Arts Commission

Minutes of the Meeting Regular Meeting, Middletown Commission on the Arts Wednesday, January 24, 2024 7:00pm, Room 208, Municipal Building 245 deKoven Drive, Middletown, CT Hybrid – Held in Person and Via WebEx Commissioners In attendance Also in attendance Sandra Russo-Driska, Chair Arts Office Staff: Anthony Pandolfe, Vice Chair Kisha Michael, Arts Coordinator David Wolfram, Secretary Julia Faraci, Admin. Secy Sari Rosenblatt Ad Hoc, Common Council Members: Pamela Steele Steven Kovach Domenique Thornton Jon Pulino (via Webex) In attendance via Webex Phil Pessina Members of the Public Sharon Riley Charlotte McCoid (via Webex) Gary Wallace (arr: 7:24pm, dep: 7:34pm) Absent: Renee Soares 1) Meeting Call to Order : Meeting called to order by Chair Russo-Driska at 7:05 pm 2) Public Session: no members of the public present 3) Approval of Minutes December 13, 2023  Motion to approve Minutes by Pandolfe, seconded by Rosenblatt. Rosenblatt noted that at the end of the minutes, the “Next Regular Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 25, 2024” should read “January 24”. Russo-Driska, Pandolfe, Wolfram, Rosenblatt, Riley, Wallace, Kovach, voted to approve the minutes as amended; Pulino, Pessina, Steele, Thornton, abstained. 4) Approval of Agenda  Motion to approve Agenda by Steele, seconded by Pandolfe. Kovach said that on the agenda for this meeting, the link to the meeting minutes from the December 13 meeting was incorrect; the Arts Coordinator noted and will correct. Russo-Driska asked to add Executive Session under New Business, item iii. Pessina moved to approve the agenda as amended. Agenda as amended was approved unanimously. 5) Remarks from the Chair – a) Music by Sam Vinci, Music Ambassador, is now the “on hold” music for the City phone system. b) A mural by artist Eddie Rivera has been installed by the Downtown Business District at the old Bob’s building on Main Street. DBD hired Rivera to create another mural behind Melilli Plaza. c) Welcome to new Commissioner Phil Pessina. The Commission is now one Commissioner short of a full roster, and is looking for a Republican or Independent to fill the last seat.  Minutes of the Meeting Regular Meeting, Middletown Commission on the Arts Wednesday, January 24, 2024 7:00pm, Room 208, Municipal Building 245 deKoven Drive, Middletown, CT Hybrid – Held in Person and Via WebEx 6) Old Business a) Staff Report The date for the MCA group photo was proposed for the first week of March, when Commissioner Pessina returns to Middletown. The permanent display case collection will be stored in a locked cabinet in the Arts Office when not on display. A Black History Month display from the collection of Ray Townes is the next temporary display, to be installed January 25. The Music Ambassador event will be next Tuesday, January 30, from 2:00 to 3:30pm. Mr. Vinci will bring other musicians to play with him. The Arts Coordinator will arrange for flowers and refreshments. Pessina moved to approve expenditure of $50 for flowers, seconded by Pandolfe, approved unanimously. The Arts Coordinator has ordered MCA branded pins and mugs. She distributed MCA notepads to Commissioners. Middletown PRIDE sponsorship is on the agenda of the Planning & Projects Subcommittee. Ordinance 44-11 is on the Staff Report, and is on the agenda for discussion, along with Grants. The Bobby Rush concert excursion to the Kate is Thursday, January 25. Seats are still available, and Commissioners were asked to invite interested Middletown residents. The recent Kwanzaa presentation was a success, well-attended and well received. Wesleyan Potters has a new Executive Director. The Arts Coordinator was interviewed recently on Stephan Allison’s River Valley Rhythms radio show. The Buttonwood Tree is struggling. Their board they need to do their work has lost members. They have no Executive Director and they are understaffed. They did not submit a grant application this round. The Arts Coordinator noted that the Buttonwood has been an institution for close to 30 years, citing the “great service, great music, great spirit” it has provided. She asked what the MCA can provide in terms of advice, guidance, and support. Discussion on how the MCA could help them rebuild their board. b) Subcommittee Reports i. Planning & Projects a. Criteria Drafts – Pandolfe noted that edits to the attached criteria can be sent to him by Friday, February 9. He will aggregate them to discuss at the next Planning & Projects meeting, then will submit a solid draft to the full Commission.  