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HomeMy WebLinkAboutArts Commission - 08/14/2006 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2006 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL ROAD THE PRAIRIE ROOM COMMISSION MEMBERS: Steve Mosow, Chair; Heather Olson, Vice Chair; Karen Busack, Elizabeth Grant, Farida Kathawalla, Ann Rorem, Diane Zielke COMMISSION STAFF: Sandy Werts, Staff Liaison Peggy Rasmussen, Recording Secretary SUPPORT STAFF: Bob Lambert, Director, Parks & Recreation Services; Laurie Obiazor, Manager of Recreation Services I. ROLL CALL Mosow called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m. Commissioner Rorem was excused. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Presentation of the concept plan by the Veterans Memorial Committee was placed at the head of the agenda. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JUNE 12, 2006 MEETING Olson made a correction on page 1 to the time of the meeting, which was 7:00 p.m. Busack made a correction on page 5, under Item A. July and August Meeting Schedule. The names of the Commissioners who met with Werts were Rorem and Busack. MOTION: Olson moved, seconded by Kathawalla, to approve the minutes of the Arts and Culture Commission held on June 12, 2006, as corrected. Motion carried 6-0. Kathawalla excused herself from the meeting at this time. IV. EDEN PRAIRIE PLAYERS UPDATE Werts reported that in June the musical "Oliver!" was rained out three of the six nights. However, on the other three nights around 1,000 people came, so they didn't lose their audience. Reed Schulke did a very nice job on the signs advertising the musical. The "Spell of Sleeping Beauty", with children playing all the parts, will be performed August 17, 18, 19 and 20. Auditions have been held for the one-act plays. They are "The Actor's Nightmare", "The Sandbox", "Sure Thing", "Visitation", and "Are We There Yet?" scheduled for September 22, 23, 29 and October 1. A buffet of appetizers and desserts will be served. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES August 14, 2006 Page 2 V. OLD BUSINESS A. Veterans Memorial Concept Plan In addition to the design consultant from SRF, five members of the Veterans Memorial Committee were present: Bud Schwartz, Toby Sarahan, Jerry Renner, Bob Grant and John Mallo, as well as Commissioner Grant, who represented the Arts and Culture Commission. Mallo said there were 20 men and women on the committee, some of them veterans of World War II, the war in Vietnam, and Iraq. The consultant from SRF said the committee agreed that the south end of the landscaped area of Purgatory Creek Recreation Area should be the location for the memorial, and the committee then selected a design drawn up by SRF. The design has two sculpture elements: one would represent war and conflict and one would represent peace and freedom. All branches of the military would be represented on the pillars surrounding the sculptures and there would be seating walls between them. An open space could be used for gatherings. The estimated cost for the memorial is $300,000: $200,000 for construction of the walls and pavement, and $50,000 for each of the sculptures. There would be a competition for creating the sculptures. If the City Council approves the concept plan on September 5, the committee would be allowed to begin raising money for the memorial. They are working on a ten-minute video and have identified corporate offices and VFWs where they would make a presentation. Commissioner Grant is researching who would be the key contacts at corporations. Regarding the sculptures, Grant said the committee discussed having a contest to get artists involved. She will be going to universities to see if students have any design ideas. The professors might give the students a class assignment to come up with some designs. Olson said that perhaps the Commissioners could give Grant names of artists to contact. Grant said when the first $200,000 is obtained, the committee would ask the Commission for a proposal on how to run the contest. The Commissioners agreed to do this. The Commission was asked to recommend approval of the concept plan to the City Council. MOTION: Olson moved, seconded by Busack, to recommend that the City Council approve the concept plan recommended by the Veterans Memorial Committee. Motion carried 5-0. B. Revision of Art Resources Directory Werts said she finished up the revisions and they would be going to the publisher on August 15. Next year the Commission should look into adding to the ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES August 14, 2006 Page 3 directory. Olson suggested having an event to bring together the people who are in the directory. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Evaluation of Arts and Culture Programs Busack and Rorem met with Werts in July to compare the arts and culture programs currently offered with the goals and objectives of the Commission. Busack prepared a spreadsheet based on that meeting. The Commissioners each had a copy of the spreadsheet to review and determine where each program would fit under the various categories. Mosow suggested adding a category for "Participation." Under that would be "Audience", "Performers" and "Audience Demographics." Other categories suggested were "Financial", "Duration", "Seasonality" "Location", "Level of Effort", "Facility Need for Programs", and "Community Partnerships." Mosow recommended brainstorming other possibilities. Werts said some of the programs do not have high participation but do not involve much work for her, such as Poetry Night. Others involve much more work, like coming up with suitable programs for the Riley-Jacques barn. Olson pointed out that the City has been doing many of the programs on the list for years and the Commission has had nothing to do with putting them on. The Commission is only advisory. Mosow