HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/06/2018 - Minutes RENTON MUNICIPAL ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES
' Tuesday, March 6, 2018
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Members Present: Neil Sheesley, Mary Clymer, Bill Huls, Marsha Rollinger, Kim Patterson, Susan Jessick, Dave
Samek, Evelyn Reingold, and Adrienne La Faye (via phone)
Excused Absences: Samantha Goetz-Granquist
Staff Present:
Chip Vincent, Administrator, City of Renton, Community& Economic Development
Elizabeth Higgins, RMAC Liaison
Jessie Kotarski, RMAC Administrative Assistant
Guests:
Paul Nelson, Founding Director,Treasurer, SPLAB Board
Joe Chiveney, President, SPLAB Board
Matt Trease, SPLAB Board
Jared Leising, SPLAB Volunteer
Elizabeth Cooperman, SPLAB Volunteer
Thomas (and daughter Tuuli)Walton, SPLAB Volunteer
Barbara McMichael, SoCo Culture
Anthony Marris-Swann, Intern, City of Renton, Community& Economic Development
Call to Order: Meeting was called to order by RMAC Chair, Neil Sheesley at 6:00 pm.
Paul Nelson, with assistance from members of the SPLAB Board, provided a history of the Seattle Poetics
Lab ("SPLAB") and an overview of the previous five iterations of the Cascadia Poetry Festival including the
2017 festival that took place in Tacoma, WA. With an emphasis on "bioregionalism,"the festival serves as
an investigation of the unique culture of the region of Cascadia and features academic, democratic and
performance components, late night readings, a Small Press Fair, several workshops and an online course
that can be taken in preparation for the Festival. The Board is considering Renton as the location of the
2019 festival and has come to the Arts Commission to ask for financial support in the amount of$20,000.
Barbara McMichael invited the Arts Commissioners to attend the next meeting of SoCo Culture on
Tuesday, March 13t"at Carco Theatre from 10am to 12pm.
Anthony Marris-Swann provided an update on the utility box wrap project that the City is conducting. A
call for artists has gone out and the deadline to respond to the RFQ is March 16. Anthony expressed
gratitude to the Commission for the$5,000 in committed funds to support two utility box wraps and asked
for an additional $2,500 to wrap an additional three boxes in the Sunset area. The requested funds would
be used to cover artists fees; including$500 each for 3 designs and $1,000 to facilitate a community
engagement component of the project. In an effort to include public comment in the design process, the
selected artist will be asked to hold a minimum of two public outreach meetings to solicit comments from
the Sunset community. Adrienne and Evelyn have agreed to participate on the selection committee to
review the responses to the RFQ. The Commission voted to approve the additional funding to cover the
artist fees to wrap three additional utility boxes in the Sunset Area MSC(Marsha/Evelyn).
Approval of Minutes: The January 2018 minutes were read and approved MSC(Mary/Kim)
Correspondence and Announcements:
• A letter of gratitude for his service on the Arts Commission was circulated and signed and will be
sent to Mitch Shepherd.
• The Kennydale Lift Station project will be contributing to the 1%for Arts fund.
New Business:
April 9`" Meetin�with Committee of the Whole:The Arts Commission has been given the opportunity to
make a presentation to the Committee of the Whole on April 9. The timing of the presentation is critical as
the City launches into budget season. The presentation will help set the stage for funding for the
Commission over the next two years. Elizabeth will work on the creation of a PowerPoint presentation and
has requested that images of the 2018 projects be sent to her as soon as possible. A draft of the
presentation will be sent out for review by Tuesday, February 13 and commissioners are encouraged to
comment at that time.The Commissioners have been asked to attend the meeting on the 9t"and lend
their energy and support to the presentation. The commissioners who will present has yet to be decided.
Commissioner Search Committee formation: Ben Andrews announced his resignation via email. The
Commission currently has three vacancies. The decision was made to approach Sam Goetz-Granquist with
the opportunity to transition from the Youth position to a full commissioner status; leaving two vacancies
and an open youth position. Elizabeth will follow up with applicants who previously submitted their
names for consideration to assess their current interest. An ad will be placed in the Renton Reported
seeking new applicants. Mary, Bill and Evelyn have agreed to sit on a search committee to review
applications received and interview potential candidates.
Grant Committee Formation:A call for applications for the 2018 4Culture grant will be sent out. The
decision was made to keep the inclusivity requirements the same, but the request was made to attempt to
clarify the limits to avoid any confusion in the selection process. Kim, Su, and Adrienne have agreed to
serve on the Grants Committee to review applications and select recipients of the 4Culture grant.
RMAC 2018 Prolects, Pro�rams, and Events—Retreat Summary:The City has offered to support the
creation of a new Arts and Culture Master plan. Una McAlinden has been contacted about assisting with
the process. Su, Neil, and Bill will sit on the committee to work on the creation of the plan. Mary has
agreed to attend the initial meeting with Una and the selection committee and Chip.
Community Services Committee—RMAC Policy Review:The Community Services Committee requested a
review of the Arts Commission policies at their meeting on Monday night [March 5].The Committee
questioned the lack of term limits of commissioners and wanted to ensure that the policies supported
providing the opportunity for members of the growing community to serve on the Arts Commission.
Elizabeth mentioned that, in the future, Commissioners will be asked to re-apply at the end of their 3-year
term and provide a summary of their contributions to the Commission in order to maintain their position
and to promote a highly functioning Commission.
Galvanizin�Art Prolects, New:
• Renton Salutes the Pacific NW—Dave Samek presented the concept of a music festival designed
as a tribute to music legends of the Pacific NW. The festival will feature local bands performing
covers of musicians who hail from the local area (including Jimi Hendrix, Heart, Nirvana, Alice in
Chains, The Ventures and more).The festival will include a beer garden and a community art
project. Dave will submit a GAP funding worksheet, including a budget, for consideration to the
Commission.
• Green Pigs—Elizabeth distributed large Green Pigs at the meeting that were recently used in a
marketing ploy by an out of state real estate business moving to the area.The pigs were removed
by code compliance and the news of the guerrilla marketing campaign was widespread. Elizabeth
has proposed a "flash" art installation using the notorious green pigs to help create buzz for the
Municipal Arts Commission. The pigs were distributed at the meeting to be taken home and
decorated/bedazzled. On a selected day, the pigs will be posted around the City and branded with
the RMAC logo.
• Boone Kirkman mural—Fay Moss and John Collum are currently looking for a building on which to
paint the Boone mural. A call to artists has not gone out yet.
• Dragon update— Marsha, Elizabeth and Jessie met with the property owner and the President of
Western Neon to discuss the current designs for the dragon and the potential alterations to the
building.The property owner supports the project and Western Neon has been given the go-ahead
to begin finalizing the design.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
A request for funding was sent to the Commissioners via email on March 8, 2018. Paul Hintz, City of
Renton, Senior Planner, and the Benson Neighborhood Association have asked for an additional $2,500 to
fund a low-impact landscape plan, plant schedule and sculptural artwork around the previously funded
utility box wrap project on Benson Hill.The request was approved via a majority vote in favor of the
proposed funding.
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