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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-10-26 Commission on Cultural Development Minutes COMMISSION ON CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 8:00 am Council Chambers, City Hall Minutes Commissioners Present: Steve Ribble, Chair; Susan Jonason, Vice-Chair; Susan Carlisle, Judy Boothby, Tim Lo, Patricia Stowell, Geoff Gratwick, Absent: Sandra Blake-Leonard, Karen Stiles Staff Present: Shirar Patterson Others: John Rohman, Tori Cornfield; Susan Potters, Director of this program for The Maine Alliance for Arts Education and Education Director of The Maine Alliance; Tilan Langley; Gerry G.M. Palmer, Jr. Vice-Chair Jonason called the meeting to order at 8 am. 1. Welcome & Introductions Those present introduced themselves for the record. Note: At this point, due to a time constraint for the applicant from The Maine Alliance for Arts Education, their item was taken up. Please see Item #6. 2. Approval of Minutes from April 27, 2011 meeting The Minutes of April 27, 2011 were approved as presented. Unanimous vote. 3. Review of Financials Shirar Patterson reviewed the current financials showing fiscal year 2008-to current for historical perspective. The last grants were given out during fiscal year 2011 – there were not any grant applications for the July 2011 funding cycle so this made for a carryover of $18,950 from FY 2011 and an appropriation from the City Council for $10,000 for FY 2012 making a total of current available funds for the Cultural Commission at $28,950. Councilor Geoff Gratwick expressed that if the Commission does not spend these funds within a reasonable time period then the City Council may interpret this as the Commission is not in need of future funds. The City believes in the Commission’s endeavors but the reality is that they (the City) have to make choices between the school projects, potholes and police and fire. However, if good projects come before the Commission then we should support those projects. 4. ArtPlace and CEED Grant Opportunities As an information piece for the Commission, Shirar stated that there is a current grant opportunity entitled ArtPlace (ArtPlaceAmerica.org or ArtPlace.org for further information). This is comprised of a group of 12 national foundations and funders in the arts as well as The National Endowment for the Arts, and some other federal agencies that have come together to look at funding creative place-making through the arts. Shirar has looked into this to see if there is something for Bangor. What she found was that communities can submit a letter of interest to apply for funding; the first round of funding was by invitation only and 33 projects were funded in 24 communities across the country – the closet to Bangor was in Massachusetts. Shirar had approached the Business & Economic Development Committee at their Oct. 19, 2011 meeting to get their blessing from the City perspective to be involved with working with the different arts organizations to identify some priorities which we have been discussing options for a couple of years now. EMDC has some interest in this process as well, so Shirar will be talking with them to make sure we’re putting together a coordinated effort. In the webinar that Shirar participated in it indicated that more than one proposal can be submitted from a given community. However, it’s important to make sure efforts are not being duplicated and that Bangor has a good chance. Shirar will meet with some of the arts leaders in Bangor to discuss some ideas similar to what we did a few years ago with the seed grant which is the Creative Communities Equal Economic Development (CEED). This is from the Maine Arts Commission. There will be another round of funding for this process; Letters of Intent will be due in February 2012. She’s not certain what project we would put forward for Bangor at this time but when the meeting is scheduled (it should be within the next week or so) with EMDC she’ll make sure the Commission members will be notified so that they can participate in the conversation. 5. Update on Continuity of Community/Sister City Monument  Objective: to update the Commissioners on the status of this project Shirar updated the Commission on the progress of relocating the Continuity of Community/Sister City Monument. In previous conversations on this matter, the Commission determined that the statue be moved to the Bangor waterfront. This conversation also coincided with discussions about the Sister City Monument that will reflect the relationship between Bangor, Maine and Harbin, China. The Commission felt that a good location for this monument may be the waterfront and that perhaps the sculpture could be the center piece of a Monument plaza. This could be a location to place other sister city monuments reflecting other relationships of Bangor in terms of being a global citizen. The matter of relocating the sculpture has gone to the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). They have supported the request with the stipulation that the final location be related back to the HPC so they have a sense of where it is going to be placed. In some cases they may have oversight of that location as well; and they also want to make sure it does not go into storage. Shirar showed, on a sketch of the waterfront done by Shadley Associates, the proposed location for the sculpture and perhaps the Sister City