AGENDA #8a
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission (CHPAC)
SUBJECT: Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission Report and Recommendations on 2003-2004 Public Art Plan
DATE: September 8, 2003
BACKGROUND
On March 4, 2002, the Town Council adopted an ordinance establishing a Percent for Art program for Town-funded Capital Improvements Projects. The Percent for Art Program was established to 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 ordinance states that the Council shall decide annually which capital budgets shall include 1% or another amount for public art, and on which sites the artwork should be located. The general policies of the program state that the Town Council shall meet at least annually to consider a Public Art Plan recommended by the Public Arts Commission.
PUBLIC ARTS COMMISSION’S RECOMMENDATION
FOR THE 2003-2004 PUBLIC ART PLAN
The Public Arts Commission recommends that the following Capital Improvements Projects be included in 2003-2004 Public Art Plan.
Project CIP Budget
Old Post Office: Capital Repairs $1,500,000
To include a community-based public art project that would be initiated with a dialogue between the community and the Public Arts Commission. The artwork would reflect the community’s values and the historical significance of the location.
Tennis and Basketball Courts $300,000
To include a public art project at one of the six sites receiving capital repairs. The exact site and scope of the public art component would be determined in collaboration with community members and the Parks and Recreation Department.
2004 Streetscape Project $172,000
The exact scope of the public art component would be determined. The art budget would be pooled with 1% from the 2003 Streetscape Project ($150,000, including $1,500 for art), as approved in the 2002-2003 Public Art Plan.
IFC Shelter $450,000
This project was included in the 2002-2003 Annual Public Art Plan but not in last year’s adopted CIP budget. The exact scope of the public art component to be located at 100 W. Rosemary Street would be determined.
2003/04 PROJECTS TO POOL
Project CIP Budget
Sidewalk and Bicycle Facilities $50,000
The exact site and scope of the public art component is yet to be determined. Funding for 2003-2004 would be pooled with future funds in order to adequately commission a public art project that would enhance sidewalks and bicycle facilities.
Small Park Improvements $20,000
The exact site and scope of the public art component is yet to be determined. Funding for 2003-2004 would be pooled with future funds in order to adequately commission public art that would enhance the small parks.
Greenways $55,000
The exact site and scope of the public art component is yet to be determined. Funding for 2003-2004 would be pooled with future funds in order to adequately commission public art that would enhance the greenways.
The Public Arts Commission seeks to begin conceptual development for each of the following potential projects. Although the exact scope of the public art component(s) has yet to be determined, the importance and scale of these projects warrant early attention and preliminary planning in order to effectively maximize their respective percent for art budgets.
Project
Town Operations Center
Library Expansion
Aquatics Center - Homestead Park
Greenways Infrastructure
Community Center
Contracts of less than $300,000 do not normally go to the Council for specific approval if funding has been approved in the budget. The Public Arts Commission recommends that the Council direct the Manager to approve allocation of 1% of project budgets with contracts under $300,000 for those projects that have been included in the Council’s approved Percent for Art Program.