MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OF THE ARTS COMMISSION

Monday, June 24, 2019
12:30 p.m.
401 Van Ness Avenue, Room 125

Minutes
 

President Ordeñana called the meeting to order at 12:45 p.m.

1. Roll Call
   Commissioners Present
   Roberto Ordeñana, President
   Kimberlee Stryker, Vice President
   JD Beltran
   Charles Collins
   
    
   Commissioners Absent
   Mary Jung
    
2. General Public Comment
   There was no public comment.
    
   President Ordeñana announced that the Committee would consider agenda item 5, regarding the agreement with the San Francisco Symphony, following the Director’s Report, and would consider item 4, regarding the MJM contract for the Art Vendor Market, following item 6, New Business and Announcements. He explained that he had a potential conflict of interest regarding the MJM contract because MJM is a funder of his employer, the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center, and he would therefore recuse himself from consideration of that item.
    
3. Director’s Report
   Mr. DeCaigny reported on the status of the budget, explaining that the Board of Supervisors’ Budget Committee had heard it twice, as scheduled, and was forwarding it to the full Board for hearing on June 25. He reported that the most significant change was the new funding from Proposition E. He added that the Cultural Services Allocation Plan (“CSAP”) recommendations will go to the full Arts Commission at its August 5 meeting, after approval by Mr. DeCaigny, Grants for the Arts Director Matthew Goudeau and City Administrator Naomi Kelly. Mr. DeCaigny is conferring with the City Attorney’s office to clarify what role the Board might play regarding the CSAP, since the legislation specifies approval by the City Administrator and the Arts Commission.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny reported on successful requests for capital funding projects, including improvements to the elevators and to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning ("HVAC") system at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. Arts Commission staff is also working with Public Works staff on a thorough assessment of seismic safety to prioritize projects. He added that additional funds have been authorized for care of the City's Civic Art Collection, and he thanked the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors for recognizing these critical needs.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny reported on the hiring process for the several vacant positions at the Arts Commission; application periods for the Senior Data and Racial Equity Analyst, Deputy Director of Administration and Finance, and Deputy Director of Programs closed recently and interviews are planned for the end of July or beginning of August; and final decisions are close on the Program Associate positions. He is hopeful that all of the vacant positions will be filled by Labor Day
    
   Mr. DeCaigny announced that Director of Public and Private Partnerships Rachelle Axel will be Acting Director during his vacation June 30-July 12; he noted that this travel was planned long before the departure of the Deputy Director.
    
   He announced the opening of the Harvey Milk exhibition at the renovated San Francisco Airport Terminal One, where the first of several public artworks has been installed, adding that there will be an opportunity for the public to visit. Finally, he reported that Community Investments staff are working hard to process all of the grants approved by the Commission at its recent meetings so that funds can be disbursed starting July 1. He reported that this was the largest allocation of grant dollars to date, a total of over $4 million, with more than $1 million to individual artists. President Ordeñana noted that he was proud that the Commission was able to allocate such a large amount of funding to San Francisco artists and arts organizations.
    
   There was no public comment.
    
4. San Francisco Symphony Agreement
   Mr. DeCaigny explained that this was a standard motion that the Commission approves every two or three years, and that the City Charter allocates a portion of the ad valorem tax collected by the City to the Symphony. He noted that the amount listed is the Controller's best current estimate, and the final number could change. He said that the Arts Commission is grateful for the voluntary gift from the Symphony back to the Commission of 40% of the funds, which supports the Galleries and other projects at the Commission, and for the ongoing partnership with the Symphony and their work in education and in the community.
    
   He introduced Marni Cook, Director of Community Engagement and Volunteer Services for the Symphony. She thanked the Commission for the long-term partnership and ongoing relationship with the Symphony and said she was ready to answer any questions from the Committee.
    
   There was no public comment and the motion was unanimously approved as follows.
    
   Motion, pursuant to Charter Section 16.106(1), to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into an agreement with the San Francisco Symphony to produce twelve Symphony concerts in each of fiscal years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, for a total of 24 concerts, one of which each year is to be free to the public and held in a publicly accessible venue, commencing August 1, 2019 and concluding by August 31, 2021, for an amount equal to the Controller’s calculation of the ad valorem tax for FY 2019-2020 and FY 2020-2021, currently estimated to be $6,658,946.
    
5. New Business and Announcements
   Mr. DeCaigny reminded the Committee that there would be no meeting of the full Commission in July, and that the motions approved at this meeting would appear on the Consent Calendar for the full Commission at its August 5 meeting.
    
   Commissioner Beltran arrived at 12:58 p.m.
    
   President Ordeñana requested a final high-level budget update once the budget has been approved by the Board of Supervisors. Mr. DeCaigny agreed and added that once the new Racial Equity Analyst is in place, he expected to present information on strategies and performance measures for implementation of the Commission's racial equity statement and action plan approved in February.
    
   Public Comment:
    
   Teresita Medal spoke on behalf of construction of a performing arts education center at City College of San Francisco ("CCSF"). She discussed the history of the bond which was to fund the performing arts center, and the other buildings that have been constructed. She asserted that the majority of students in the arts at CCSF are people of color and that construction of the center was a racial equity issue. She requested the support of the Commission to let the Chancellor and the trustees know that students need this center.
    
   There was no further public comment.
    
   President Ordeñana advised that because this matter had not been noticed on the Committee's agenda, they could not discuss it in any detail. Mr. DeCaigny said that he was aware of the capital program at CCSF, and could speak with some of the board members to gather more information. He explained that this was not a matter within the Arts Commission's jurisdiction, and he would need to check with the City Attorney's office to determine what the Commission could or not say or do.
    
   There was no new further business or announcements, and no further public comment.
    
    
   President Ordeñana left the meeting at 1:07 p.m., and Vice President Stryker chaired the remainder of the meeting.
    
6. MJM Management Contract for Art Vendor Market
   Mr. DeCaigny explained that this motion regards a contract for the management of the Street Artists licensees at the Embarcadero Plaza, the busiest location for the program. He explained that Arts Commission staff have surveyed the artists to evaluate how well the contract has gone over the past year. The current motion would authorize both an extension of the contract and an increase to the weekend-only hours when the market is staffed. He added that in the past, artist volunteers performed this duty, but that it was really not fair to ask them to adjudicate conflicts and other matters.
    
   Commissioner Collins added that the Community Investments Committee has discussed this several times, and agreed that this important marketplace needs this management and attention.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny added that the program is expected to be revenue-neutral, and staff has to work to balance affordable fees with the need for adequate management.
    
   There was no public comment and the motion was unanimously approved as follows.
    
   Motion to increase the total amount of the personal service contract with MJM Management Group (authorized for $60,000 by Resolution No. 0806-18-240 and increased to $80,000 by Resolution No. 0304-19-069) by $120,000, to provide onsite management for the Embarcadero Plaza art vendor market through June 30, 2020, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a contract not to exceed $200,000 at this time.
    
   
    
7. Adjournment
   There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:12 p.m.
    

posted 7/8/19, 5:15 p.m. spr
approved 8/5/19


 

Language Accessibility

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost. For assistance, please notify Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2256, 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, 415-252-2256, 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, 415-252-2256, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.