MINUTES
GREEN BAY PUBLIC ARTS COMMISSION
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
City Hall, Room 604
7:00 a.m.
Members Present: Kent Hutchison, Chair; Cheryl Renier-Wigg, Pooja Weller
Members Excused: Vice-Chair, Matt Bero, Ald. Randy Scannell
Others Present: Chief of Staff Celestine Jeffreys
The meeting was called to order at 7:11 a.m. by Chair, Kent Hutchison. Roll call was taken as noted above.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Approval of the agenda for the January 25, 2017, meeting of the Green Bay Public Arts Commission
Motion by C. Renier-Wigg, second by Pooja Weller to approve. Motion carried.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Approval of the minutes from the January 11, 2017, regular meeting of the Green Bay Public Arts Commission
Motion by C. Renier-Wigg, second by Pooja Weller to approve. Motion carried.
Old Business:
1. Discussion with possible action on the draft application for a letter of support.
Celestine stated this was an outline of what was discussed at the previous meeting. No changes were suggested. Motion by C. Renier-Wigg, second by Pooja Weller to approve the draft application. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. Discussion with possible action on the potential rotating art location collected by GBPAC members.
C. Renier-Wigg began the discussion stating that she had talked with S. Grenier who said no art could be placed in round-abouts due to being a safety issue. He added that some right-of-ways would be difficult such as the bottom of the I-43 exit because approval from the state would be needed. He suggested looking at properties owned by the RDA. Pooja suggested an area in the Olde Main District where buildings had been razed to make way for the trail. This area is near where kayak launching will be. Kent said this is where the Fox River Trail and East River trails connect and the area is owned by the Parks Dept. He said they would need to wait to see where the path will be before placing any pads. Kent also talked with S. Grenier and said his impression was that Steve was alright with placing art in right-of-ways. Cheryl commented that it is dependent on which one we’re talking about. Kent suggested making a 2’x4’ model out of boards and placing it in various 5’x5’ areas, taking pictures and measuring setbacks. Steve stated that DPW does not control some right-of-ways. Celestine said she also talked with Steve.
Cheryl discussed her choices for location; first is at Platten/Shawano at the Ben Ettinger Trail. She said there is a lot of green space owned by Parks. His area is very visible from the street and the trail. Second choice is Mason/Hartung near the East River and bridge where a gazebo is. This property is owned by the RDA and there’s a lot of space. Third is the southeast corner of Baird/Mason near a small park with a lot of trees and this is a very visible area. Fourth is 12th/W. Mason where a log home was taken down and which the RDA owns. She stated there is money to make landscape improvements and it’s a very busy corner.
Kent stated that Mason/Hartung was a favorite area on his list as well. He mentioned an area where a new trail connects the E. River Trail, the Baird Trail and Oak grove Neighborhood. He suggested putting a sign at the 4-way intersection near Anne Sullivan School, which would not be visible from the street, but very visible from the trail.
Celestine stated she likes the idea of high visibility. Pooja inquired about an area near Fisk Park on Dousman. She pointed out the location on a map and said this would be a good reflection of the small homes in the area. Celestine commented that West High School has an IB Art Program which would tie in nicely. Cheryl said there’s a large hunk of green space on Main Street north of Riverside Ballroom which is all city owned; on the northwest corner of Newhall and Main. Pooja commented there would be room to place two pads there and this would make more of a statement. Cheryl added that there is an agreement with the neighborhood not to redevelop the area.
Kent added the triangle section at Whitney Park and the area at Leicht Park on the median between the concrete pole and zigzag sidewalk. Brief discussion on whether the sidewalk goes downward. He again mentioned the area at Mason/Hartung and mentioned a green space on Main Street across from the Hyatt, east of the Main St. ramp. Cheryl commented this property may belong to Schreiber Foods but they can check on it. Kent agreed with Cheryl for placement on Platten/Shawano near the trail on the west side. Pooja also was in agreement with this site and suggested coming up with a route from the west side to the Olde Main District.
Celestine recapped the top suggestions as follows: Near the sign at Whitney Park; the northwest corner of Newhall and Main (possibly 2 pads); Fisk Park at Dousman; Platten/Shawano near the Ettinger Trail; Mason/Hartung near the 4-way intersection; southeast corner of Baird/Mason; Leicht Park between the pole and zigzag sidewalk; 12th/W. Mason; Main Street, east of Main St. Ramp.
Brief discussion on locations on Velp, with Cheryl stating that some spots on Velp are owned by the city. Pooja likes the idea of locations near schools. Cheryl said there’s a lot on Baird and Walnut near where Habitat is building that the city owns and needs something done, with enhancement funds or beautification. Pooja mentioned an area at Elmore and Gray on the west side near the newly redone Atkinson wall. Cheryl commented this is a neighborhood piece and not highly traveled area.
Next steps were discussed with Celestine stating she will divide the suggestions into east and west side, get a large map and individual maps and show the locations.
Motion made by C. Renier-Wigg, second by Pooja Weller to approve the potential rotating art location list collected by GBPAC members. Motion carried.
Cheryl stated the goal is to pick 4 locations from the list at the next meeting.
