Arts Commission

Arts Commission Minutes City of Bellingham, Washington Tuesday 6:00 PM September 12, 2023 Mayor's Boardroom & Zoom https://meetings.cob.org Commission members Present: Amy Chaloupka; Kate Clark, Tami Landis, Paul George, Eric Shew, and Jody Bento Commission Members Absent: Staff Members Present/ Presenters: Shannon Taysi, PCDD, Mike Olinger, PW, Carol Rofkar, PW and David Heck, RMC Architects, Birchwood Neighborhood Representative Joy Zoester Call to Order The Arts Commission meeting was called to order by the Chair at 6:00 PM. Agenda Items Public Meeting 1. Phase II of the PW Operations Complex Carol Rofkar described the project. Public Works will be embarking upon renovations to the PW Operations campus including a new 2 story main PW administration building and detached south vehicle barn. The intended approach would be to focus the artwork on the "public facing" administration building where it will be the most visible/accessible to the public. The anticipated percent for arts funding is $240,000 with an additional $25,000 possible if we include the required percent for Arts which is associated with the PW Fleet Shop roof replacement. For the Phase two PW project they are suggesting consolidating into one interior application and possibly one exterior application located at the new Phase 2 Admin building primary building entry lobby. Carol Rofkar added RMC Architects will be leading the project including the management of the artist and procurement of the artist. To date they architects have reached out to three artist/artist teams that are on the Seattle artist roster. Shannon Taysi said the purpose of this meeting today was for the Commission to provided a recommendation on the approach of including artwork in the main lobby area of the new building and diverting the fleet shop funding into this artwork procurement as well. The Commission expressed concern that artist/artist teams have been identified without a formal process. It was discussed the advantage of doing an request for qualifications process to identify the artists/artists teams. The reasoning behind this approach is to cast a wide web, particularly given the amount of money for this artwork. After further discussion it was agreed that PW staff and the architects would work with Shannon Taysi on an RFQ and then a process to get to the selected artist/artwork. The Arts  Commission will be involved in those phases necessary as they occur. As far as combining the fleet building funds with the funds for Phase II there was no objection to this proposal. The Commission voted unanimously to accept this proposal to move forward with an RFQ as well as combining the fleet project funds with the Phase II funds. 2. Woburn Percent for Art Project There will be a new project at the Parks and Recreation Maintenance Facility that triggers the Percent for Art Program. Staff has determined the best location for artwork would be the fence along Old Woburn. Carol Rofkar presented the drawings of a future fence and retaining. PW has contacted an artist who provided some ideas for an art fence. The Commission felt again, there should be a broader process for selecting the artist. Carol Rofkar clarified they hadn’t hired this artist but were getting ideas from them. The Commission felt the retaining wall the fence sits on appears to be a better location for artwork. There was a discussion regarding a potential mural. Shannon Taysi said the City is hesitant to have too many public art installations utilizing the percent for arts fund to be paint projects which tend to be more temporary than permanent. The Commission suggested some sort of texture or something that is attached to the wall. PW said the wall will be able to handle various applications once completed. It was recommended to pursue the next steps with artwork until after the fence and wall were constructed. The Commission voted unanimously to the retaining wall being the appropriate location for future artwork. 3. Cordata Neighborhood Sign Second Review Shannon Taysi on behalf of the Cordata Neighborhood presented the revised design to the Commission. She said it appears they have integrated the input the Commission provided to them at a previous meeting. The Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the final artwork design. 4. Birchwood Neighborhood Sign Second Review Joy Zoester presented the Birchwood Neighborhood signs with the revised design to the Commission. They have integrated the input the Commission provided to them at a previous meeting. The Commission liked the revised design. They preferred for the smaller parks signs that the QR code be the large version versus the small version however, feel if the community and the Parks Board like the smaller QR code, that would be acceptable as well. The Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the final artwork design. Other Business 1. Public Comment Period 2. For the Good of the Order and Announcements