AGENDA #4f(2)

MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Roger Stancil, Town Manager

FROM:            Butch Kisiah, Director of Parks & Recreation
Bill Webster, Assistant Director of Parks & Recreation

SUBJECT:      Recommended 2007-08 Public Art Plan

DATE:             June 27, 2007

PURPOSE

The following resolution would adopt the 2007-08 Public Art Plan.

BACKGROUND

The Percent for Art program was adopted by the Council on March 4, 2002. The ordinance defines Percent for Public Art and the General Policies of the Program, including the following:

• Help define the community’s identity and sense of place,
• Promote social interaction and discourse,
• Bring the arts into everyday life, and
• Memorialize the past while expressing shared values for the future.

The Percent for Art Program calls for the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission and the Town Manager to review the Capital Improvements Program and make recommendations to the Town Council regarding public art.  The recommendations include the specific capital projects that should dedicate 1 percent of their budget to public art, projects which would have artwork onsite, and projects which should contribute 1 percent of their budget to a pool of funds to be used to commission, buy, maintain or conserve public artwork elsewhere. The Commission may recommend pooling funds if 1 percent of a project budget does not provide enough funds to commission or purchase a piece, or if the capital project in question does not provide a suitable location for public art.

The source of funds is relevant when considering whether a percent should go to public art.  Some grants are specific about what types of expenses are eligible for grant funding.  The wording of some bond referendum ballots does not allow use of bond proceeds for public art.  Some installment purchase contracts do not allow the borrowed funds to be used for art, particularly off-site pieces.  However, the Council may have greater leeway when it explores the use of borrowed funds for public art before the terms of the borrowing have been finalized.

The first Percent for Art Work Plan Program was adopted on June 24, 2002.

On May 10, 2004, the Chapel Hill Town Council approved a Percent for Art Fund. 

DISCUSSION

The Public Arts Commission’s recommended 2007-08 Annual Art Plan is divided into three categories:

1. FY 2007-08 Capital Improvements Program (New Projects)

The Percent for Public Art Ordinance and the General Policies of the Program includes the following:

One percent of the annual Capital Improvements Program shall be considered by the Council for reservation for public art.  However, the base from which the 1 percent is calculated shall exclude grant funds for which the Town provides a local match, bond funds which do not allow such a use, and any other funds whose source would prevent their use for public art.

a) The project budget shall include all costs funded by the Town for designing, building and equipping the facility, including site work but excluding the acquisition of land.

b) The Percent for Art budget shall include all artist fees, as well as fabrication, installation (including special plumbing, wiring or lighting), and any other cost related to the public art project.

Staff Comment: We agree with the Commission that the adopted FY 2007-08 Capital Improvements Program does not include any new projects that would be eligible for the Percent for Art program.

2. Allocation of One Percent of All Eligible Capital Projects to the Percent for Art Fund

In prior years the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission requested the allocation of 1 percent of eligible capital improvement projects to the Percent for Art Fund once the Capital Improvements Program is officially adopted. 

Staff Comment: The Percent for Art Fund is an account for pooled funds held by the Town for public art commissions, acquisitions, maintenance and/or conservation. 

All eligible Capital Improvements Program projects allocate one percent of their proposed budget to the Percent for Art Fund.  Capital Improvements Program projects that are not eligible include maintenance projects, debt payments, land acquisition, grants in which the source does not allow funding for such an allocation, and projects already contributing one percent of their principal amount for a public art project identified in the Annual Public Art Plan.

The adopted FY 2007-08 Capital Improvements Program does include several new projects that would be eligible for the Percent for Art program fund.

3. FY 2007-08 Capital Improvements Program Percent for Art Ongoing Projects

The Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission requests that the Post Office Renovation project continues to be eligible for Percent for Art funding during FY 2007-08. This project was approved in FY 2003-04, but has been deferred by the Town for the past four years. 

The Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission will also continue to work on projects which were approved in previous fiscal years, including:

• Chapel Hill Public Library and Pritchard Park Art Garden
• Community Center Renovation
• Downtown Redevelopment Initiative (Lot 5)
• Greenways Bond Projects
• Homestead Park Aquatics Center
• Southern Community Park
• Streets and Sidewalks

RECOMMENDATIONS

Public Arts Commission’s Recommendation: The Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission met on June 13, 2007 and unanimously approved and voted to recommend that the Town Council adopt the above Annual Public Art Plan for FY 2007-08.

Manager’s Recommendation: That the Council adopt the attached resolution that would authorize the implementation of the Public Art Plan for 2007-08.