Lawrenceville Arts Commission

LAWRENCEVILLE ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES Tuesday, April 11, 2023 Third Floor GwMA Conference Room 6:00 PM 70 S. Clayton St, GA 30046 Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM, without recognizing a quorum. Approval of Agenda Aura-Leigh Sanders arrived at 6:19 PM. A quorum was recognized at 6:30 PM, after Committee Updates. Motion to approve the agenda was made by Commission Member Walden, Seconded by Commission Member Sanders. Voting Yea: Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Stone-Collins, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes 1. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes Motion to approve the prior meeting minutes was made by Commission Member Chitwood, Seconded by Commission Member Walden. Voting Yea: Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Stone-Collins, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders General Discussion 2. Budget Update Jasmine Billings presented the budget updates. The kinetic sculpture by Anthony Howe will be installed and the budget numbers reflected the remaining budget after the cost of the structure is processed. The supply budget was shown with the most recent expenses and  remaining balance. The cars that the Arts Commission is donating to the Car Show were reflected in these numbers. 3. Committees Update Alicia Chitwood provided an update on Community Outreach. The Arts Commission will use the paintable wooden cars as a donation/sponsorship for Show Your Ride for the Ribbons Car Show, and those have been ordered. Jasmine Billings will meet Alicia and Amber at the Lawn so they can review the supplies on hand. Cups and plates will be provided by the sponsor for this event. The location they had at Boo Fest was an issue due to so many people. With only one tent and a lot of people wanting to paint, people were getting bottlenecked. The group discussed lanterns and the possibility replacing the rocks for lanterns for this event, and using another location at the lawn to provide some more space. They will work with the Event Coordinator to determine their set up. The group discussed the lantern parade, and including it in Boo Fest. As this grows, the lanterns may be an event on their own and further discussion will need to take place to determine how to proceed. Aura-Leigh Sanders arrived at 6:19 PM. It may be possible to have lantern supplies in a local store. The group had previously discussed having a lantern parade in the Spring or Fall, and the Outreach Committee will discuss this event at their next meeting. They will need to determine what supplies are needed and may need to rent out some equipment. Free Comic Book day will be the first event of the year and instead of painting rocks, they discussed handing out coloring sheets and crayons or colored pencils. They will need to determine if an Arts Commission member will need to be present, and will also look at ordering logo'd labels for the crayon boxes. Around the World on September 25th and 26th, Boo Fest, Harvest Fest, Juneteenth were also discussed. Prelude was mentioned, however, with so many people they usually just have food trucks but no other vendors. Passive participation will help keep the Arts Commission visible. Grants and Funding: With the purchase of the kinetic structure, the Arts Commission will have a remaining budget of $63,322. This will effect the work of Grants and Funding, however, they will still be able to allocate $25,000 for Grants and Sponsorships. Once they have an idea of where the budget will land, they can look at increasing the $25,000 amount. The Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has a Façade Grant Program, and the Arts Commission would like to mirror that grant program. Jasmine Billings will look at the document and update the wording to fit the Arts Commission Grant Program, which will be discussed over the next couple of meetings. In order for the program to be fair for the applicants, they will need to have a good grading process. The DDA had 12 applicants, and 10 have received their grants. Those rejected were businesses that had already completed their façade improvements prior to the grant. The applicants have 1 year to complete their project if they are approved but will lose the grant if they did not complete the project in time. The  DDA's program is a reimbursement program so all documentation has to be received in order to qualify for the reimbursement. Aura-Leigh reminded the group that Public Art is not just murals, so they will need to be very strategic about what they are approving. A business owner can present to the Arts Commission can recommend their project, however, the business owner will still need to go through the permitting process with Planning and Development, etc. 4. Community Mural Update Jasmine Billings provided an update on the Community Mural. The artist, Teresa, originally provided a quote for $12,000, but thought she had submitted a quote for $18,000. Jasmine asked her for justification for the increase that was presented to the group. The updated quote is for $20,000 and the group discussed the differences in her proposals. There was concern that she will have another increase, however, she will have to sign a contract, as well as submit itemized receipts for payment. Payment time frame was discussed and it was determined that the contract will provide the payment details, and Legal will have to review the contract. Contract details will need to be determined quickly. Jasmine asked if Teresa will get paid $20,000 total or up to $20,000 based on receipts. Wording in the contract can indicate supplies will be paid up to $2,000, based on receipts. Jasmine will advise Teresa that they are working on the contract. This mural design will be presented to Council at Work Session on April 17, 2023. Motion to approve the increase in the submission for payment to Teresa for up to $20,000 was made by Commission Member Sanders, Seconded by Commission Member Stone- Collins. Voting Yea: Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Stone-Collins, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders 5. Crogan Street Mural Update Jasmine Billings presented an update on the Crogan Street Mural. Jasmine reached out to Leah who was open to submitting for this project, but was not able to do anything until July. Jasmine will clarify with Leah when she will be able to provide a submission. The two submissions were reviewed again. The group would like to get a better understanding on some of the details in Danee's design, and will advise Ayeesha that although her submission was not chosen for this project, they would like to work with her on another project. Motion to request an update to Danee's design for an additional $200 was made by Commission Member Stone-Collins, Seconded by Commission Member Walden. Voting Yea: Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Stone-Collins, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders Other Business Jasmine Billings advised she is working on a list of businesses that would like a mural on their building. The Coke Cola Mural Program would like to come present to the Arts Commission and they will be invited to the next meeting. Jasmine provided an overview of this program to the group. Jasmine advised the group that she will not be available for the July 11, 2023 meeting, and has asked if the meeting could be moved to July 18, 2023. It will be important for the upcoming meetings to have quorums and members are urged to attend. Motion to cancel the July 11, 2023 meeting and have a Special Call meeting on July 18, 2023 was made by Commission Member Walden, Seconded by Commission Member Stone-Collins. Voting Yea: Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Stone-Collins, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders Jasmine will check on the ribbon cutting for the Depot Signs. The headache bars have been missing, but are on order. Citizen Comments Citizen comments will be limited to two (2) minutes per person. The Arts Commission Board Members will not respond to comments. There were no Citizen Comments. Final Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made by Commission Member Stone-Collins, Seconded by Commission Member Walden. Voting Yea: Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Stone-Collins, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders The meeting adjourned at 7:42 PM. Minutes Signature ___________________ Aura-Leigh Sanders, Chairman ___________________ Jasmine Billings, Secretary