Public Arts Committee Minutes – February 14, 2023

Town of Chestertown
PUBLIC ARTS COMMITTEE (PAC)
Tuesday, Feb 14, 2023
4:00PM at Town Hall and Zoom
Meeting Minutes

Participants:

• Kate Dowd
• Dave Hegland (Secretary)
• Carla Massoni
• Bob Ortiz
• Hester Sachse (ex-officio: Kent Cultural Alliance and Chestertown A&E District)
• Marianne Sade
• Ben Tilghman (Chair)
• Pam White (Vice Chair)

• Guest Participant – Jim Bogden (Chair of the Recreation Commission)

1. PAC minutes of Jan 10, 2023 were approved.
2. New Town Manager:  There was a brief discussion on whether town committees should have input on candidates for the new Town Manager.  It was agreed that Ben would reach out to other committees and see if there was a consensus to ask the town council for committee input.
3. Update on the Woicke Sculptures:
   1. Ben reported on the costs associated with the Phase I installation.  Costs were below initial estimates.
   2. Hester reported she continues to work with Joe Karlic on PAC recommended changes to the signs.  She also agreed to create new temporary signs for the newly installed sculptures.
   3. There was agreement to include the Swish Nicholson Sculpture as part of the town Public Art and include it on the Public Arts website.
4.  Website:
   1. There was discussion on how to inform people on the process to donate public art.
   2. Also, how on making it easier to make monetary donations on the website.
   3. There was discussion of posting photos from the public on the Website (and Social Media).
5. Social Media:  Pam reported on the setup of the Social Media program.
6. Public Art for Ajax Park:  Hester reported on funding options for a wall mural next to Ajax Park.
7. Jim Bogden Chair of Chestertown Recreation Commission:
   1. Jim reported on upcoming Recreation Commission plans and ideas and how they might fit with those of the Public Arts Committee.
   2. The Recreation Commissions has no plans for Carpenter Park that would necessitate the relocation of the recently installed Vessel Sculpture.
8. Butterfly Installation at Garnet Elementary
   1. The School and the Garden Club have an event planned in May and would like the Butterfly installed prior to the event.
   2. Items to be addressed prior to installation are design and fabrication of a base/pedestal and repair and painting of some of the interior pieces.  Bob Ortiz will reach out to a local Metal artist that was suggested for repair and painting of the sculpture.
9. Strategic Plan:  Ben asked that plan comments from the PAC be coordinated via email prior to the mid-March deadline.
10. Archive Update – Marianne reported:
    1. Marianne, Kate, and Carla are developing a final draft document with a target date of May.
    2. The group would like the PAC to consider hiring an archivist.
    3. Space may be available in the third floor of the Town Hall for the archive.
11. Action Items:
    1. Closed Action Items from previous meeting:
       1. CLOSED – Ben will ask Miles Barnard for the total number of hours he donated to the installation effort.
       2. CLOSED – Ben will ask Miles Barnard to provide an estimate of the cost to relocate “Vessel” within Carpenter Park (Not needed per the Rec Committee)
       3. CLOSED – Dave, Kate and Ben will work on providing Bill Ingersoll the information necessary for the Conservation and Installation RFP (awaiting feedback from Bill).
       4. CLOSED – Pam will setup a Facebook account for the PAC.
       5. CLOSED – Ben will provide Marianne a copy of the Town Public Art Accession document for the addition of public art to the town collection.
       6. CLOSED – Pam will get together with Jim Bogden (Chairman of the Recreation Commission) to review potential plans to make sure PAC and the Rec Commission are in sync (Jim made presentation to the PAC at Feb meeting).
       7. CLOSED – The Signage committee will continue work on temporary and permanent signage (Hester is Working with Joe Karlic on permanent signs and will put out temporary signs on the newly installed sculptures).
    2.  Ongoing Action Items from previous meeting:
       1. ONGOING – All committee members will send their number of monthly volunteer hours to Pam.
       2. ONGOING – Marianne, Kate and Carla need input from the PAC on what should be archived and any other thoughts on archiving and comments/suggestions on draft documents.
       3. ONGOING – Kate, Marianne, and Carla will work to establish a plan, policy and procedure for what information/records/items should be kept and archived.
       4. ONGOING – Ben will reach out to the community regarding ideas for potential new PAC members (1 open position remaining).
       5. ONGOING – Ben will meet with the Town Manager Bill Ingersoll regarding: the project management position, RFP for remaining installations, and Installation agreements.
       6. ONGOING – Ben will give the Town Council an update on the completion of the Phase 1 installation (committee members will be notified when the update is scheduled).
       7. ONGOING – Hester will get back to Joe Karlic to provide input from the PAC on the signs (e.g., size).
       8. ONGOING – Pam will setup an Instagram account for the PAC.
       9. ONGOING – Hester will put together a budget with funding sources for an Ajax Park Mural.
    3. New Action Items:
       1. NEW – Ben will reach out to other Chestertown Committee Chairs to see if there is a consensus on committees having input on the candidates for the new Town Manager Position.
       2. NEW – Hester will create new temporary signs for the installed sculptures.
       3. NEW – Dave and Marianne will work with Francoise to add Swish Nicholson to the Public Arts Website.
       4. NEW – Dave will work with Francoise to add to the Public Arts Website (under Support Public Arts) information on the accession policy and the process to make donations of public art.
       5. NEW – Ben will reach out to Kristen Owen (Chesapeake Bank and Trust) about how to make it easier to make monetary donations to the Public Arts through the website.
       6. NEW – Dave will have the image of Face Fragment with snow posted on the website.
       7. NEW – Bob will reach out to a local metal artist concerning repair and painting of the Butterfly Sculpture for the May event at Garnet.
       8. NEW – All send comments on the Town Strategic Plan to Ben.
       9. NEW – All read and send comments to Marianne on Archive documents (and on any comments/suggestions).
       10. NEW – Pam will get back to the group with suggestions on the need for a Social Media Consultant
       11. NEW – All come back with suggestions on future locations for the remaining sculptures.
       12. NEW – All download documents and photos for archive to Google Drive.  Contact Kate if you have questions.
12. Meeting Adjourned – Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday Mar Feb 14, 4:00PM.