Monument. It is proposed to place these artistic features near the proposed restaurant/snack shack with the idea is that it would interact with the people at the snack shack. It was pointed out by Commission members that the Continuity of Community sculpture is to be put on a substantial base to give it a prominence and able to be seen from a distance so that it becomes a destination focal point. The statue is approximately a 6 foot tall installation to the top of the monument – it should be elevated above the head level of people by a couple of feet but not 20 feet in the air. Gerry Palmer, Bangor resident and former Mayor and Councilor with the City of Bangor, has been assisting with getting the Sister City Monument placed at the Bangor waterfront. He expressed concerns about the Continuity of Community sculpture’s proposed location at the waterfront as it is not visible. The more visible it is the more secure it will be – he’s concerned about vandalism to the sculpture. He added that with respect to the Sister City Monument the water element at the waterfront ties in with the connectivity between Bangor, Maine and Harbin, China. He added that he will work with the HPC. He also stated that he is concerned about the funding previously discussed with the Cultural Commission, with hopes that it would be available before year end of 2011. These funds will assist with moving the sculpture (however, the Commission will not be funding this endeavor). Shirar stated that there was money set aside in last year’s budget for the sculpture relocation project – total designated as West Market Square is $25,000 for moving the sculpture, replacing pavers and doing landscaping in West Market Square. Chair Ribble stated several factors need to be taken into consideration with location on the waterfront of the sculpture and the proposed Sister City Monument. The area currently proposed is on a slope going towards the river so depending on the design intent, do you want to locate it on a hilltop some place where everyone can see it from miles around or have it nestled into the side of a bank. Where it is currently proposed to be located it is a space in of itself; the intent of nestling it into the hill side is not a bad one. It should be elevated such that even with plantings perhaps you could see the top half of it from the higher side but as you begin to walk around it begins to open up and reveal itself as there is much more to it and not only is there the Continuity of Community sculpture but there are other monuments below it. This then is a place of discovery along the waterfront. Gerry Palmer added that one consideration that both the Cultural Commission and the HPC should look at is amount of motorists that goes over the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge every day; when they look down hopefully they will be able to see this monument and decide to come back to the waterfront. The arboretum envisioned for the other end of the waterfront down by Hollywood Slots needs a ‘hook’ on that end and the Continuity of Community sculpture may not be the right choice but there needs to be something down there to gets peoples interest. Tim Lo asked what do we do next – he added that he shares Gerry’s enthusiasm to get this done. Steve replied that previously the Commission had recommended that the sculpture be relocated to an appropriate place – the waterfront was our preference - and that we’d like to see it in conjunction with the Sister City Monuments. We had identified a location a little closer to the Sea Dog Restaurant where sidewalks converged and seemed appropriate in our limited knowledge. Steve added that in his professional opinion that this particular location achieves the intent that we had come up with at that point not having purview to the entire set of plans for the waterfront, so he feels this is the right location. I think that some of Mr. Palmer’s concerns are addressed here; moving it down to this location makes it more visible from the bridge for example. Gerry is right that there needs to be some kind of destination at the other end, but I don’t feel this is it personally – I think this needs to be where there’s a lot of people -- not in a remote area. The motion I would entertain, if anyone would like to make it, is that the plan before us, with the addition of the Sister City Monuments and the elevational considerations that we have discussed today, get the approval of the Cultural Commission so that the City and/or the Downtown Bangor Partnership may move forward with our blessing and support. Susan Carlisle made a motion as described; seconded by Patricia Stowell. Shirar showed the sketch for information purposes stating that when we previously had discussions on how the Sister City Monuments might fit in, it would also act as a barrier to getting to the actual Continuity of Community sculpture. Steve added that it is his vision as well – that they not be right on the walk but set back, spaced along the walkway side in an arc. Also, as future reference, that 6-8 monuments is sufficient to have – not 20. Motion was carried. 