AGENDA #4g
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to: |
Mayor and Town Council |
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from: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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subject: |
Selection of Public Artist for Downtown Economic Initiative Project |
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date: |
June 27, 2007 |
The purpose of this report is to request Council authorization for the Town Manager to enter into contracts to implement the public art component of the Downtown Economic Initiative Project for Lot 5 per the Town’s Development Agreement with Ram Development Company.
The Town’s Development Agreement for the Lot 5 project with Ram Development Company of February 12, 2007 specifies that the developer will provide 1 percent of the total development budget for public art (with carve-outs consistent with the Town’s Percent for Art Program), in accordance with agreements to be entered into among the artists, the Town, the developer’s lender, and the Public Arts Commission.
In the fall of 2005, the Public Arts Commission conducted an artist selection process for the Downtown Initiative Project. An Artist Recommendation Committee considered the names of 22 artists, and invited nine artists to submit a letter of interest. In November 2005, the Committee selected three of the artists and invited them to Chapel Hill for interviews.
An Artist Selection Committee interviewed the three artists on December 2, 2005. The Committee included representatives of the arts community, a local architect, Mayor Kevin Foy, Mayor pro tem Bill Strom, Ram Development Company Chairman Peter Cummings, Assistant Town Manager Bruce Heflin, and two Arts Commission members. The Committee unanimously selected Mikyoung Kim to be the public artist for the project. At a meeting on December 14, 2005, the Public Arts Commission endorsed this selection.
On December 15, 2005, the Public Arts Commission announced that Mikyoung Kim was selected as the lead artist for a conceptual design of the project (please see Attachment 1). She was to identify opportunities for artistic influence and sites for civic artworks, and establish design parameters for no less than two and no more than four public artworks, which would be commissioned for the project (which then included the Wallace Deck site). It was expected that she would be awarded one of the public art commissions.
In the spring of 2006, Mikyoung Kim worked on an Arts Masterplan for the project, and the developer presented the results of her work to the Council during its review of the Concept Plan for the Lot 5 project on March 20, 2006. Since that time, further work on the artist component of the project was on hold until completion of the development agreement this year.
After signing of the development agreement, staff of the Town, Ram, and the Public Arts Commission entered into discussions of the artist agreements called for in the development agreement. At this time, the parties contemplate agreements as follows:
These agreements would include provisions for Council review of proposed art designs prior to the approval and commencement of work.
We believe it is important that Mikyoung Kim as the “lead artist” join the design team of Ram Development Company as soon as possible after consideration of the Special Use Permit by the Town Council in order to continue the process of incorporating public art into the Lot 5 project. We understand that Ram Development Company would begin this process with the artist immediately in July 2007.
We recommend that Council adopt the attached resolution, which would authorize the Town Manager to negotiate and execute agreements for public art consistent with the terms of the development agreement of February 12, 2007 with Mikyoung Kim and for additional public artist commissions to be determined in consultation with Mikyoung Kim.
1. Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission Press Release of December 15, 2005 (p. 4).