Arts Commission

Amended Minutes of the Meeting Wednesday, June 28, 2023, 7:00 PM Room 208, Municipal Bldg. 245 deKoven Drive, Middletown, CT Hybrid – To Be Held Both In-Person and By WebEx In attendance Also in attendance Absent Lee Godburn, Chair Kisha Michael Pam Steele, Vice Chair Charlotte McCoid (Arts Coordinator) Sari Rosenblatt Sandra Russo-Driska Julia Faraci (Admin. Secy) Kate Ten Eyck David Wolfram Ed McKeon, Common Council Mike Marino, Common Council In attendance via Webex: Members of the Public: Domenique Thornton, Secy. Sharon Riley Anthony Pandolfe 1. Call to Order: Meeting called to order by the Chair at 7:15 PM. Remote attendees attended through a laptop connection due to technical errors on Webex 2. Public Session: none 3. Approval of Minutes: May 24, 2023 Meeting  Motion to approve Minutes by Russo-Driska, seconded by McCoid, passed unanimously with no discussion. 4. Approval of Agenda:  Motion to approve Agenda by Wolfram, seconded by McCoid, passed unanimously with no discussion. 5. Remarks from the Chair – no remarks 6. Old Business – A. Staff Report – no report. Michael reported that Fireworks is on Saturday. Circus staff is training this week, and the program is starting on Monday. B. Committee reports – The Arts Coordinator reminded all Committees to meet. i. Planning and Projects – no report. Committee Chair Pandolfe noted a last minute meeting cancellation but stated the Committee’s work is in a good place. Next meeting will be on July 18th at 5:00 pm. Godburn, as Commission Chair, thanked the Committee for their work on Juneteenth, PRIDE, and Make Music Day. He recommended ways to make the PRIDE booth more visible next year. He urged Planning & Projects to become more involved in support of Juneteenth celebration, now that procedure is in place for PRIDE. ii. Public Art - no report  Amended Minutes of the Meeting Wednesday, June 28, 2023, 7:00 PM Room 208, Municipal Bldg. 245 deKoven Drive, Middletown, CT Hybrid – To Be Held Both In-Person and By WebEx Godburn suggested that increased signage about Middletown events would increase visibility in the MCA’s display in the window of Middletown Adult Ed on Main Street. He recommended asking Cromwell about their variable signage. Jim Misenti is the contact for the keys to the window. iii. Nominating Committee – no report iv. Grant Review Subcommittee The Subcommittee, under the Executive Committee, will remain on the Regular Meeting agenda. The Executive Committee will not meet for this purpose unless the Arts Office states a need to do so. 7. New Business A. Nominating Committee i. Executive Committee – The following slate was proposed and will be brought before the full Commission for a vote at the July Meeting: Chair: Sandra Russo-Driska Vice Chair: Anthony Pandolfe Secretary: David Wolfram 8. Announcements Kate Ten Eyck, whose term is ending, could not attend this meeting. She forwarded a letter to the Commission which Secretary Faraci read aloud to the Commission. The letter was accompanied by photos of artwork from the “Mosaics on Main” currently in the Irreplaceable Artifacts storefront on Main Street. Russo-Driska commented that the artwork is “phenomenal” and that the Downtown Business District is looking forward to more collaborations. Michael acknowledged the contributions of Commissioners McCoid and Godburn, whose terms are also ending, calling them “powerful forces”, and noting that their “imprint will always live” in the Commission. 9. Adjournment Motion to adjourn by Russo-Driska, seconded by McCoid. Meeting adjourned at 7:42 PM. Next Regular Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 26, at 7:00 PM. Attachments: Mosaic Project photos ; Dear CommissionersKTenEyck Respectfully submitted, Julia Faraci Admin. Secretary III, Arts & Culture Office