Culture, Arts & Pride Commission

CULTURE, ARTS & PRIDE COMMISSION Wednesday, May 16, 2019 12:00 noon Municipal Complex, Committee Meeting Room (3300) 100 Ann Edwards Lane Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 MINUTES Members Present: Bren Romano Monteiro, Chair; Rebecca Gosnell, Ann McGahey, Frank Sonntag, Kathryn Whitaker, Charles Williams Members Absent: Amanda Tadlock Staff Present: Nicole Harvey Ms. Monteiro called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. 1. Approval of Minutes from the March 21, 2019 and April 10, 2019 meetings Ms. McGahey made a motion to approve the March 21, 2019 and April 10, 2019. Ms. Gosnell seconded the motion. All were in favor. 2. Public Comments None 3. Report from Subcommittees a. Green Mount P Ms. Monteiro said that would be Mr. Sonntag and Mr. Williams but she thought they had put a hold on that and asked if that was correct. Mr. Williams said that was correct. Ms. Harvey said that Green Mount P also includes the Civic Pride award.  Culture, Arts & Pride Commission May 15, 2019 Page 2 of 11 Ms. Monteiro said that as everyone was aware, they keep postponing the Civic Pride award due to the weather and were waiting for everyone’s lawns and landscaping to look better. She said she did not think that they had received a lot of submissions. She asked Ms. McGahey if she had photos of some. Ms. McGahey answered in the negative. Ms. Harvey said no photos have been submitted to her. Ms. Whitaker said she did not have photos either, but she had mentioned Home Depot at one point and the tribute that it has to the old Laing Middle School by incorporating some of its bricks. She said she would try to take some pictures. Ms. Monteiro said that she submitted the Dunes West entrance on Highway 41. She asked Ms. McGahey what her submissions were. Ms. McGahey said that hers was the Long Point subdivision entrance at the roundabout but said she was not quite sure if that was maintained by South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) or the Town or their HOA. Ms. Harvey said the roundabout itself was not maintained by the homeowner’s association. She said that would be more the entrance along Needlerush. Ms. McGahey said it would be more the outskirts and said it was all very nice and always looks good all year round. She said another was Belle Hall with the whole neighborhood and Belle Hall Parkway was always nicely landscaped and maintained. She said she had a third one which was Windward Apartment Complex just down from Sky Zone on Wando Park Boulevard. She said they have done a nice job of keeping green space intact. She said they have trails and it is not all built. She said it was nicely planned green space and community space within the complex itself. Mr. Williams said he nominates Brickyard Plantation. He said they have a very appealing entrance. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride Commission May 15, 2019 Page 3 of 11 Ms. Monteiro said the choice now was to go ahead and vote based on one photo and just their description or asked if they would go get photos of them and come back to the next meeting. Ms. Harvey said the nominations are the Long Point subdivision, Belle Hall subdivision, Home Depot, Brickyard subdivision, and the Dunes West subdivision. She asked if anyone was not familiar with any of those areas. Ms. Monteiro said that they do not come to mind clearly as far as what the landscaping looked like. Mr. Sonntag asked if they were picking one. Ms. Harvey answered in the affirmative. She said it was up to the Commission if they wanted to vote at the meeting or did they want her to come back with photos of all of them. Ms. Whitaker asked if any of them had been nominated or awarded before. Ms. Harvey answered in the negative. She said she did not know who the former Pride Commission gave it to, but since CAP was formed in 2013 none of the currently discussed options had received the award. Ms. Monteiro asked if there was a possibility of them doing email and sending it out that way. Ms. Harvey answered in the affirmative. Ms. Monteiro asked if everyone could weigh in that way. Ms. Harvey answered in the affirmative. Ms. Monteiro made a motion to handle the award via email with actual photos of each of the properties. Mr. Williams seconded the motion. All were in favor. Ms. Harvey said she would get photos of all the nominations and email them and then collect the votes if legal counsel confirms this is allowable. Ms. Whitaker said she could handle Brickyard and Home Depot. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride Commission May 15, 2019 Page 4 of 11 Ms. Monteiro said she could handle Long Point and Belle Hall. She asked Ms. McGahey if she could handle hers. Ms. Harvey asked what the apartment neighborhood was. Ms. McGahey said it was called Windward Long Point and said she might grab a Google aerial because it will show the whole development. Ms. Harvey said that the Google image would possibly be an old image. Ms. Monteiro said she could send one current one as well. Ms. Harvey said she could do Dunes West. b. Town Hall Art Ms. Harvey said that the Mayor’s Music and Art reception was very nice and well attended. She said that feedback from community members and the artists who attended was very positive. She said there were a lot of people there who had never been in the building before. She said that Mayor Haynie was happy with the event. Mr. Williams said he thought it was outstanding. He said that everyone was impressed by the art and commended the Town for doing it. Ms. Harvey thanked everyone who was able to make it. She said they will plan to do it regularly when the art is switched out. c. Sculpture Ms. Harvey said the college was at the end of the semester and they should be finishing or have finished the sculptures. She said she has repeatedly asked about the installation for the one at the Jones Center and the library because the bases are sitting there ready to go. She said they are busy finishing the semester and projects. She said that they usually switch them out in June. Ms. Monteiro said they do have the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) sculptures that have been installed at the park. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride Commission May 15, 2019 Page 5 of 11 Ms. Harvey said that they have been installed at Memorial Waterfront Park and the bases have been bricked in. She said that the Public Services crew were amazing in helping to get it done. She shared some photos before the bases were bricked in. She said they should have received their invitation to a reception that would be the next Thursday evening and hoped they could make it. She shared pictures of the turtle, beaver, and eagle. She said people had been stopping and taking pictures of the sculptures. She said it was a fantastic addition to the park. Ms. Monteiro asked if everyone had received the invitation for next week and asked if anyone was going. Mr. Williams said that he was going. Ms. Harvey said it should be a very nice event. d. Art on the Half Shell Ms. Harvey said that all five oysters have been installed. She said that she, Ms. G. M. Whitley, and Ms. Monteiro had a meeting to talk about business sponsorship opportunities. She said that after the new budget year begins on July 1 she will order the additional sculptures to be painted and start recruiting some business participation. She asked if anyone had been to the park to see them. Ms. Gosnell asked what role Ms. Whitley was going to play. Ms. Monteiro said that she was offering whatever help she could give them. She talked about speaking to the Chamber of Commerce and telling them about the program and asking if any of their members would be interested. She said that the spirit of the meeting was her trying to see what she could do to help facilitate the growth of this project. Ms. Harvey shared a photo of the oyster installed the previous Friday. Ms. Monteiro said that Mount Pleasant Magazine was going to do an article on the oyster shells. She said they expressed interest in doing a follow up story with a map that they would do. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride Commission May 15, 2019 Page 6 of 11 e. Traffic Box Art Ms. Monteiro asked if Ms. Harvey was through removing all of the signatures. Ms. Harvey answered in the affirmative and said they had SCDOT approval to proceed. She said she had the permits and the art had been sent to the sign company that creates the wraps. She said they have to work around heat and weather, but they have to be installed by June 30. f. Paint the Town Ms. Gosnell said that looking at the minutes there was a conversation with Mr. Wright. She said she did not get anything about that. She said they had two concept submissions with one from Mr. Quintin Chaplin and Mr. David Boatwright. She said she spoke with Mr. Boatwright and expressed that they wanted to follow through with a mural that was not fire centric on the fire department. He said that was fine and to let him know. She said that they need a larger pool of people driving this program as she did not have the time to do it by herself. She said she would like to form a committee to work on this and it could be members of Culture, Arts & Pride (CAP) along with mural artists and businesspeople in Mount Pleasant so they can get a lot more energy, ideas, and progress being made. She said she needed to request approval of it in a motion from the Committee to form a work committee to implement the Paint the Town initiative. Ms. Monteiro asked how that would work and asked if Ms. Gosnell would lead that committee and if decisions would be made on that committee or would they come back to CAP. Ms. Gosnell said she was looking for a directive. She said that with her company so busy she does not have the time that it takes to drive this process. She would like to have someone from CAP co-chair the committee with her and she would be there as often as possible. She said if they continue to wait on her then it was not going to happen. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride Commission May 15, 2019 Page 7 of 11 Ms. Monteiro said that Mr. Sonntag was on the Committee and asked if Ms. Whitaker would be on it. Ms. Gosnell said she thought they had two cycles of funding and thought they had $48,000. Ms. Harvey said they have $24,000 until June 30. Ms. Gosnell asked how they could protect that. Ms. Harvey said something had to be completed before June 30 to be paid for in this fiscal year. Ms. Gosnell said they need to be creative about rescuing that revenue. Ms. Monteiro asked if it had to be used for this specific project. Ms. Gosnell said it had to be as it was approved. Ms. Harvey said the application was written as community art projects and specified public art installations. Ms. Gosnell asked if the money had to be designated or did checks have to be cut. Ms. Harvey said purchase orders had to be approved and the work had to be finished by June 30 and the checks cut by mid-July. Ms. Gosnell said that has been her complaint about this the whole time because they are about to lose the money because they could not get through the legal aspects. Ms. Harvey said that the legal part had been solved months ago but there had been delay in what they are doing and how. Mr. Sonntag asked which artist was ready. Ms. Monteiro said they have submissions for the one venue which was the fire house. Ms. Harvey said the fire house and the Jones Center are both ready to be painted when submissions are selected. Ms. Gosnell said they had four including the public buildings, the salon, and GDC as they have indicated interest in participating. