Public Arts and Culture Advisory Council

PUBLIC ARTS & CULTURE ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING SUMMARY August 27, 2015 The first meeting of the Public Arts and Culture Advisory Council was held on Thursday, August 27, 2015 at the Niles Historical and Cultural Center, 8970 N. Milwaukee Avenue. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chair Lindsay Brubaker. Members present: Chair Lindsay Brubaker – Niles Park District Janet Spector Bishop – School District 63 Michael Crisci – Niles Historical Society Mary Dowd Demas – Artist Debi Gajewski – Artist James Kozak – VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Susan Lempke – Niles Public Library Carol Luc – Artist Rossana Macejak – Niles Sister Cities Jonathan Mazur – Artist Katie Schneider – Niles Chamber of Commerce and Industry Staff present: Mayor Andrew Przybylo Trustee George D. Alpogianis Village Manager and Project Manager Steven Vinezeano Staff Liaison Cathy Spadoni. Also present: Steven Ostrander – Senior Planner at CMAP (Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning) Members absent: Ericka Stoor-Burning - Artist I. Introductions All members introduced themselves, described their backgrounds and indicated how they can contribute to the Council. Mayor Przybylo noted that this council was founded in answer to the Village of Niles Comprehensive Land Plan’s call for an initiative for arts and culture. He encouraged everyone to work together to make our programs bigger and better. Trustee Alpogianis spoke of the importance of visual arts in Niles and noted that conducting food- related events is a good way to showcase Niles’ diversity of culture. II. Meeting Procedures Meeting procedures as outlined in the agenda are: Only one person will talk at a time; speakers will speak to the agenda topic; and respect will be given to the Council’s limited time (meetings should not run over one hour.)  Public Arts & Culture Advisory Council August 27, 2015 III. Roles & Responsibilities Roles and responsibilities as outlined in the agenda are: The Chair will run the meetings and establish a schedule of meetings that are open to the public; the Staff Liaison will communicate with the Chair, prepare and post meeting agendas and create meeting summaries; and the Project Manager will provide initial operational guidance to the Council. IV. PowerPoint Presentation Steven Vinezeano presented information on: a) the Village of Niles ordinance that created the Public Arts and Culture Advisory Council; membership and terms; Appearance and Arts Fee; and the powers and duties of the Council; b) existing arts and culture in Niles; c) opportunities for the development of art and culture and organizational synergies; d) the possible development of an Arts and Culture Master Plan – a toolkit to facilitate preparation, assessment and implementation of arts and culture in Niles. There is currently $46,000 in the Arts Fund ($25,000 from a private donation); fees are expected to bring in $40,000 per year. This Council will bring existing possibilities together to promote arts and culture and to provide direction for future events and projects. Mayor Przybylo called for a calendar to be created by the Village IT Department that could provide links to the cultural activities of the member organizations, and stressed the importance of properly promoting these activities. Trustee Alpogianis offered the motto “Small Towns, Big Ideas” and stated that a small event can become huge and highly successful when everyone works together. It was suggested that we need a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and that a blog about what’s new in Niles would be a way to provide that presence and get people excited. V. Order of Business The Niles Memorial VFW Post 7712 has paid a $1,000 program fee to the non-profit Pillars of Honor, Inc. to sponsor the “Traveling WWII Memorial – Pillars of Honor” on Saturday, September 19, 2015 at the Niles Senior Center. Janet Spector Bishop made a motion, seconded by Katie Schneider, to recommend to the Board of Trustees to support this event in the amount of $500, which will help cover the $1,000 program fee paid by the VFW, and for the Arts and Culture Advisory Council to be recognized as a sponsor. On voice vote, all concurred. VI. Next Steps Chair Brubaker stated that she will create an online questionnaire to get everyone’s input as to how they can contribute to the Council and submit ideas about how to best fulfill the purposes of the Council. The questionnaire will be emailed to all Council members. 2  Public Arts & Culture Advisory Council August 27, 2015 Steven Vinezeano stated that in the future we will likely discuss moving forward with the Arts and Culture Master Plan. The Council will meet once a month. Convenient meeting days and times were discussed. The next meeting will be on Monday, September 21, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. at the Niles Historical and Cultural Center. VII. Open Discussion and Public Comment Public Comment Louella Preston – resident Ms. Preston commented that the Illinois Municipal League, the National League of Cities and Illinois Sister Cities Association gives recognition and awards to Sister Cities organizations. Open Discussion Mary Dowd Demas displayed a commemorative, collectable plate as an example of a way to raise funds. The meeting adjourned at 7:07 p.m. 3