To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: John Coates, Parks & Recreation Services Director
Prepared By: Katrina Gregory, Recreation Manager
TITLE:
Title
Senior Activity Center Public Art
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Approve the installation of a public art sculpture at the Senior Activity Center; authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement on behalf of the City in an amount not to exceed $15,000, with the artist, Tiimo Mang, for the purchase and installation of the sculpture entitled “Northern Sojourner”; determine that the actions authorized by this item are exempt from CEQA; and approve the transfer of $15,000 from the Public Art Fund to the Capital Improvement Fund and an increase to the Senior Center Project (FC16PR01) of $15,000 as documented in Budget Adjustment No. BE2002503.
Body
DISCUSSION:
The Senior Activity Center Phase I Renovations were recently completed and reopened to the public after nine months of construction. The updated facility creates more opportunities to enhance and expand temporary public art installations as well as provides an opportunity to use the Public Art Fund for a permanent art installation. One of the goals for the public art at the Senior Activity Center is featuring artists who are 50 years old or older.
In July 2019, staff recommended to the Public Art Steering Committee that an existing outdoor location at the Senior Activity Center be used as an artwork site. It will be highly visible from inside the facility as well as viewed by numerous visitors who are walking by the exterior courtyard which is between the main building and the annex building. The site would require excavating some existing rocks and pouring a new concrete pad in order to mount the sculpture. The octagonal installation location has an approximate radius of 7 feet (see Attachment 1 for proposed site).
A Call For Artists for the outdoor permanent sculpture was posted in August 2019 and the deadline for submissions was October 20, 2019. There were submissions by 55 artists. A five-member jury was formed including one member from the Public Art Steering Committee and the Senior Advisory Commission. The jury convened twice to review the artwork submissions and to narrow the selection to one primary recommendation. The recommended artwork is a sculpture entitled “Northern Sojourner” by artist Tiimo Mang. The sculpture dimensions are 14’ x 2’ x 6’ and it is an interpretive version of a lone sandhill crane flying over a cattail stand near its northern nesting grounds (see Attachment 1 for proposed artwork). Tiimo Mang is a sculptor that currently lives and works in Lakewood, CO and works in wood, metal and concrete. He is also a maker of furniture and functional art with a nine-year career in residential remodeling. Tiimo studied at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, focusing on Welding Processes and Metalworking. Tiimo has an extensive resume in public art and private commissions.
The Public Art Steering Committee unanimously approved the recommendation on November 26, 2019. Staff also presented the recommendation, as an informational only item, to the Senior Advisory Commission on February 5, 2020. Upon City Council approval, the sculpture installation would be scheduled for spring 2020.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
The Senior Activity Center Phase I project contributed $12,000 to the Public Art fund as part of the Public Art Ordinance. While City Council is not obligated to use the $12,000 directly back at the Senior Activity Center, staff recommends adding a permanent art installation as part of the Senior Activity Center renovation project. Staff recommends transferring $15,000 from the Public Art fund to the Capital Improvement Fund, with a matching budget increase in the Senior Center project. The transfer will reappropriate Professional Services budget in the Public Art fund and does not increase total expenditures for the fund in FY2019/20. The $15,000 budget will cover artists fees, artwork transportation and installation. If City Council does not approve the transfer of $15,000 from the Public Art fund, the artwork would not be purchased and the $15,000 would remain in the Public Art fund for other future public art projects.
CEQA:
City staff recommends that the City Council determine that the Recommended Action is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, which exempts minor alterations to existing facilities.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Proposed site and artwork
ATCH 2 - Draft Services Agreement for Artwork
ATCH 3 - Budget Adjustment
NOTIFICATION:
None