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HomeMy WebLinkAboutArts Commission - 02/12/2007 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2007 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL ROAD THE PRAIRIE ROOM COMMISSION MEMBERS: Steve Mosow, Chair; Heather Olson, Vice Chair; Karen Busack, Farida Kathawalla, Ann Rorem, Diane Zielke COMMISSION STAFF: Sandy Werts, Staff Liaison Peggy Rasmussen, Recording Secretary STUDENT MEMBERS: Sarah Ericson, Kristy Shillock, and Colin O'Donnell SUPPORT STAFF: Bob Lambert, Director, Parks & Recreation Services; Laurie Obiazor, Manager of Recreation Services I. ROLL CALL Olson called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Commissioners Mosow and Zielke were excused. Student Member Ericson was excused. Reed Schulke and Shannon Elsenpeter were present to give updates on the Eden Prairie Players and Community Band respectively. Rich Akerlund, a member of the Heritage Preservation Commission, attended the meeting as a visitor. II. APROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Busack moved, seconded by Rorem, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 4-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JANUARY 8, 2007 MEETING The following corrections were made to the January 8, 2007 meeting minutes: On page 1, under Approval of Agenda, the third sentence should begin "Olson added a report . . ." On page 2, under Item V.A., the first sentence in the first paragraph should read " . . . has been hung on foamcore, . . ." The first sentence in the second paragraph should read " . . . Johnstone, an art teacher . . ." Under V.B., the first sentence in the first paragraph should read " . . . a beautiful set of wooden planks, . . ." The last sentence should read "Rorem suggested . . . so people could read about the display when the woman is not there." The first sentence in the second paragraph should read " . . . would include dancing . . ." On page 3, under V.C., the first sentence should read "alerts said she does not know if anything is happening . . ." On page 4, under VILC., the first sentence should read " . . . invite people from the community and commissions." ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES February 12, 2007 Page 2 On page 5, under VILC., the first sentence in the fourth paragraph should read "alerts pointed out that last year Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners raised . . ." The first sentence in the fifth paragraph should read `Busack said last year's Partnership Breakfast raised awareness." The third sentence should read " . . . in other years participants have . . ." The fourth sentence should read "Olson suggested participants could help by volunteering with PROP . . ." Under VIILA., the second bullet, Rock on Ice, should read "This Parks and Recreation Department event . . ." The third bullet, One-Act Play, should read "This play is being performed by the Eden Prairie High School Drama Department . . ." The fourth bullet, The Little Princess Musical, should read "It is being performed by the Eden Prairie High School Drama Department . . ." The fifth bullet, Taste of Eatin' Prairie, should read "The event, sponsored by the Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools, takes place. . ." MOTION: Rorem moved, seconded by Busack, to approve the minutes of the Arts and Culture Commission held on January 8, 2007, as published and amended. Motion carried 4-0. IV. EDEN PRAIRIE PLAYERS AND COMMUNITY BAND UPDATE A. UPDATE ON CURRENT PROJECTS OF THE EDEN PRAIRIE PLAYERS Schulke said `Barefoot in the Park" is opening this weekend, February 16 and 17, with performances also on February 23, 24, and 25. It has been promoted extensively, in the newspaper and with signs placed around town. There will be a garage sale on Saturday, April 21, at Homeward Hills to raise funds. Items for the sale should be brought in on Friday between noon and 9 p.m. Also in April, there will be auditions for"South Pacific", which will be performed in June. However, the Staring Lake Amphitheater is being shut down for renovations next summer so the venue is uncertain at this time. The Players Advisory Committee is talking to Bloomington about performing "South Pacific" at the band shell there. They will also discuss doing one weekend performance of the summer production in Bloomington in future years. B. UPDATE ON CURRENT PROJECTS OF THE COMMUNITY BAND Elsenpeter reported that the band would be performing a concert at the Edinborough Park Amphitheater in Edina on February 27. The concert will include a portion of "Streets of Honor." They might also be performing this music at the District Band Festival in March. The band will also be performing on many dates coming up this summer, including July 29 at Staring Lake. Elsenpeter said the band is nearing full capacity at about 60 players. Werts asked that a photo of the group be taken sometime soon. Werts said she sent the band director the score of "South Pacific" and is hoping the band will play at the performances with the Eden Prairie Players. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES February 12, 2007 Page 3 V. OLD BUSINESS A. 2007 WORK PLAN Commissioners reviewed the list of goals for 2007 discussed at the January meeting. The following modifications were made, and goal dates set. The previous item 5, to continue investigating the possibility of an art center in Eden Prairie, was removed, as that is covered in the Commission's Charter Statement. 