Community_Arts_and_Education_Committee
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 COMMUNITY ARTS, EDUCATION, and GRANTS COMMITTEE
June 10, 2008
4:30 p.m.
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70
San Francisco
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 4:37 p.m.
Commissioners Present: P.J. Johnston, Maya Draisin, Sherri Young, Sherene Melania, Nínive Calegari
Staff Present: Luis R. Cancel, Judy Nemzoff, SanSan Wong, Janet Heller, Robynn Takayama, Ebony McKinney, Lucy Lin
- Cultural Equity Grants Program Director Report
Vice President Draisin thanked Ms. Wong for organizing the successful Arts Town Hall.
- Community Arts and Education Program Director Report
Ms. Nemzoff introduced a festival grant for approval. She noted that the application met the submission deadline, but needed some revisions. The grant supports a new neighborhood-based festival in the Western Addition produced by Brothers for Change.
Commissioner Young made the following motion:
Motion to fund Brothers for Change to support the Western Addition Black Family Day Festival for a grant for $3,000.
Motion passed unanimously.
- WritersCorps Report
Ms. Heller thanked Mr. Cancel for hosting the pre-game reception at the Giants event on June 3.
She introduced a forthcoming anthology, which will feature the writers who have taught in WritersCorps (San Francisco, Bronx, and Washington, DC). City Lights will publish the book in February 2009 and it will launch in Chicago at the Associated Writing Program's annual conference.
President Johnston made the following motion:
Motion to award a grant to the City Lights Foundation in the amount of $5,000 to support printing costs for the National WritersCorps Teachers' Anthology to be published in 2009.
Motion passed unanimously.
- Report from the Director of Cultural Affairs
Mr. Cancel introduced his Cultural Center Energy Conservation Initiative.
Mr. Cancel said the City should be developing a relationship with the Cultural Centers that helps them be responsible for operating the facilities and attract the resources they need to renovate the facilities, recognizing that the City will never be able to raise the needed funds on its own. In addition, this move will help each Center understand what the real costs are to run the Centers.
SFAC staff will work with Cultural Center staff to develop a facilities management plan to help attract a combination of resources from the City and private sector and draw tax credits to renovate the facilities.
Mr. Cancel announced that each Center director would sign a lease in the coming fiscal year and the Centers will now absorb a portion of their facility's energy costs. He proposed an energy subsidy of $20,000 in total as indicated in the handout which he distributed. He said that the Centers could cut costs by making efforts to conserve on their utility bills. Arts Commission staff and Center staff will meet with Wade Crowfoot, the director of Climate Protection Initiatives in the Mayor's office, in the hopes that the Cultural Centers will be awarded funds for special environmental projects as the City's “poster children” for energy efficiency.
Mr. Cancel said this utility expense should be added to their Management and Programming Plan and Budget (“MPP”) for 2008-2009.
President Johnston said he was glad to see the evolution of this initiative and that the handout provided the needed information for the Commissioners and the Center directors. He said that he was enthusiastic about working with the director of Climate Protection Initiatives, but noted that changes to the Centers would take time, given the economy.
Commissioner Young expressed concern that taking on the expense at the start of the fiscal year might be destabilizing for some of the Cultural Centers. She added that these Cultural Centers are located in critical neighborhood locations and provide services vital to the community.
President Johnston said that the Centers will hold the Commission accountable for being good landlords, adding that there is concern about the condition of the buildings. He said that a broken furnace is great for energy conservation, but not good for the Center. He hoped the necessary facility improvements that might increase energy usage would not be discouraged.
Mr. Cancel said that the Mayor has been clear that an aggressive energy conservation policy is on its way and this initiative will place the Cultural Centers “ahead of the curve.” He noted that as the Mayor's plans unfold, many organizations will request subsidies for conservation services.
He added that although the Centers will begin receiving utility bills directly starting July 1, Arts Commission staff has arranged for them to continue benefiting from City rates, which are substantially lower than general public's rates.
Vice President Draisin opened the floor to public comment.
London Breed, executive director of the African American Art and Culture Complex (“AAACC”) protested this expense. She said that the Centers had not been given adequate time to budget in real numbers. She said that her Center already conserves energy, but the electrical system is inadequate. She would prefer to absorb these costs gradually.
She also asked how the Commission spends the administrative allocation, which she said she has asked before. She said that if the administrative fee paid for Center utilities, then there should be a reduction in the amount of Hotel Tax Funds that go towards the administrative fee.
She added that she's discouraged that the Commission can raise funds for a new voucher program and not for facilities improvements.
She concluded that she's ready to move towards self-sufficiency, but is not prepared to take on the utility bills on July 1.
Mr. Cancel said that the administrative fee from the Hotel Tax Fund has been approximately 9.5 percent. He said this has been used to meet the Commission's operating costs. He said that the administrative fee does not fully cover the overhead costs, including staff salaries, office rent, and technical support, required to run the Cultural Center program. He said that this initiative is a step to remedy this discrepancy.
Mr. Vernon Grigg, interim executive director of the Bayview Opera House, said that he supported the principles of conservation but echoed Ms. Breed's sentiments. He said this initiative did not help with the resuscitation of the Cultural Centers and created an added burden on a limited pool of assets.
He noted that public participation increases at his Center as security increases; security is directly related to the amount of light around the building. He said that these conflicting concerns would have to be factored into the programming plan.
He said that garbage removal and phone services had been suspended in the past because of cash-flow problems. But he said that if the power were shut off, it would undermine the organization's credibility in the community.
He added that 2007 was not a good benchmark year to use because his Center's programming was decreased as the board worked to rebuild the organization. He preferred to have the subsidy based on square footage.
