Museums and Cultural Arts Commission Meeting

MINUTES COLTON HALL MUSEUM AND CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION Monday, June 23, 2014 4:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBER, FEW MEMORIAL HALL OF RECORDS MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Commissioners Present: Dias, Evans, Greenwald, Marohn, Wojtkowski Commissioners Absent: Ruhnke, Schneider Ex-Officio and Staff Community Services Director Kim Bui-Burton, Museums, Members Present: Cultural Arts and Archives Manager Dennis Copeland, Recording Secretary Teresa Nash Ex-Officio Commissioners are non-voting members, appointed pursuant to MCC § 2-11. CALL TO ORDER CONSENT ITEMS Approval of Minutes 1. Monday, May 19, 2014 Action: Approved with correction by Commissioner Greenwald (5-0-2, Ruhnke, Schneider absent). ***End of Consent Agenda*** PUBLIC COMMENTS None. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS & STAFF COMMENTS 2. Receive Museum and Cultural Arts Division Activity Report - May 2014 Action: Report received. Museums, Cultural Arts and Archives Manager Copeland noted the “Talking History” Series program for Museums Month was “When the KKK Came to Monterey”; attracted an engaged audience due to the subject matter. He thanked the Commissioners who attended and noted the challenge of keeping Colton Hall Museum events “branded” when they are held elsewhere. Manager Copeland said the news reporter covering the talk did highlight that this was a Colton Hall Museum program in his article. He reported that Colton Hall Museum has been short- staffed since mid-May and thanked other staff who have been helping out. Manager Copeland also noted the passing of Dorothea (Dotte) Sallee, a longtime (retired) staff member at Colton Hall Museum whom he had the good fortune of knowing since 1998, stating “No one was kinder, more generous…she loved Monterey’s and Colton Hall’s history; we will all greatly miss her – she was the Grand Lady of Colton Hall.”  Colton Hall Museum and Cultural Arts Commission Minutes Monday, June 23, 2014 Community Services Director Bui-Burton also remarked on the loss of Dotte Sallee. She reported the next Alvarado Gallery artist event will feature former Commissioner Susan Theodore. She and Manager Copeland noted the vandalism to one of the Cannery Row Workers Shacks; staff has determined no damage was done to the artifacts and nothing was removed. Manager Copeland noted that a window was replaced and staff are looking at upgrading the alarm system. Director Bui-Burton reported the City Council approved the Fiscal Year 2014-2015 budget on June 17 , with the NIP and CIP budgets to be reviewed on July 1. PUBLIC APPEARANCE New Business 3. Receive Information on Environmental Determination (CEQA) Statements in Commission Agenda Reports Action: Report received. Museums, Cultural Arts and Archives Manager Copeland noted that Principal Planner Kim Cole had a conflict and will be available to report on CEQA at the July Commission meeting. Commissioner Wojtkowski said “This staff report is a perfect example of not needing a CEQA review because 4 out of 5 of our reports are informational only, we should only have CEQA for an action item.” He expressed that the Commission does not need two paragraphs of CEQA information for a non-project item; that CEQA language should be on land use items and asked that his comments be passed to the Planning Department and City Attorney. Commissioner Dias agreed and does not feel we need to have all this information on staff reports. Manager Copeland stated that Principal Planner Cole will come to the next Commission meeting to explain CEQA noticing. The item was continued to that meeting. 4. Receive an Update Report on a Colton Hall ADA Assessment Study Action: Report received. Museums, Cultural Arts and Archives Manager Copeland reported the Colton Hall ADA assessment study was not included in this year’s NIP request; staff plans to apply to the Community Foundation for Monterey County grant funding and will provide a draft of the grant application for Commission approval in July. He noted the deadline to apply is August 1. Community Services Director Bui-Burton noted the Colton Hall assessment study will coordinate with the City’s ADA study and the parking study so there is not a duplication of efforts. Commissioner Dias stated the Community Foundation has been very generous with us and inquired if there are other sources for funding. Director Bui-Burton said staff plan to seek funding in phases, starting with a study, and noted that federal