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride Commission May 15, 2019 Page 8 of 11 Ms. Harvey said she thought GDC was going to do their own. Ms. Monteiro asked how many muralists they had. Ms. Harvey said they had two apply and they are awaiting direction from the Commission. She said that Mr. Chaplin emailed her that day and is ready. Ms. Gosnell said that Mr. Boatwright and Ms. Kris Manning would be ready to go. She said that Mr. Philip Hyman would be ready to go. Mr. Williams asked if the Commission would have the final say in whether to accept a proposal. Ms. Harvey answered in the affirmative. Ms. Gosnell said she was thinking about not traditional mural sites but small effects to public spaces such as on the side of a building or post at Waterfront Park. The commissioners discussed the shadow art they had seen. Ms. Harvey said Ms. McKenzie Provost put a lot of time and effort into putting together a master list. She said they have a good list of potential Paint the Town people and they could reach out to them again. Ms. Gosnell said they should get those people together in the next ten days and tell them to pick a site that they would like to paint, ask site owner permission and get rolling. Mr. Sonntag asked if they could add Kris Manning and John Wright. He asked how much money was available. Ms. Harvey said it was $24,000. Ms. Sonntag asked what the cost of each would be. Ms. Harvey said they put in the application that would be decided per project. She said she asked for them to include a budget in the application. Ms. Monteiro said she wants to caution getting in situations where they are making deals. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride Commission May 15, 2019 Page 9 of 11 Ms. Gosnell said that they could do a base rate calculated by price per square foot. Ms. Harvey asked if they want to add that to the application. Ms. Gosnell said they need to get together and meet. g. It’s Raining Art Ms. Harvey said they have the stencils and they need to schedule a time to install. Ms. Monteiro said that Mr. Sonntag has taken over as the chair for this. She asked if they could also install them at the Farmers Market. Ms. Harvey answered in the affirmative. Ms. McGahey asked if they had completed all the categories, they had set out to do. Ms. Monteiro answered in the negative. She said they had the poems, and this was the silhouetted art, and the third was to be song lyrics but there had been some discussion about how or if that would work. h. Marketing Ms. McGahey said they now have an Instagram account. She said they need to establish a schedule of their posts between Facebook and Instagram. i. Emerging Arts Ms. Monteiro said they had the Mayor’s Music and Art Program, which is kind of a sister project between the Mayor and CAP. She said the past Monday there was an event that was a thank you to the Town of Mount Pleasant. She said CAP should consider doing something in Council Chambers such as music. She said they spoke with Mr. Gergick about the Wando auditorium and booking some dates for some music or performing arts. Ms. Whitaker said that in their meeting they had discussed they do focus a lot on the arts and not as much on the culture and pride. She Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride Commission May 15, 2019 Page 10 of 11 said she was offering to lead a new subcommittee if they needed another one that was either culture or pride. Ms. Monteiro said that was a great idea. Ms. Whitaker said it would not necessarily fall into that because it was performing arts. Ms. Monteiro said they probably do need a subcommittee where there was some movement towards those parts of their mission. She said they could call it Culture. 4. New Business Mr. Williams said he was putting out a digital newspaper two or three times a week to approximately 200 people. He said he was asking if they have anything from their business or from the Commission to send a release and he would publish it. He said it was called Mount Pleasant Journal. Ms. Harvey said he should send a link to all on the Commission. Ms. Gosnell said she and her staff went to Greenville to expand their booking portfolio. She thought they need to have a conversation with Mayor Haynie about pushing an art agenda in Mount Pleasant. Ms. Monteiro said there was a meeting of the Recreation Committee that had art information provided by the College of Charleston. She said they suggested that the Town needs an arts venue. She said that the three Council Members that were there had interest but there was no movement. She said she did not feel anything would come from that study that the Town of Mount Pleasant paid for. She thought they should meet with the Mayor about more investment in the arts and how CAP can support the initiative. She said that what that study highlighted for her was that Mount Pleasant focuses a lot on sports but needs more focus on arts. She said similar towns have venue spaces that are open, active, and well supported. Mr. Williams said it was in the Master Plan to have a performing arts center. Ms. Monteiro said they discussed a place to have something like that. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride Commission May 15, 2019 Page 11 of 11 Ms. Harvey said they had mentioned the Rifle Range Road property that the Town and the county bought together, which is a tract of land between Hamlin and Six Mile and Rifle Range and Highway 17. She said neither entity has money earmarked for developing that property yet. She said there are some conceptual drawings. Ms. Gosnell said a venue was probably ten years away. She said they still need to build an active arts department within the Town so when they get a venue, they have somebody in place to manage it. Ms. Monteiro said they probably need to meet with the Mayor. Mr. Sonntag said he would like to be a part of that. Ms. Monteiro said they had not responded to the Mount Pleasant Artist Guild on their Fine Arts Festival. Ms. Harvey said they need to meet to address some things. Ms. Gosnell asked about a venue. Ms. Harvey said they wanted two or three days at Memorial Waterfront Park. She said her item for new business was the report to Council which she will email to them. She said they added the CAP Facebook page as a cohost for the Sweetgrass Festival. She said it would be July 13 at Memorial Waterfront Park from 10 to 3 p.m. She would like to invite CAP to have an informational table set up at the event if they would like to. Ms. Monteiro said she understood they traditionally skip the July meeting and asked if they agreed. Ms. Gosnell said it would depend on the June meeting for Paint the Town. Ms. Harvey said they traditionally skip one summer month. 5. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:07 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Karen Bedenbaugh Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com