6. Grant Discussion and Review st  See October 1 applications mailed in advance  Objective: presentation from applicants, Q&A a. Tori Cornfield, an English and public peaking teacher at Bangor High School (BHS), presented this item to the Commission. She stated that the Dance experience / Arts in Residency is a professional dance choreographer who comes and takes 10 classes for each of the classes she takes – this is 20 classes in all. She collaborates with the students from their concept – they come in with signature movements; she choreographs the signature movements with the concept and comes out with a dance at the end. The positive aspect of this program is that it brings students and teachers together – everyone participates within a short period of time. It exposes students who have never participated in dance or the arts before. It is a Bangor based program, not statewide. Currently, have 4 schools involved with 8 classes totaling just fewer than 200 students. Susan Potters, Education Director for The Maine Alliance as well as the Program Director for this particular program, also spoke to the Commission on behalf of this program to further enlighten them on its benefits. She emphasized that it is a unique program across the country. Schools are asked to contribute $500/class to help (last year BHS raised $1,000). BHS used to get money from MAC Pal grants. They are now trying to raise money from the community. There are diverse funding sources such as The Maine Arts Commission – do not get a smart grant every year from them – do not know if they would give to the same project every year. It’s the same with The National Endowment For The Arts – they have contributed 3-4 times out of 12 years and Robbins Dubeaumont has been giving them a grant every year for the past 3-4 years. Different foundations have different policies. City of Bangor prefers providing stimulus dollars. Any grant awarded would be dedicated to BHS. Susan added that they have found that the teachers who want to host these residencies in all the schools are usually the teachers who have a little something extra themselves and have the imagination to understand how giving up two weeks of their class time can actually benefit their students in so many ways including academically after the program is over. This program transforms the students in positive ways in their social impact in the class. b. On behalf of the Downtown Bangor Partnership Shirar reviewed their application to the Commission for a $2,000 grant to assist with funding the 2012 Downtown Countdown event. This is a community event engaging multiple partners from non-profit and corporate entities. It is fully funded through sponsorships; have currently raised $13,000 of the $16,000 that is budgeted for the event. There will be about 10 venues downtown – that’s still being solidified. The various events provide entertainment for people of all ages and is a family friendly event as well. An Event Planner has been nd hired for the 2 year running. The Commission has supported this event in the past and the DBP appreciates that. In response to questions from the Commission, Shirar stated that the $2,000 level is a venue sponsorship. Traditionally what the Cultural Commission funds have supported is to enable the City Hall venue. This offers the opportunity to show the entertainment that is happening in the Council Chambers on television as well as recording it for future broadcasts; it also allows us to have City Hall open when traditionally it is not at that time. Anything additional that doesn’t cover this venue cost supports the rest of the event as well. Not much of our budget is used overall for advertising, only a $1,000 of the overall event budget is used for advertising. Any media coverage we get is through press releases and we have a partnership -- WLBZ 2 has signed on again to do in-kind commercials and advertising for us but we don’t use much of our budget for that. Chair Ribble stated that in regard to the DBP grant application he feels the Commission should recommend to the City Council that it be fully funded. It is a little different than our intent of it being seed money for an on-going event of its own because the City is an active participant in this by having this venue so I think it’s appropriate for the City to contribute in that way. With regard to the Maine Alliance for Arts Education application, Chair Ribble said he is conflicted - he thinks it’s a worthy cause but wonders if it meets the criteria or the intent of the Commission’s funding process and guidelines and that applicants needed to be a Bangor-based group. Understand that this application benefits Bangor High School but the applicant is out of Augusta and if we were to fund someone from away what does that open us up to in the future. Shirar responded that she did have a conversation about that issue with this applicant. Based on the guidelines and other grant applications we have heard previously, the fact that the programming occurs in Bangor I felt it was okay for them to apply even though the organization was out of the area. Steve replied that this may be well and appropriate as long as we state that we can come back to that at a future date as we have had people come in before who wanted to do something in a neighboring town. These are Bangor dollars we need to keep in Bangor. I understand the Maine Alliance for Arts Education application benefits Bangor - I am not opposed to what this program is trying to do; I just don’t want to get us into a corner for the future. (As Chair Ribble had to leave early, he referred the remainder of the meeting back to Vice-Chair Susan Jonason.) 