said if they think of this review as a process taken in steps, they should think about what they want to do with this list. They could have a "what if" session to consider possibilities. Zielke said this is a working document, and it is good to see how these programs fit into the Commission's roles and responsibilities. Mosow asked to have this subject on the agenda for the next meeting. Werts offered to put some information together to add to the grid. B. Cedar Hills Club House Olson reported that she, Jan Mosman and Sandy Werts went to look at the old Cedar Hills clubhouse, which is in the area of the development called Oak Creek at Hennepin Village. They met to put together a proposal for an art center using that space. The memorandum from Bob Lambert regarding the clubhouse says the City Council hasn't yet considered whether or not the City would accept it from the developer. However, Lambert came to them and seemed to be in favor of using it for an Art Center. He thought it could be rented out for private parties in addition to using it as an Art Center. The City will accept proposals for its use. C. Fall Festival of Lights No action was taken, as Commissioner Kathawalla was absent. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES August 14, 2006 Page 4 VII. REPORTS OF STAFF AND COMMISSIONERS A. International Festival Report Werts reported a great turnout, in spite of inclement weather. As a measure of attendance, Twin City Federal gave out 500 bottles of water. There were 360 people for the Cyril Paul concert on the main stage. Werts noted that the plaza stage drew the audience away from the main stage for some of the other performances. Busack said that stage was popular because it allowed for audience participation. She suggested having the Kung Fu group perform on the main stage next year. Werts said her recommendation would be to have the plaza stage used until 5 p.m. and then use the main stage for the evening performances. B. Major Center Area Wayfindins! Committee—Heather Olson Olson said this would be her last report, as the work of the committee is finished. The committee was an advisory group only. The members did come to a consensus on several items. Everybody on the committee agreed that getting around the Major Center Area is confusing and it is necessary to come up with some kind of wayfinding system that would succeed. They were told that State Highway 212 would be returned to the County. Olson suggested renaming it County Road 61, because C.R. 61 (Shady Oak Rd.) joins Hwy. 212 as it comes south. The committee agreed. It will still be called "Flying Cloud Drive." The committee agreed that all the signage should be connected and that there needs to be more signage to indicate how to get back to the highway. The ring road is going to be called "Prairie Center Circle" instead of "Drive." The committee agreed that there should be street signage at every intersection. Numbers will probably be added to the street signs. SRF designed the signs and they are aesthetically pleasing in appearance. Olson stated these new signs will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. A special service district would be formed, composed of all the companies within the major center area that would be affected by the addition of these signs. The companies would have to pay for them through a fee that they propose and approve. SRF suggested names for four quadrants in the Major Center Area: Town Center, the Mall, Valley View, and the Golden Triangle. Olson said the next steps would be to determine how to fund the project and how phasing in different types of signs would be implemented. C. Students on Commissions Werts said the students would be joining the commissions in September. Some will be serving in both the fall and winter/spring classes, and some just in one or the other. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES August 14, 2006 Page 5 For the Arts and Culture Commission, the fall class will include Cassandra Warman, Sarah Ericson and Kristy Shillock. The winter/spring class will include Colin O'Donnell, Sarah Ericson and Kristy Shillock. Olson said the Commissioners should involve the students more by asking them to contribute during each discussion. Mosow suggested having them chair part of the meeting; also, go through the agenda and tell them what to expect and whether they might be asked to join in the discussion. They cannot vote,however. D. Arts and Culture Private Information Werts had distributed a list of the members, with their home addresses. She asked the Commissioners who were present if they wanted to include phone numbers and e-mail addresses. They would not be made available to anyone outside the Commission. Werts asked those who wished to add that information to give it to her and she would redistribute the list. VIII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS A. Art on City Walls Brochure A new brochure listing the names of the artists and the dates their work would be on display in 2006 was given to the Commissioners. It will be sent out to all the artists, and will be available at the front desk of the City Center and Senior Center, where the work is displayed. The Commissioners recommended they be put out every place where children and mothers gather. B. Upcoming Events • Riley-Jacques Twilight Special—August 25 There will be a barn dance on Friday, August 25, from 7-9 p.m. • Park In Movie Free movies will be shown at the Staring Lake Amphitheatre. The movie on August 18 will be "All Dogs Go To Heaven", and "The Princess Bride" will be the movie on August 19. • Sunbonnet Day This event will be at the Riley-Jacques Farmstead on Sunday, September 10, from 12:30-4:30 p.m. IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Grant moved, seconded by Olson, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mosow adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m.