City and County of San FranciscoSan Francisco Arts Commission

Executive Committee - March 24, 2014 - Meeting Minutes

Executive Committee - March 24, 2014

MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OF THE ARTS COMMISSION

Monday, March 24, 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
    Simon Frankel
    Roberto Ordeñana
     
    Commissioners Absent
    Leo Chow
     
  2. President’s Report
    President Beltran reported on a very successful ArtCare event held at the home of former Arts Commissioner and Fine Arts Museums Board Chair Dede Wilsey, as part of the formation of an independent nonprofit organization that will support the Arts Commission.
     
    She also reported on the groundbreaking for the Veterans Memorial, and she reported that the Arts Commission’s strategic plan is posted on the website, and the agency is moving forward with the recommendations.
     
    There was no public comment.
     
  3. Director’s Report
    Mr. DeCaigny reported that the emerging “friends of the Arts Commission” 501(c)3 organization will assume the name of ArtCare, building on the legacy of the Arts Commission program of the same name. He thanked Ms. Wilsey for hosting the event.
     
    Mr. DeCaigny gave an update on conservation work at Coit Tower and the great press coverage of the project. He commended Communications Director Kate Patterson-Murphy for getting the word out to the press, and he announced the tower’s reopening later this spring.
     
    He reported on the status of the Nonprofit Displacement working group, and on the funding proposed by the Board of Supervisors to address the situation. He reported that his testimony before the Board on March 18 was posted on SFGTV. Finally, he described the Board’s approach to addressing the needs of nonprofit organizations citywide that are experiencing displacement.
     
    There was no public comment.
     
  4. WritersCorps Posters
    WritersCorps Program Manager Melissa Hung presented the poster designs for “This is Where,” modified in response to comments by the Visual Arts Committee. She explaind that the posters, featuring poems written by WritersCorps students with their photos, were scheduled for display on the Muni T-Line by the end of the current school year. The Executive Committee was being asked to approve the final design revisions in order to meet the schedule.
     
    The Committee reviewed the designs and made a few suggestions to simplify them. They agreed to delegate final approval of the last round of revisions to President Beltran.
     
    There was no public comment, and the motion was amended and unanimously approved as follows.
     
    Motion to approve poster designs developed by graphic designer Joy Liu, featuring portraits by photographer Damien Maloney and poetry excerpts by youth from the San Francisco Arts Commission’s WritersCorps program, contingent upon final design approval by President Beltran. The posters will be displayed in fifteen transit stops facing the platform on the T-Line from April through September, 2014.
     
  5. Anti-Graffiti Legislation
    Ms. Krell distributed the digest of the legislation proposed by Supervisor Breed, and explained the legislative process. Mr. DeCaigny reported on the press conference held by the Supervisor, noting the support of other City departments, including the Municipal Transportation Agency and the City Attorney’s office. He stressed that the proposed legislation drew a clear distinction between sanctioned artwork and graffiti vandalism, and would provide a valuable tool to address illegal graffiti. He pointed out that abatement of graffiti and vandalism consumed the bulk of the Arts Commission’s allocation for maintenance and conservation of the Civic Art Collection. He added that the proposed legislation would help relieve the burden on property owners victimized by graffiti vandalism, who are now responsible for the costs of its removal, by shifting the burden to the vandals (or their parents, if they are minors).
     
    The Committee discussed the proposed legislation, and Ms. Krell noted that a representative of Supervisor Breed’s office would make a report on the proposed legislation to the full Commission at its next meeting.
     
    There was no public comment, and the motion was unanimously approved as follows.
     
    Motion to endorse proposed anti-graffiti legislation before the Board of Supervisors, introduced by Supervisor London Breed and cosponsored by Supervisors Mark Farrell, Scott Wiener and Katy Tang, as follows:
     
    File No. 140261. “Ordinance amending the Park and Police Codes to ban convicted graffiti offenders from bringing graffiti and etching tools, etching cream, and slap tags into parks or on Municipal Transportation Agency vehicles; amending the Public Works Code to extend the administrative process and potential administrative remedies to graffiti offenses committed on public property; amending the Public Works Code to permit the City to pursue civil remedies, including injunctive relief, civil penalties, attorney's fees, and repayment of abatement costs, against graffiti offenders; and making uncodified findings.”
     
  6. Arts Commission Emergency Preparedness Plan
    Mr. DeCaigny noted that completion of an emergency preparedness plan was one of his perfomance goals. He asked Ms. Krell and Office Manager Anne Trickey to discuss the plan. Ms. Trickey explained that she was the agency’s designated contact with the City’s Department of Emergency Management, and discussed her work with other department coordinators and museum staff. She reviewed the current plan, including staff training and replenishing emergency supplies, and working with Building Management staff on emergency drills. She discussed next steps for plans to address the status of the most important artworks in the Civic Art Collection in the wake of an emergency.
     
    The Committee discussed the plan, including how staff might be quickly reached by text message or another method in an emergency. The Committee also discussed the provisions of the law in the event the Commission might need to act as a body in an emergency.
     
    Mr. DeCaigny added that Arts Commission staff is working with the Cultural Centers to ensure that they have adequate emergency plans in place.
     
    There was no public comment.
     
  7. Public Art Trust
    Public Art Trust and Special Projects Director Jill Manton reviewed the history of Section 429 of the Planning Code, which establishes a Public Art Trust. The Code requires private developers within the C-3 district (downtown), and certain other districts, to spend one percent of their construction cost on public art. Ms. Manton explained that developers now have the option either to install publicly accessible artwork onsite, or to deposit the fee into the Public Art Trust, which can be used for temporary or permanent artworks, installations, or events at another site, or for maintenance or conservation of artworks in the Civic Art Collection, or other uses. She cited examples from other cities.
     
    She discussed a draft fact sheet and guidelines being developed in cooperation with Planning Department staff, and next steps to encourage developers to use the fund.
     
    The Committee discussed the trust, legislation, draft fact sheet and guidelines, and possible implementation strategies and projects.
     
    There was no public comment.
     
  8. Public Comment
    There was no public comment.
     
  9. New Business and Announcements
    Mr. DeCaigny suggested adding a review of the Public Art Trust to the next meeting of the full Arts Commission.
     
    There was no public comment.
     
  10. Adjournment
    There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:26 p.m.

6/11/14 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.

Ang mga materyales na nakasalin sa ibang wika at ang mga serbisyong tagapagsalin sa wika ay walang bayad. Para sa tulong, maaring i-contact si Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2591, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.