7. Commission recommendation on grant applications  Objective: funding recommendation to City Council for grant applications Susan Carlisle made a motion recommending to the City Council to fund the Maine Alliance For Arts Education request in the amount of $2,000. Patricia Stowell seconded the motion. Unanimous vote. Susan Carlisle made a motion recommending to the City Council to fund the Downtown Countdown event in the amount of $2,000. Patricia Stowell seconded the motion. Unanimous vote. 8. Update/Discussion on Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium Shirar stated that at the last meeting the Commission was updated on the possibility of Bangor participating in the Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium. Today’s presentation is to update the Commission on where that stands and to see if this project is a good fit for Bangor. John Rohman further reviewed this item stating that it is a symposium that has been held every other year in Schoodic for 10 years, so it would have been 5 symposiums in the initial planning for this piece. The intent was to get 6 to 7 sculpturers (even possibly 8) from around the world. An RFP was done and after review of sculpturers, some very high quality artists came to the Schoodic peninsula whereby they created 6-7 pieces of art at the same location over a 6-week time period. The pieces were then moved to the various communities that sponsored them. Since that experience, the University of Maine has indicated they’d like to have this kind of process in the greater Bangor / Penobscot County area. Elaine Clark from UM and John are co-chairing a group of people along with Jessie Salisbury, Tilan Langley and a group from Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium to bring the symposium to the University of Maine in 2012 (at the steam plant parking lot on campus). This location will be the site rd that these 7-8 artists from around the world will be on site creating pieces of art. Currently, the 3 symposium was just completed on the Schoodic Peninsula. The idea is to get a number of entities that will make a commitment for their sculpture; they then come together and sponsor a single piece for their community. John added that our goal was to come up with a minimum of 6 locations for the University of Maine symposium for next year. John announced that on board already there are the University of Maine for at least 1 piece, possibly 2; the University of Maine Foundation for 1 piece; Husson University for 1 piece; EMMC for 1 piece; Orono for 1 piece; Old Town for 1 piece; and obviously our goal would be to have Bangor have 1 piece as well. Tilan Langley, project manager for the Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium, stated that this event will bring sculpture to Washington and Hancock counties. Already have interns (that help the artists create their sculptures) that come as part of the artists and residency program for 6 weeks. Partnering with an educational institution just seemed a natural bond. Bringing it to the Bangor area means an expansion of their mission; they will be returning to the Schoodic Peninsula for their final th symposium (it will be the 4 in a string of 5). Have had so many small communities in Maine come to them that they came up with an idea to have a more portable form of the symposium that could be taken closer to the communities in which they will be serving. John Rohman added that what he and Tilan are looking for today is the Commission to make a recommendation to the City Council and to the City Manager that the City of Bangor explore this and give a thumbs up to it. John and Shirar feel it is necessary for the Cultural Commission to recommend this is a good idea. He further stated that the communities are part of the process all the way; however, it is a competitive process with a group of people that make the selections. Tilan further described the process of the artists selection. Each community works very closely with the artists selected. John stated that they will have an informational meeting with key individuals and hoping that Shirar can include the Commission members on an invitation to an event in Bangor next Wednesday evening, Nov. 2, at 5 pm, City Council Chambers. In addition we will looking to get some of these key individuals to step forward and say that they would like to be part of the committee to move this forward and be part of the fund raising. Each entity has an obligation to bring forward $20,000. However, we’re not looking to the City for $20,000; we are asking the City to make the commitment for a site location and to say ‘yes’ Bangor wants to be part of that. Then we will get a group of people together to help raise that $20,000. It is possible that in the future we may come to the Commission to ask for a small grant of $500 - $1,000 but this is not our goal here. Shirar added that she wants to make sure we have the community support and involvement as she will be the staff working on this. She is confident we can get the people on board. Susan Carlisle made a motion to indicate to the City Council the Commission on Cultural Development support and encouragement to participate in this project. Seconded by Judy Boothby. Unanimous vote. 9. 2012 Schedule Shirar reviewed the schedule for 2012 – it is currently aligned for quarterly meetings. 10. Other Items No further items to discuss. Meeting adjourned. Next Regularly Scheduled Meeting: January 25, 2012 Next grant deadline: January 1, 2012 (small grants and large grants)