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HomeMy WebLinkAboutArts Commission - 04/20/1999 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE ARTS COMMISSION TUESDAY,APRIL 20, 1999 7:15 P.M. City Center Atrium Conference Room 8080 Mitchell Road, Eden Prairie COMMISISON MEMBERS: Ann Birt, Deb Campbell-Potter, Susan Dickman, Harry Gerrish,Andrea McGillan, Barb Nordby and David Steppat COMMUNITY EDUCATION LIAISON: Ann Coates PERFORMING ARTS ENSEMBLE: Ann Crawford STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Jonathan Engbrecht and Lukus Porter STAFF: Tria Mann,Arts & Special Events Coordinator Carol Pelzel, Recorder I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Campbell-Potter at 7:15 p.m. Commissioner Dickman and Performing Arts Ensemble Representative Ann Crawford were excused. Commissioner Gerrish and Student Representatives Engbrecht and Porter were absent. Commissioner Birt arrived at 7:20 p.m. and Commissioner Nordby left at 8:10 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chairperson Campbell-Potter asked that under New Business, input to the draft of the budget be added as Number 2 under Item A. and June meeting be added as Item B. Nordby asked that the Poetry Event Update under Reports of Commissioners be moved to the beginning of the agenda because she has to leave the meeting early. Nordby also requested that Item 3, Park in Movie Update,be tabled. Motion: Steppat moved, Nordby seconded, to approve the agenda as amended. The motion carried, 4-0. III. OPEN PODIUM IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —Tuesday, March 16, 1999 Campbell-Potter recommended the following changes to the March 16 minutes: Board be changed to Commission throughout the minutes; contractions in the minutes be corrected; the last line of the third paragraph on Page 3 read that"Campbell-Potter agreed that he needed a ARTS COMMISSION April 20, 1999 Page 2 better designated space"rather than more of a designated space; full time in the last sentence of the last paragraph on Page 3 not be hyphenated; and, under Reports of Liaisons, the fourth sentence read "Campbell-Potter asked why they are reserving seats" rather than why are they selling reserved seating. Steppat said he estimated between 2,000 and 2,500 people were in attendance for the Arts Festival and not between 1,500 and 2,000 as the minutes state. Coates said it was recommended that next year's Arts Festival run from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. rather than 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. She asked that this be included in the minutes. Motion: Seppat moved, McGillan seconded, to approve the March 16, 1999, minutes as corrected. The motion carried 5-0. V. RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS A. Reports of Commissioners 1. Poetry Event Update—Barbara Nordby Nordby reported that the Eden Prairie newspaper did a nice job of promoting the Poetry event. She said she feels the library did a better job of promoting this event than the City did. It did not appear on the City's Web site or on the reader board located outside of City Hall. They only have eight poets that signed up compared to last year when they had 18 to 20. Nordby said she did distribute flyers at SW Metro, Friendship Village and several other locations. They did limit where the brochures were distributed. Next year they may want to consider promoting the event in other areas. Nordby pointed out that this is one of the few open night poetry mikes in the Twin City area. Campbell-Potter stated that this is a great event and nice that the Commission can be involved in things like this. Nordby mentioned that Starbucks is a sponsor of this event and have been very helpful. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. Center for the Arts Campbell-Potter suggested that the Commission consider whether or not they want to discuss the issue of an Art Center. The Foundation is still interested in the Art Center and the Commission has applied for a grant to research the need or desire for an Art Center. This research would assist the Commission in pursuing this endeavor. Campbell-Potter explained that discussion continues with the Eden Prairie Center and the Commission does feel that it would be advantageous to have preliminary plans ready so if they are given the go ahead they can do so rather quickly. Steppat asked for an update as to what is happening with development of the Eden Prairie Center and if there has been any discussion about space being available for an Art Center. Mann responded that plans have been received for a theater and bookstore and she is not aware of there being space available for an Art Center. ARTS COMMISSION April 20, 1999 Page 3 Campbell-Potter stated that perhaps the timing of this item is slightly premature and they may want to wait until they get a firm confirmation. Campbell-Potter said she would talk to Chris Enger to see what the status of a Center for the Arts is and to get a more definitive update. Also, they need to wait to see what happens with the grant application and they may still want to pursue the research should that grant be awarded. They need to do some type of survey whether it be via the grant or some other means. Once this is accomplished, they will know better how to proceed. Coates indicated that the School District is talking about restoring an old gym and she questioned whether or not it could be used as a community type center. Steppat said it would be worth discussing. Nordby suggested that the Commission meet with someone from the Hopkins Center for the Arts and find out how they accomplished building their facility. It is a neighboring community and has accomplished some of the things this Commission has been discussing. Steppat said we need to have a clear idea of what an Arts Center is and we need to determine what this Commission's next step is going to be. Campbell-Potter said it is hard to determine what we need to do until we know what the community wants. Coates pointed out that we would also need the support of non-artists. Steppat said we need to formulate a process to determine the Commission's direction regarding an Arts Center. Birt suggested that we also consider a teen drop-in facility. We may want to consider combining these two facilities. Campbell-Potter said she would meet with Chris Enger and will report back to the Commission in May. She also suggested that they look into meeting with a representative from the Hopkins Center for the Arts. B. Strategic Plan Review The Commission reviewed the Strategic Plan/Project Management Program giving an update on each item. Regarding creating public awareness in Eden Prairie of arts events, etc. Birt reported that they have accomplished this with the Arts Festival and Poetry events and student representatives were involved. Coates reported on partnerships with other community organizations, arts resources, etc. She indicated that she is disappointed with the Bloomington Art Center partnership. Coates said she would be more interested in using them as a resource and will review this partnership in the