Minutes of the Meeting Regular Meeting, Middletown Commission on the Arts Wednesday, January 24, 2024 7:00pm, Room 208, Municipal Building 245 deKoven Drive, Middletown, CT Hybrid – Held in Person and Via WebEx b. Long Hill Estate sent a notice that this year’s Open Air Market will be on Sunday, August 25, from 10:00am to 4:00pm. c. PRIDE sponsorship will be discussed in the next Planning & Projects meeting. d. Pessina mentioned a recent LGBTQ scholarship award and asked whether a similar scholarship to a high school arts student had been considered. To be added to the agenda of the next Planning & Projects meeting. e. Pessina suggested collaboration with the Youth Services Bureau to bring students to the MCA. Riley is working on recruiting students and will report. ii. Public Art – No Report iii. Nominating – No Report. Thornton reported the Committee is looking for a Republican or an Independent to fill the vacant seat. 7) New Business – i. MCA Grants Applications Spreadsheet The Executive Committee will interview Grants applicants, General Operating Support on Tuesday, February 6 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm and Project Support Grants on Wednesday, February 7 from 4:00 to 6:00pm. The interviews will take place at 363 Main Street (Webster Bank building), 2nd floor conference room, courtesy of Trevor Davis. The room has been reserved for February 8 as well, in case of cancellations due to inclement weather. The Executive Committee will report to the full Commission on the grant interviews. The Executive Committee is the grant panel. Commissioners are invited to attend the interviews; they were asked to let Michael know if they can serve as an alternate. Documents have been hyperlinked and Commissioners can contact the Arts Coordinator if they need printed copies. She has developed a rubric based on the questions in the application for Commissioners to use when considering the grants. ii. ORDINANCE NO 44-11 arts office 10.23 Council Member Kovach sponsored the Ordinance concerning the waiver of match requirement for grants for $2,000.00 or less. The Arts Coordinator met with the GCC, who approved it. Once it is approved by Common Council, the MCA will discuss details of how the grant will be administered. iii. Executive Session The Chair stated that the reason that the meeting is moving into Executive Session is to discuss a personnel issue that arose today. At 7:34pm, Steele moved that the Meeting enter Executive session, seconded by Pessina, motion approved unanimously. Member of the public dismissed.  Minutes of the Meeting Regular Meeting, Middletown Commission on the Arts Wednesday, January 24, 2024 7:00pm, Room 208, Municipal Building 245 deKoven Drive, Middletown, CT Hybrid – Held in Person and Via WebEx At 7:57pm, Steele moved that the Meeting leave Executive session, seconded by Pandolfe, motion approved unanimously. Member of the Public did not return to the meeting. 8) Announcements Pessina said that he was available for membership on Subcommittees as needed. Wallace announced that the Community Health Center’s observation of Black History Month will feature a film documentary and discussion of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells were used in medical research. Rosenblatt suggested a reading group tie-in. Pessina asked whether Wesleyan RJ Julia could feature the book, and suggested collaboration with Russell Library. Riley, working on recruiting a Youth Commissioner, has reached out to contacts at Middletown Public Schools given to her by the Arts Coordinator. On January 25, she will be speaking with Cheryl White who runs the GIFTS [Girls Inspired for Total Success] program. Pandolfe suggested contacting Kim Rodriguez and Stephanie Zack. The Arts Coordinator offered to give a presentation to any high school student. Riley proposed that the students write about their interest in being a Commissioner. She wants to have names of students to present to the Commission by the next full meeting. Faraci announced that Diana Moller-Marino has received grant funding for a project conducting video interviews of unhoused people. Faraci announced the passing of two residents active in Middletown arts. Jane McMillan was a founder of Vintage Players. Bob Alexander was a musician. The Chair said that Mr. Alexander’s memorial will be on Saturday. January 27 from 1:00 to 3:00pm at the Alexander home on Washington St. The Arts Coordinator will send condolences to both families. 9) Meeting Adjournment Motion to adjourn by Wolfram, seconded by Steele. Meeting adjourned at 8:09pm. Next Regular Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 28, 2024 at 7:00pm, and will be hybrid. Respectfully submitted, Julia Faraci Admin. Secretary III, Arts & Culture Office CC: Mayor’s office Attachments: Arts Advocacy Award Criteria (PDF) Music Ambassador Criteria (PDF)