1. Recruit to fill commission openings (by February 16) 2. Continue to review programs for the 2008-09 budget(by May 14) 3. Update and revise Resource Directory (by June 11) 4. Provide input to the City Council on matters related to arts and culture in Eden Prairie (by December 31) 5. Meet with Janet Jeremiah to learn how the Arts and Culture Commission can assist in integrating Public Art into the Major Center Area (June 11) 6. Make recommendation for a Festival of India Celebration (by April 9) MOTION: Busack moved, seconded by Kathawalla, to approve the Arts and Culture Commission Work Plan for 2007. Motion carried 4-0. B. FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS Kathawalla distributed a list of program ideas. She hopes to recruit volunteers to help her work on the festival. Werts recommended that a Commission study committee work out the festival details. Rorem and Kathawalla are willing to serve on this committee. Because there are other events toward the end of October, Kathawalla said the festival could be held in the middle of November. Kathawalla provided program ideas that include dancing, playing musical instruments and vocal music. Exhibitions could include Indian clothing, posters, video showing the celebration, and Kolu. Demonstrations could include cooking —making a food item, foods to purchase, Sari wearing/Bindi application, Mehendi application, and Christmas Tree of the Valley. Kathawalla included a list of contacts and costs. Other ideas offered were to have a fashion show of the type of clothing being exhibited and to have vendors selling clothes and food items. Kathawalla asked if the City would agree to that. Werts said she would find out. Another suggestion was to invite the Community Band to find some Indian music they could play at the festival. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES February 12, 2007 Page 4 Werts recommended using the Garden Room for food preparation. Kathawalla said she has talked to the India Palace about preparing and serving food items. They told her they could provide something that would cost$3.00 per person. Werts pointed out she would have to look at the cost of holding the festival and where the money would come from. Busack said, if it proves to be popular this year, it could be expanded next year. The consensus of the Commissioners, however, was to make the first festival as good as possible, rather than waiting to expand it next year. C. CONNECTING WITH NEW MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS The Commissioners reviewed suggestions submitted by Olson for connecting with the new Mayor and Council Members. Item 4 was added at the meeting. 1. Provide topics of the next Council meeting to Commissions so that Commissioners can develop questions and suggestions for the Council. 2. Send a Council Member to at least one Commission meeting during the year. 3. Have a Commissioner attend at least one Council meeting during the year. 4. Assign a Council Member to each Commission to review minutes and keep up to date on Commission proceedings. 5. Hold a full-Council discussion session with each Commission at least once a year during the pre-Council meeting work session. MOTION: Rorem moved, seconded by Busack, to approve the above list to be communicated to Scott Neal. Motion carried 4-0. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL—COMMISSION SUPPORT Werts said it is time to start planning the International Festival. She went to a meeting of the Human Rights and Diversity Commission to ask for a representative to serve on the International Festival Committee. Two Commissioners volunteered. Busack and Kathawalla offered to serve on the committee as representatives from the Arts and Culture Commission. Shillock said she would ask her mother about using dancers from La Danse Fatale to perform a short program at the festival. B. HISTORIC CUMMINS-GRILL HOUSE—REUSE IDEAS Werts said John Gertz, Eden Prairie's historic preservation officer, asked her to solicit input on reuse of the Cummins-Grill House. The City Council is looking for someone to preserve and renovate the property, and to minimize future financial investment by the City. They would prefer uses open to the public, such as a restaurant or a retail establishment. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES February 12, 2007 Page 5 Richard Akerlund, a member of the Historic Preservation Commission, explained the City received a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to conduct a reuse study. A consultant has been hired to do this. The HPC hosted an open house at the Cummins-Grill House on Sunday, February 11, and there will be another one on Friday, February 16. The last time for input will be at the HPC's meeting on February 26 at City Center, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Kathawalla said the Dunn Bros. Coffee shop at the Smith-Douglas-More House is getting a lot of use. Werts noted that it has lost its historical integrity by removing the kitchen and replacing it with an addition for Dunn Bros. Coffee. Olson asked if the Cummins-Grill House might be turned into a similar commercial operation. Akerlund replied the City is not going to put a lot of money into renovations as it did for Dunn Bros. Recommendations from the Commission for reuse of the property were ice cream and hot chocolate shop, comedy center, teen