funding has been reduced and grant processes are more competitive. She also noted that grants to local organizations that have interest in this area may be more successful. Commissioner Wojtkowski said parking and access to the second floor could be two phases of the study. Colton Hall Museum Cultural Art Commission Meeting Minutes Monday, June 23, 2014 2  Colton Hall Museum and Cultural Arts Commission Minutes Monday, June 23, 2014 Commissioner Evans inquired if there are any ADA advocate groups in the area that could help in a positive way with ADA access issues. Manager Copeland stated we need a consulting firm that is very knowledge and expert on historic buildings and ADA issues. Commissioner Dias inquired if the First Theater remodel is making the building ADA accessible. Manager Copeland stated he believes they are planning to install a ramp for access on the back side of the building. Commissioner Wojtkowski inquired if we’ll still have access to upstairs of Colton Hall during this period of getting grants; staff noted that the City Attorney’s opinion is to not have events upstairs at this time. Commissioner Wojtkowski asked where the reenactment will be held this year. Manager Copeland said they are doing some research on alternate locations and will hopefully know by the end of the summer. Commissioner Evans suggested using a jumbo-tron in front of Colton Hall for people who cannot make it upstairs. Commissioner Dias agreed that’s a good idea, and that word of mouth from visitors helps spread information about Colton Hall Museum. 5. Receive Report from the Strategic Plan Subcommittee Action: Report received. Museums, Cultural Arts and Archives Manager Copeland reported the subcommittee met and reviewed the attached current plan and the recommended new plan. Community Services Director Bui-Burton noted on Attachment 2, Goal 1D, the exploration to create a non-profit 501C3 organization for funding support of City cultural arts, and Goal 1E, that artwork would have to be moved out of the Conference Center and the Commission may want to explore other places to display art. Commissioner Marohn stated fundraising is a major push on his end; people are more willing to give to non-profits and you can set up donations on a monthly basis, which raises more money. He said this will help with concerts, artwork, etc. He said being a non-profit is one of the greatest tools for fundraising, and it also makes us eligible for family trust funds. Commissioner Wojtkowski inquired if this competes with the Old Monterey Foundation non- profit’s art programs. Director Bui-Burton replied that this would need to be researched. Commissioner Marohn said the subcommittee will create a draft plan for developing a non-profit and bring it back to a full commission for review. Commissioner Greenwald said a non-profit would need continuity. Commissioner Marohn stated there would be community members and commissioners on the board; when developing terms of office would seek people who want to be involved on a long-term basis. Commissioner Dias said it could be set up similar to the Friends of the Library non-profit organization. Director Bui-Burton noted that the current Goal 2 should not be part of the strategic plan because it is mainly annual administrative duties. She said the subcommittee will meet again with staff and recommend Goal 2 be removed. Colton Hall Museum Cultural Art Commission Meeting Minutes Monday, June 23, 2014 3  Colton Hall Museum and Cultural Arts Commission Minutes Monday, June 23, 2014 Commissioner Wojtkowski suggested the Pacific Biological Laboratory continue on a regular format and set certain days for tours. Director Bui-Burton said staff will review the statistics and revise if needed. Commissioner Marohn said this draft strategic plan is a skeleton approach to include general information to see the whole picture and then we can define more information for each goal. Commissioner Dias said she is a big fan of signs; the Monterey Bay Sanctuary signs explain things and she would like to see our signs done in a similar way. It’s a good way to engage people more in Monterey history. She said the Cannery Row signs are great and the murals are really nice; there’s so much rich history there and people don’t see it. Manager Copeland agreed we need to extend the interpretive panels beyond the breakwater; people are always reading them and taking pictures. Manager Copeland reviewed Goal 4 and noted a review needs to be done of the whole Monterey region to see where Museums and Cultural Arts Division