Keep League City Beautiful Citizen Committee

Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Keep League City Beautiful Citizen Committee 6:00 PM The meeting was called to order at 6:03 PM by Todd Parker. Present were Frank Zgonc, Jill Reason, Jackie Liddell, Lisette McClung (arrived at 6:05 PM), Richard Williams, Dave Bowman, Todd Parker, and Casey Richard. Also present for the meeting was Director of Communications and Community Engagement Sarah Osborne and Parks and Cultural Services Coordinator John Orsag. A motion to approve the minutes from the February 6 meeting was made by Richard Williams and seconded by Dave Bowman. All present agreed to approve the minutes. Osborne, Orsag, and Richard Williams then gave an update about the FeatherFest Art Event that will be held in League City during the upcoming 2024 Galveston FeatherFest. This event will feature 100 bird paintings to be created by local artists and installed at the Civic Center’s Public Art Gallery in April during Spring Migration. There have been 109 artists that have picked up a canvas and 18 have been completed and returned to the office. Some other important items that were discussed were the following: - Richard Williams mentioned that one of the display panels has been completed for the show. - Orsag said that a reminder email will go out this week for all the artists to return their finished bird canvasses. - Osborne said that she has obtained the sponsorship for the wine and that she will be working on a flyer invite for the April 18 event as well. - Todd Parker mentioned that he will photograph all the bird canvasses after the March 25 deadline. Todd Parker then led a discussion about Saturday Jazz Nights. He noted that the first event was a huge success. There was a large attendance for the lecture and the concert. 120 individuals registered for the lecture and 90 showed up. It was also estimated that there were over 600 in attendance for the concert. He said that there were some minor issues with lighting and sound, but KTUS will bring their soundboard and lighting from here on out. The next lecture and concert will be held on March 23. So far there are 34 signed up for the lecture. Osborne next talked about the Traffic Box Art Contest. City Matters went out to the public and it showed all 10 winners. John is getting bids from vendors on wrap costs and installation. The Traffic Department will give us an update on where the traffic boxes will be located. Todd Parker suggested that next time we pick the winners that we search Google images to check for copyright issues. Osborne then gave an update on City Art Projects. She mentioned that the large mural at Lynn Gripon Park at Countryside has been completed by Doug Hiser. This mural is under the bridge and faces Clear Creek. The League City Public Garden mural has been completed at Hometown Heroes Park. There is still work to be done on the other wall, but the mural looks fabulous. The group was then updated about the large building mural for the shopping center located on the corner of I-45 and FM 518. The owner of the shopping center has approved the final design. Work on the mural will start at the end of April or the beginning of May. Orsag next gave the group an update about nature and conservation projects and events. The Great American Cleanup was held at the Kilgore/Davis parkland site on March 2. Over 30 volunteers showed up for the event and more than 600 pounds of trash/debris was picked up and removed from the location. On March 5, the League City Garden Club met at the Nature Center to help clean out the Pollinator Gardens to get them ready for the Spring season. It was also noted that the Nature Center is still closed at this time due to a leak in the waterline. Orsag then mentioned the following upcoming items and events: - We received a $600 grant from the Native Plant Society of Texas to purchase native pollinator plants for the pollinator gardens at the Nature Center. - Benoit Prairie Preserve Workday: Wednesday, April 3, we will work with volunteers from the local Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists to remove invasive species on the property. - Earth Day: Monday, April 22, we will hand out native trees and plant seedlings to the public at the Library.  - Keep Texas Waterways Clean: Saturday, May 11, we will host a volunteer cleanup event at the Nature Center along Clear Creek. - Certified Music Friendly Texas Community Program: Working on a petition to submit to the Texas Music Office to get the process started and to host a workshop. - Canvus: Is a company that makes park products (benches, picnic tables, planters) out of recycled wind turbine blades and it would be an interesting item to place in some of our Parks and Hike and Bike Trails (products can be painted with artwork as well). Some other nature and conservation items of interest that were discussed were the following: - Keep Texas Beautiful recertification application has been completed and submitted. - Scenic City recertification application is being worked on. - Bay Area Plant Exchange Plant Swap will be held on Saturday, April 13, in the Civic Center parking lot. - Eagle Scout candidates are working on some proposed nature/conservation Eagle Scout Projects: one is for a Chimney Swift Bird Tower, and another is for recycled fishing line containers. Osborne then led a discussion on the Ghirardi House Artist in Residence Program. A meeting was held with some City staff, and it was determined that the Facilities Department would have to pay for all the improvements to the Ghirardi House. Right now, they are trying to determine how to pay for those improvements. This item will be discussed in detail over the next few months and several meetings will be needed to cover all the aspects of the program. Richard Williams then talked about an idea for a future Art Gallery in late 2024. He wants to create an Art Gallery featuring a Veteran's Exhibit. Richard went and talked to a group of 30+ veterans at a Transitions Plus event at a local church. The group was excited about the idea, and they talked about what they would want to show at the Art Gallery. Several members of the group then had comments to share. Dave brought up the idea of offering discounts to people who are members of the League City Patrons of the Parks and Arts Foundation for certain events and programs. Richard told the group that Clay Leonard from UHCL wants to get involved with the White Linen Night Event and that he also would like to be on the League City Patrons of the Parks and Arts Foundation Board. The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 PM.