2. Discussion with possible action on draft GBPAC Rotating Art Program Description.
Kent states that they are just about done with it. Celestine notes that they can see where they left off last and that they are now at the part for “visual performing”. C. Renier-Wigg feels that they should not have performing art as part of the rotating art program. At least for this first phase. Kent states that he and Celestine had a conversation regarding streamlining the other info they talked about, making parameters so people just don’t go crazy. He feels max height should be no more than 15 feet tall and max weight no more than 400 lbs. This should give them a lot of opportunities for pieces. These parameters are agreed upon. The artists would also need to present a site plan. Discussion continues regarding the size requirements. Discussion regarding materials. They need to make sure it’s in the guidelines that the materials used for the displays is safe for the public, weather proof, etc. The commission will be responsible for the footings and maintaining them. The artists will be responsible for maintaining their installations throughout the duration the rotation period. They need to add a clause in the contract regarding the art being maintained. Discussion ensues regarding maintenance and what is the artist’s responsibility. Discussion begins regarding if the artist decides to remove their piece early. It is decided that they will rank the applications and have “runner ups” should this occur. It is also decided that they are not going to require that the artists to provide models of their work. They will however, need to submit sketches or drawings of their work. The sketches would be frontal and birds eye view. Discussion continues regarding the rotating art programs and guidelines/requirements.
Discussion begins regarding creating a rubric for the rotating art program. Items on the rubric would be size, weather proof, appropriateness (offensive or violence), ability to maintain, safety, creativity, etc. Discussion ensues regarding what would be considered inappropriate or too provocative. Some pieces may not be appropriate for places near schools. Decision is made to use the word “thoughtful” instead of appropriate in the language for the application for the rotating art program. They need to make sure to establish boundaries. The hope is that since the applications will go through the commission, then a committee, and finally the Common Council that anything that may be considered offensive may be vetted out. Decision is made to not use private property for the rotating art program.
Discussion begins regarding sales commission for the rotating art program. Celestine states it’s up to the artist to value the art. Racine and Skokie have commission programs. Kent states typical galleries charge 50% commission, which he feels is absurd. Pooja states that The Art Garage takes between 10-30% and they are a non-profit. Kent feels the Commission should be between 5-10%. Celestine feels that is not enough. Their goal is to promote art, not make money though. The goal is to get quality artists to bring their work to Green Bay. Celestine is thinking 10-20%, which would be on par with The Art Garage. The only marketing they will be doing is putting pictures up on the website and providing a link to the artist. Kent would feel better with 8% commission. Pooja suggests 9%. Kent feels they shouldn’t go too high because it could deter artists from coming to Green Bay. Cheryl found info that Skokie, goes on a case by case basis as far as commission. Pooja feels 10% is very low since there is no guarantee that the piece will get sold. She feels the 10% could help with keeping the program going. Discussion ensues regarding the need to collect a commission, how much and how they would go about collecting from the artist. The decision is made to go with a commission of 5% for now, but could be increased at a later date. Collection of the commission will be the Art Coordinator’s responsibility.
Motion made by C. Renier-Wigg, second by Pooja Weller to approve the draft GBPAC Rotating Art Program Description. Motion carried.
3. Discussion with possible action on website request for proposal.
Kent thinks that this is really good. Pooja mentions that they had a discussion on whether or not to let the public vote on projects. She would like to know if they want to have a people’s choice. C. Renier-Wigg thinks it would be a fun project and could turn into a fundraising project. Kent thinks the people choice/public vote could dilute what they are doing. Pooja feels they could do a theme typed project. Discussion ensues regarding doing a people’s choice type project. They need to build it in now to save money on the website. If they don’t use it they don’t have to. At least it would be there. Pooja asks if the donation button works and if it works through the City. At this point they are not sure how that will function. Right now it would be through the City. Pooja will investigate further regarding how the donation button will function and how the funds will run through.
Motion made by C. Renier-Wigg, second by Pooja Weller to approve the Pooja going forward with writing the scope for the website based on the information provided. Motion carried.
4. Discussion with possible action on a draft 2017 budget.
Celestine states that they still don’t have any money or an account. By the next meeting she’ll have a better handle on what they have. They will have $75,000 from the tax money. She does know that with the Coordinator position they will need to pay employee taxes. The position may need to go to Personnel Committee before Council. They will need to budget $20,000 to pay for this position, plus 7.6% for taxes and possibly $5,000 for building the website. At least $5,000 is budgeted for the website. Also, $300 is allocated for each rotating art piece. They still need to allow for branding. Pooja thinks $500 should be enough for branding since they are brand new and there is not a need for re-branding. Discussion ensues regarding the budget. They need to wait until they know how much they have to work with before they budget for the grant program. They need to start fundraising soon.
Motion made by C. Renier-Wigg, second by Pooja Weller to put the budget as discussed into a formal document and present at next meeting. Motion carried.
5. Discuss Annual Grant Program outline.
Celestine hands out information for the members to take, edit and bring back for the next meeting for discussion.
BILLS:
Consideration with possible action on acceptance of financial report and check register as provided.
No financials to approve at this time.
INFORMATIONAL:
Chairperson’s Report and Project Updates.
Since they already discussed the Coordinator position, there is no further business to discuss.
Motion made and carried to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted,
Deanna DeBruler & Mary Haupt