would fit in that environment and how to best promote our art and history. Commissioner Evans stated the Commission will get a revised edition at their next meeting and, if approved, the Chair will look at the goals and then create subcommittees. Commissioner Wojtkowski inquired if the City Council receives the plan. Director Bui-Burton stated the Council does not need to approve the plan, but they will receive it as information. Commissioner Wojtkowski asked if we go forward with creating a 501C3 organization does the Council need to review and approve. Director Bui-Burton stated that a 501C3 would be a separate organization from the City. 6. Approve Acquisition of Colton Hall Diorama Action: The Colton Hall Museum and Cultural Arts Commission approved the acquisition of Carol Keyes’ Colton Hall Diorama (5-0-2, Ruhnke, Schneider absent). Museums, Cultural Arts and Archives Manager Copeland reported that artist Carol Keyes created a diorama of Colton Hall and she wishes to donate it to the City. Ms. Keyes was selected for an art exhibit in the Alvarado Gallery and this diorama was part of her exhibit in 2009. He said we already have a potential temporary location for the diorama in the Housing and Property Management office. Commissioner Wojtkowski suggested it should go in Colton Hall. Manager Copeland said it may be moved to Colton Hall in the future; if it is determined whether the model fits the current interpretive planning for Colton Hall Museum. Commissioner Evans said another possible location would be in the Conference Center. Manager Copeland said that may be a home for it, but noted that the Monterey Conference Center (MCC) is also going to be doing a major renovation in the near future. Commissioner Evans said maybe we can find a more permanent place at the MCC after the renovations are done; it may spark some interest for people to come visit Colton Hall. Director Bui-Burton stated the PBL model was located at the MCC but it has been relocated because it was moved too much, due to changing conference needs, and was not secure enough. Commissioner Wojtkowski noted the Housing and Property Management office doesn’t get a lot of public use; it would be nice to see the diorama in a place that has more public use. Colton Hall Museum Cultural Art Commission Meeting Minutes Monday, June 23, 2014 4 Colton Hall Museum and Cultural Arts Commission Minutes Monday, June 23, 2014 Commissioner Dias said she loves the idea of locating the diorama some place where it could generate traffic to Colton Hall. She knows space is at a premium at the MCC; maybe part of the plan could be an interpretive walk to tell visitors to come to Colton Hall. On a motion by Commissioner Marohn, seconded by Commissioner Dias, and carried by the following vote, the Colton Hall Museum and Cultural Arts Commission approved the acquisition of Carol Keyes’ Colton Hall Diorama: AYES: 5 COMMISSIONERS: Dias, Evans, Greenwald, Marohn, Wojtkowski NOES: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: 2 COMMISSIONERS: Ruhnke, Schneider COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Greenwald said that Malin Lager currently has an exhibit at the Monterey Museum of Art and she does art that looks like painting that was created on a sewing machine; it is truly phenomenal and she is doing something that is really quite extraordinary. He encouraged everyone to visit this exhibit. Commissioner Wojtkowski noted there is a new Sister City Park sign on the Recreation Trail but there is nothing there yet. Director Bui-Burton said one possibility is to have some artwork from Sister Cities placed in the park. Commissioner Dias said this was a really good meeting and invited the commission and staff to capture this energy to implement some of the things we talked about and hopes we follow through. Commissioner Marohn said the plan is coming together and it’s great to see everyone’s interest; we will need that interest to keep it going. Commissioner Evans thanked Dennis for the email regarding Dorothea Sallee and said she was an important element of Colton Hall for such a long time and suggested we could put up a plaque somewhere around Colton Hall noting her 30 years as a volunteer. NEXT MEETING Monday, July 28, 2014 ADJOURNMENT Vice Chair Evans adjourned the meeting at 5:18 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Dennis Copeland, Manager Robert Evans, Vice Chair Museums, Cultural Arts and Archives Colton Hall Museum & Cultural Arts Commission Colton Hall Museum Cultural Art Commission Meeting Minutes Monday, June 23, 2014 5