Executive Committee - April 28, 2014 - Meeting Minutes

MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OF THE ARTS COMMISSION

Monday, April 28, 2014
12:00 noon
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70

Draft Minutes
 

President JD Beltran called the meeting to order at 12:12 p.m.

1. Roll Call
   Commissioners Present
   JD Beltran, President
   Abby Sadin Schnair, Vice President
   Leo Chow
   Simon Frankel
   Roberto Ordeñana

    
   Commissioners Absent
   None
    

2. Public Comment
   President Beltran took this item out of order.

    
   Stephen Worsley of Coit Depression Preservationists said that Coit Tower’s art collection must obtain museum status, with a docent and staff, not under the control of the Department of Recreation and Parks. He requested the Arts Commission’s support, discussed some of the history of the art, and added that he thought funding for a museum could be raised from San Francisco socialites.

   Mr. DeCaigny pointed out that the Committee could not discuss this matter at today’s meeting because it had not been calendared and publicly noticed. Because Coit Tower will be reopening shortly, he thought it was timely for staff to give an update to the full Commission at its May 5 meeting, including discussion of the work being done to restore the murals and of the Arts Commission’s collaboration with the Department of Recreation and Parks.

   Commissioner Chow joined the meeting at approximately 12:20 p.m.

   Paula Datesh submitted the following written statement:

   “Public Comment-Executive Meeting April 28, 2014
   “There are four types of law-Federal; State; Local and the law according to Howard Lazar. The latter is the most annoying and confusing as it changes constantly and no one at the SFAC seems to monitor or even care what he does. Once again, Lazar has made a mistake in his calculations of the 2014 Street Artist budget. The Mayor has stepped in once to fund his mistake. Will he step in again? $100,000 is no small error. Lazar-speak (a separate language whose main purpose is not to answer the question and supply irrelevant information) is that it isn’t his fault and he knows nothing about it.

   “Mike Addario is a Street Artist who’s entire life revolves around a 4 foot space; gossip; finger pointing and annoying accusations that make no sense. Lazar hasn’t been able to shut him down at public meetings; uses people to get dirt on Addario and Addario will vent on anyone stupid enough to stop by his stand. If you are so unhappy in that program-go elsewhere.

   “Bill and William Clark are by far the most annoying; immature and angry of the tribe called the Street Artists of San Francisco. They rarely work and hang around Fisherman’s Wharf like piranha wanting to drag anyone into their 41 year old melodrama with Lazar. Both are full of rage;gossip and want to retry cases of 41 years ago. Does anyone really want to be cornered by them? Don’t think so. Especially on Easter.

   “Add into the mix-John Tunui a manager at Justin Herman Plaza who runs the Plaza like his personal living room; adding a tip box and making too many stupid police calls. His YouTube video and Goggle tree vent his anger and need for control. Tunui doesn’t seem to have much going for him. Harassment, slander and verbal abuse are his management strategy.

   “I don’t recommend that anyone with any sense of normalcy apply for that permit. The Kindergarten mentality; strange handwritten violations are just an excuse to hold a hearing to slander a colleague and the increase of fees makes for a hostile work environment.

   “Work in New York. There are no Addarios;Clarks; Tunuis or Lazars. No one there would put up with them.”
    
   There was no further public comment.
    

3. President’s Report
   President Beltran reported that she and Vice President Schnair have met with Mr. DeCaigny and Deputy Director Rebekah Krell to plan policy discussion topics for the full Commission for the rest of the year, based on items already proposed by Commissioners. She welcomed additional topics.

   There was no public comment.
    

4. Director’s Report
   Mr. DeCaigny reported that the nonprofit displacement working group had circulated its final draft report, and that he and Brian Cheu of the Mayor’s office were scheduled to report its findings and recommendations to the Board of Supervisors shortly. He explained that the report proposed a variety of approaches to address the needs of arts and culture nonprofits as well as social service and youth and family nonprofits in a holistic way. He reported that Mr. Cheu and he would be asking the Board of Supervisors to release $2 million for arts and culture, and $2.515 million for social service organizations, which would be administered through an intermediary entity selected through a Request for Proposals.

   He thanked Ms. Krell and Development Director Rachelle Axel for their support, and added that the final report would be posted online when it was released.

   Mr. DeCaigny presented the revised organization chart as an informational update to the Committee, noting that it was one of the items addressed in the strategic plan. He reported that he and Ms. Krell, in her human resources capacity, were working with staff to implement its changes in the new fiscal year. He reviewed the chart, noting that the primary change was greater integration of the Cultural Equity and Community Arts and Education grantmaking functions.

   He reported that Cultural Equity Grants Program Director Lucy Lin would be leaving to pursue graduate studies, and he thanked her for her seven years of service.

   Mr. DeCaigny and Ms. Krell reported on the status of the Arts Commission’s planned move into the War Memorial Veterans Building in 2015, and reviewed the draft floor plans with the Committee.

   Public Comment:

   Ms. Datesh asked about how the agency would deal with greater visibility and traffic when staff was unavailable during business hours.

   There was no further public comment.
    

5. Third Quarter FY2013-2014 Budget Report
   Mr. DeCaigny asked Ms. Krell to present the third quarter budget report, and the Committee reviewed and discussed it.

    
   Public Comment:

   Ms. Datesh said there was confusion about the budget for the Street Artists Program, and that the public had a right to know.

   There was no further public comment.
    

6. Golden Gate Panhandle Path Improvements
   Senior Registrar Allison Cummings introduced Dera-Jill Lamontagne Pozner of North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association (“NOPNA”), who sought the Committee’s approval of proposed improvements in Golden Gate Park near the McKinley monument. Ms. Cummings explained that Arts Commission staff strongly supported the proposal because it would make the McKinley monument less susceptible to graffiti, and up till now it has been a frequent target of graffiti vandalism. Further, the improvements will make the monument more accessible. The Committee discussed the proposal, including its scope and funding. Mr. DeCaigny added that fencing, signage and other structural elements would, as usual, come before the Civic Design Review Committee for its approval at the appropriate time.

   President Beltran amended the motion to add the phrase “provide a letter of support from the San Francisco Arts Commission,” and the motion was passed unanimously as follows.

   Motion to provide a letter of support from the San Francisco Arts Commission for the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association (“NOPNA”), Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (“HANC”) and Panhandle Residents Organization/Stanyan-Fulton (“PRO/SF”) joint application to San Francisco Recreation and Parks Community Opportunity Grant program for improvements to the Panhandle segment of Golden Gate Park.
    

7. New Business and Announcements
   There was no new business or announcements.
    
8. Adjournment
   There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:31 p.m.

5/12/14 spr

Language Accessibility

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost. For assistance, please notify Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2591, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.

我們將為閣下提供免費的書面翻譯資料和口譯服務。如需協助，Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2591, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.

Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2591, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.