hangout, bookstore, alternative therapy or yoga studio, teahouse, apple orchard and apple house. Werts will send these recommendations to the Heritage Preservation Commission. VII. REPORTS OF STAFF AND COMMISSIONERS A. 2007 OPENINGS ON COMMISSION — RECRUITMENT AND CHAIR POSITIONS Werts said there is only one opening on the Commission. Rorem and Olson have encouraged people they know to apply. Applications are being accepted through Friday, February 16. B. STATUS ON THE REQUEST TO EXPAND AMPHITHEATER BUILDING Werts gave the drawings for expansion of the amphitheater building to Bob Lambert, who gave them to Stuart Fox, the person responsible for all the City's park construction projects. Fox will have to do the following in order to get an accurate cost for constructing the expansion: • Meet with the City Building Official to find out if the request is physically possible. • Find out if there would be a problem in matching the current roof height above the floor at the back wall (7 1/z') with the requested height(10' to 12'). • Sewer and water are not available at the site. A septic system would be needed to have a bathroom. Sewer and water would cost an additional $50,000 to $60,000. • Obtain an estimate of any site work, such as grading. • There is a request for heating the building. A gas line is not available in the area of the building. The current building and the expansion would need to be insulated if heat is added. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES February 12, 2007 Page 6 • The back wall is a load-bearing wall. How the new expansion would match this and meet the height request must be explored. • This project cost would be evaluated along with all City department requests. The CIP fund currently has proposed projects into the year 2011. Werts said this project has merit and should be considered. However, it will take some time to put the information together before obtaining estimates. Fox said he would keep her informed. Busack asked if the Commission could have a fundraiser. Werts said yes, it could; that would take commitment and time. C. ARTS AND ANTIQUES IN THE GARDEN Werts said the City has been putting on "Arts and Antiques in the Garden" since 2003. Now, the two women who manage Dunn Bros. Coffee at the Smith- Douglas-More House want to hold a program there using that name and asked the City change the name for its event. They say the City's event doesn't have any antiques for sale, so the name does not accurately portray what is there. Werts said she is reluctant to give up the name. She will advertise for vendors of antiques. The cost for a booth is $35. In past years she has had an antique dealer come to appraise antiques that people bring in. Rorem pointed out that the City already has six signs with that name on them. The consensus of the Commissioners was to retain "Arts and Antiques in the Garden" as the name of the event. It is scheduled for Saturday, June 9. Akerlund said he would send Werts a brochure on a sale of antique farm equipment held in Jordan the first Saturday in May that he is involved with. The City could advertise "Arts and Antiques in the Garden" at the show. D. NEW GROUP CONCERNED WITH PRESERVATION OF ARTS, HISTORY AND OTHER QUALITY-OF-LIFE ISSUES IN EDEN PRAIRIE Werts said Jan Mosman, former City Council member and the current chair of the City's Conservation Commission, is hosting a meeting of women on Tuesday, February 20, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at her home, to discuss the above subject. Mosman is concerned that some of these areas about quality-of-life are going to disappear in Eden Prairie, and they are vital to keeping the City the way it is. They include theater, art, writers, trails and natural areas, history, and diversity. She believes they might be eliminated, one by one, through the City's budget decisions. Mosman wants to form a support network of people who will contact Council Members regarding these concerns. She is starting with women in this focus group meeting. The Commissioners are invited. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES February 12, 2007 Page 7 VIII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS A. MARCH MEETING—CHANGE DATE Werts reported she is going to be on a skiing vacation at the time of the regular meeting date on March 12. The Commissioners agreed to change the date to March 5 so that Werts can be present. B. UPCOMING EVENTS • La Danse Fatale is presenting the ballets "Broken Heart" and "Kaleidescope" at the Performing Arts Center in Eden Prairie High School on February 24 at 7 p.m. and February 25 at 2 p.m. Student member Shillock is one of the performers. • `Barefoot in the Park", the winter production of Eden Prairie Players, is on February 16, 17, 23, and 24 at 7:30 p.m., and on February 25 at 2 p.m. at the Eden Prairie High School Auditorium. • The Community Band is performing a concert at Edinborough Park Amphitheater on Tuesday, February 27, at 7 p.m. C. ART ON CITY WALLS —PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARRELL TANGEN Werts said the art currently on display is photography by Darrell Tangen, an instructor at Dakota County Technical Center. The Commissioners were invited to look at the exhibit after the meeting. IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Kathawalla moved, seconded by Busack, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 4-0. Olson adjourned the meeting at 9:10 p.m.