fall. The Commission reviewed the partnership with the Historical Preservation Commission and the Historical Society. Mann reported that the City and School do meet three times a year. Arts does seem to be a gray area,however, it does not seem to be a problem. Mann said the School Board members and City Council representatives have discussed a number of issues and the partnership is there. One area that could be improved is that of joint information about art opportunities in Eden Prairie. They need to look at combining resources. Campbell-Potter said she feels the Arts Commission needs its own Web ARTS COMMISSION April 20, 1999 Page 4 site combined with the art calendar. Mann said staff is looking into placing additional information on the Parks and Recreation Web page. Steppat reported on establishing a special initiative budget. He suggested that they continue to make funds available for different events such as the poetry event and park-in-movie. They also need to look at what programs they want to keep and if they want to change how they spend the funds. Steppat said they would need to discuss some alternate funding resources and what events should be funded from alternative resources. Mann reported on creating a broad-based pool of community volunteers. Human Resources has hired a part-time person to work on developing a volunteer program for the City and they will be creating job descriptions for these volunteer positions. With regard to developing processes that promote "out-of-box" thinking about the arts, Coates suggested that they hold a future meeting at the Outdoor Center. Campbell-Potter suggested that they meet there for their July and August meetings. Mann reported on identifying and pursuing multiple funding sources. She stated that she is in the process of reviewing sponsorship programs. Mann said she is looking at going back to individualized programs rather than blanket programs and hopes to have a revised program by this summer or fall. Campbell-Potter reported on identifying barriers to accessibility and stated that they have not dealt with issues such as parking and transportation. Mann indicated that they have been working with SW Metro to provide transportation for the concert series. SW has agreed to provide evening transportation for some of the concerts and will pick specific dates. Mann said the airport is also working with them to allow parking on their property for big events. With regard to establishing vision of"arts center" and create a plan to bring to fruition, Campbell-Potter stated that they did discuss this issue earlier this evening. Birt pointed out that there was an article in the Minneapolis paper offering a trip to Europe that was mutually sponsored by the Bloomington Center for the Arts and Edina. She suggested that they look into this as an additional consumer base for people interested in the arts. With regard to defining a "signature event" that puts Eden Prairie on the arts map, Campbell- Potter pointed out that this has been accomplished with the concert series and the Arts Festival. Campbell-Potter explained that undertaking comprehensive arts needs assessment within Eden Prairie was discussed earlier. Coates suggested that they discuss at a future meeting a method for surveying the residents. Steppat said they would be discussing this further under the grants item. ARTS COMMISSION April 20, 1999 Page 5 VII. NEW BUSINESS A. 2000 Budget Cycle 1. Revenue Sources Mann explained that they have not received any formal reports from the Finance Department. However, staff has been informed that they will need to develop a two-year cycle budget for the years 2000 and 2001 in June of this year. Campbell-Potter explained that she, Steppat and Mann would meet to develop a draft of the budget. She asked the Commission to provide them with any thoughts they might have regarding the budget and if there are any programs they would like to see dropped or added. Campbell-Potter pointed out that it is a real challenge to raise enough funds for the Arts Festival. She suggested that they set aside some additional funding for this activity. Mann pointed out that the Arts Festival is still under the Arts Initiative budget. She suggested that they make it a separate program. Also, Mann suggested that they discuss the Winter Performance and that they look at increasing ticket prices. These are items that need to be considered when developing the budget and they need to look at other revenue sources. Birt suggested that they provide more funding for advertising and printing. The signage at the Eden Prairie Center for the Arts Festival was not adequate. Campbell-Potter stated that they would be preparing a draft budget and will plan to discuss it at the May Commission meeting. VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS A. Reports of Commissioners 1. Grant Update—David Steppat Steppat reported that he has submitted a MARC grant application. Steppat said he has been working with a market research firm that specializes in qualitative research. They have suggested that a series of focus groups be formed which are effective for identifying issues, wants and needs. Should this grant be awarded to them, the funding could be used for this market research. As a Commission, they will need to identify the issues and what needs to be discussed by the focus groups. Steppat said they would know by June 9 whether or not they will be awarded the grant. The advantage to using this firm is that it will be an independent third party. Steppat said he has received some additional grant information from a grant workshop he attended. Arts Across Minnesota has funds available which he feels they qualify for. The ARTS COMMISSION April 20, 1999 Page 6 application deadline for this grant is May 17 and he indicated that he intends to put together an application for the grant. 2. Park in Movie Update—Barbara Nordby This item was tabled. B. Reports of Liaisons 1. Note: Summer Theatre Auditions Begin April 20 Mann reported that callbacks would take place on Thursday evening. C. Reports of Staff Mann presented the schedule for the 1999 Staring Lake Concert Series. Mann explained that she is still pulling reports together from the Arts Festival and hopes to have this completed by the next meeting. IX. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS X. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION Mann reported that the Mississippi River Landscape is opening up a historical area within the park for artists to come in and paint. Mann distributed various information brochures that she had received. XI. DISCUSS ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING A. Next meeting—May 18, 1999 McGillan said she might not be in attendance at the May 18 meeting. Campbell-Potter suggested that the June meeting be held on June 21 at 5:30 p.m. for an impromptu supper. The Commission agreed that this would be a good date and time. IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Birt moved, McGillan seconded, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried, 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.