Mr. Thomas Simpson, director of AfroSolo, a tenant organization housed at AAACC, said that the decision to charge energy costs to the Centers seemed to be made without consideration of the impact it would have on the arts. He reminded Commissioners that the level of activity in AAACC has increased dramatically in the past five years. He said that these costs would be passed on to the arts collaborators making it prohibitively expensive to program in the space. He also feared that the Centers would compete with their tenant organizations for private foundation funds.
Ms. Pam Wu, executive director of the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (“APICC”), which is a tenant at SomArts, said that SomArts had already raised rental prices and the community complained because they know the building receives funding from the City.
She said $94,000 is too limited for real capital improvements.
She said this would be a bad time to require the Centers to pay for utilities, noting that the Centers received a cut in funding from the Hotel Tax Fund for next year while other expenses are increasing. She said she'd have to cut back programs and staff.
Mr. Cancel said he would work with the Cultural Centers to educate the members of the City's Capital Improvement Committee about the severe Cultural Center needs. He said these facilities have been suffering from an extended period of capital repair neglect and that repair costs become more expensive when they are not addressed.
Commissioner Calegari asked what the current term of the lease was. Mr. Cancel said leases are one year. He said the goal was to help the Centers develop a management package that leads to a long-term lease of over 40 years.
- Cultural Center Report
Vice President Draisin allowed each Center director three minutes to make a presentation about their MPP prior to statements from the Commissioners.
Mr. Grigg thanked the Commission and staff for support and guidance over the past year. He said many improvements have been made to make the Center a vibrant, accessible place in the Bayview. He explained that the Opera House's budget is more detailed than the past, but it was not available for the Commissioners' review. The Opera House board has already received several resumes for the managing director position and they hope to hire someone in August.
Commissioner Young noted that the Center would be closed for renovations, which conflicts with a scheduled community input meeting. Mr. Grigg said he would reschedule the meeting.
President Johnston said he looked forward to reviewing the budget, but felt good about approving the motion.
Vice President Draisin called attention to incomplete portions of the MPP. She said these sections should be completed and the question addressing the role the Center fills in the community should be future-focused.
Commissioner Melania made the following motion:
Motion to approve the proposed 2008-2009 Management and Program Plan and budget for the Bayview Opera House, Inc., for a grant not to exceed $302,939, contingent upon completion of revisions.
Motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Ernie Rivera, the interim executive director at SomArts handed out a timeline for the executive director search, which includes Commission participation in final interviews. Commissioner Calegari said that one month is a short time period to find the right candidate and advised extending the deadline for accepting applicants.
Vice President Draisin said she was impressed with the MPP and the volume of programming. She would like to stay informed about the progress of the executive director search.
Commissioner Johnston said that SomArts is a mature organization with esteemed members of the arts community as part of the staff and board. He felt confident that the accelerated timeline was adequate for the director search.
Ms. Wu said she would be transitioning out of her role as executive director of APICC. She explained that Nancy Hom is finishing APICC's long-range plan and the board hopes to hire a new director in next couple of months. Ms. Wu will stay on the board for a year to advise the new director.
President Johnston made the following motion:
Motion to approve the proposed 2008-2009 Management and Program Plan and budget for South of Market Cultural Center and sub-grantees for a grant not to exceed $749,128 (including $570,652 to SomArts, $89,238 to sub-grantee Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center contingent upon completion of revisions, and $89,238 to sub-grantee Queer Cultural Center), contingent upon completion of revisions.
Motion passed unanimously.
Ms. Breed explained AAACC's need to raise $140,000 in the next fiscal year to support an electrical upgrade which must be complete prior to ADA work paid for by the Mayor's Office on Disability (“MOD”).
President Johnston said that the Commission should address this MOD issue at another time.
President Johnston made the following motion:
Motion to approve the proposed 2008-2009 Management and Program Plan and budget for the African American Arts and Culture Complex for a grant not to exceed $462,627, contingent upon completion of revisions.
Motion passed unanimously.
In the absence of the executive director of Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, Ms. Nemzoff spoke on behalf of their MPP. She said she was pleased to see ongoing professional development included in the MPP for staff and board. She said that programming has remained consistent and strong, and the Center receives revenue from programming. She would, however, like to see efforts to support and/or expand the organization's budget and plans from additional philanthropic sources through increased grantwriting and development.
Commissioner Young made the following motion:
Motion to approve the proposed 2008-2009 Management and Program Plan and budget for Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts for a grant not to exceed $521,336, contingent upon completion of revisions.
Motion passed unanimously.
- New Business
President Johnston said he would like to schedule a fuller discussion of the MPPs within the next two months. He added that this process should be professionalized and that the Commissioners would benefit from the discussion.
He rejected the notion that the Commission has not supported the Cultural Centers. He said that this is a rough year for everyone, but when times are good, we all benefit. He recalled that when the Commission received addbacks, many members of the Arts Task Force said they should not be applied to the Cultural Centers. The Commission advocated for the Centers.
He advised the Centers to focus on board development and to call on Mr. Cancel's experience running the Bronx Museum.
He also rejected the notion that efforts by the Centers to fundraise will cut into the success of the tenant organizations.
Ms. Nemzoff said that CompassPoint will be submitting a report about their experience working with the Centers, which was to be focused on board development and transitional leadership.
Commissioner Melania said she would like an outline of the Commission and Cultural Center responsibilities to better understand accountability.
Mr. Cancel said the Bay Area has a high concentration of people with liquid wealth and that the Commission needs to figure out how to tap into these individuals.
- Adjournment
As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:05 p.m.
6/26/08 RT
