sims Public Art Memorial 2) Name the Carolyn Sims Memorial 3) Write a dedication or poem for the Memorial 4) Visitthe artist's studio Attendance at these tours would: 1) Demonstrate how public art was made 3 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Boynton Beach, Florida January 23, 2007 2) Encourage participation in a public art project 3) Inform of progress of the construction of the Carolyn Sims Community Center The workshops would be filmed for documentary purposes. Field trips would be offered through the Recreation & Parks programs, the Library, the Schoolhouse Children's Museum, and Neighborhood Services. The schools involved in the field trips would be Poinciana Elementary, Galaxy Elementary, and Boynton Beach High School. Ms. Ready suggested adding Forest Park Elementary to the list of schools and asking the school principals to put the information in newsletters so the parents would be informed. She further suggested a video of the work in progress and an informational package could be distributed to the schools, in light of the large class sizes and the small size of the artist's studio. The flyers would be distributed through Neighborhood Services to most of the homeowner associations in the City, to all Recreation & Parks facilities, in the City newsletter, local newspapers, on the Web site, on television, and through a press release(s). C. Eternal Flame Project Update Ms. Coles-Dobay announced the artists responding to the Call on this project would be submitting their complete proposals along with actual maquettes by January 31. On February 15, they would present their concepts to the selection panel in person. The original selection panel had two veterans, Chair Beau Lieu, Heather Spillane, and Vice Mayor Ensler. The Veterans Commission preferred to replace Mr. Ensler with another veteran, possibly Mayor Taylor. The Arts Commission preferred to fill the empty seat with a member of the Arts Commission. Ms. Nubia Richman offered to serve on the selection panel and the board concurred. D. City Hall Beautification At the City's request, Ms. Coles-Dobay offered artistic input on the City's lobby beautification project. The City dedicated $5K for public art and the selection panel could choose from among the many interesting submissions and allocate the money as they deemed fit. The submissions included photography, watercolors, wall sculptures, and ceramics. The selection panel would meet on January 30 at a place and time to be determined. Among the planned renovations, Chair Beau Lieu's turtle sculpture, on loan to the City since 1993, was going to be moved next to the entryway on a raised pedestal that would have a mural around its base and a public art plaque. E. Avenue of the Arts - Timeline & Costs Ms. Coles-Dobay declared the main restriction on the display of public art in the City was the requirement to have all pieces withstand winds of 140 miles per hour. Most of the sites the board had chosen for the nine sculptures were not suitable from that standpoint. They needed the assistance of a structural engineer on the pads. Including the insurance, structural engineering, pouring of the pads, the stipend to each artist for shipping and installation, and plaques, the estimated cost of the project was $38,720.00. 4 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Boynton Beach, Florida January 23, 2007 Sponsorship dollars were needed. A suggestion was made that the Bank of America on Federal Highway might want to be involved with the sculpture near them and any communication with them should include a map so they could readily see the sculpture in question. Ms. Coles-Dobay would speak with Ms. Brookes, because she understood her daughter was a fundraiser. Ms. Cole's niece also worked in fundraising and she would speak with her. In brainstorming, some of the ideas were: A professional fundraiser; radio announcements; have a picture of "your name goes here"; and flood the banks with letters. Ms. Coles-Dobay would also approach the CRA about this. Ms. Coles-Dobay declared in the future, the Arts Commission would have to procure an umbrella insurance policy. F. Heritage Celebration Ms. Coles-Dobay declared the entire month of February was Black History Month nationwide. In Boynton Beach, the event was called the Heritage Celebration. The City and the CRA had contributed money to it to make one special, long weekend, with the Library providing a variety of activities all month long. The big weekend would be Friday, Saturday and Sunday on February 23, 24, and 25. Friday night, February 23, would be the kickoffjVIP night at the Schoolhouse Children's Museum. The board members were invited. Across the street, they would have a speaker's forum where prominent speakers would talk to the public. On Saturday, February 24, there would be activities at the Hester Center all day. They would have dance, bands, art, and basketball tournaments. On Saturday night, Kool and the Gang would give a free concert from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Ocean Avenue. On Sunday, February 25, there would be basketball at the Hester Center. In the afternoon on Sunday, there would be a gospel concert from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Civic Center. Ms. Coles-Dobay declared the Arts Commission's contribution to this event was to have public art on display for the VIP night at the Museum. They would have an art exhibit featuring Andria Heaven and her Best Known Black History Facts, including African American inventions, artwork, and accomplishments of musicians and athletes. They would also have an exhibit under the direction of Katie Barr, the Director of Fine Caribbean Art, specializing in the works of Haitian Artists, Florida's Highwaymen, and the Artists of Eastern Cuba. The work of Jamaican artist Peter Marshall would also be on display. Roslyn and Ike III Powell's Gallery would have an exhibit of Afro-centric fine art including original paintings, color pencil works, mixed media limited edition giclees, prints, sculptures, and African textiles. The City and the CRA wanted to make this a signature event for the City. Ms. Coles-Dobay asked the board to think about the Arts Commission's contribution to this event in 2008. F. Boynton Beach Arts Marketing Materials Ms. Coles-Dobay was working on developing the Web site and the BB1V television opportunity. VII. Public Art Ordinance Ms. Coles-Dobay indicated the first reading had taken place on January 2, 2007 and the second on January 16, 2007. A single-family homeowner tore down a home and rebuilt one that was 5 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Boynton Beach, Florida January 23, 2007 appraised for $339K and had paid $3K+ for an art fee on it. She came before the Commission to complain about it. The Commission voted to refund the money to the applicant and expressed a desire to exclude single-family residences from the Ordinance. Ms. Coles-Dobay stated when properties were purchased along the Intracoastal, torn down and rebuilt as multi- million dollar residences, and the single-family residential aspect was excluded from the Ordinance, the Art in Public Places Program would receive no benefit. The Ordinance was on the agenda for the February 13, 2007 City Commission meeting. VIII. New Business Items A comment was made during the meeting that the Arts Commission should have bylaws, especially if they intended to pursue 501(c)(3) status. They also needed a mission statement. Ms. Coles-Dobay distributed a copy of the City's sign ordinance. A discussion ensued about the relationship between signs and art and the Arts Commission's role. The item might be put on an agenda for discussion in the future. IX. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was properly adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~~CIlkJ Susan Collins Recording Secretary (012407) 6