AGENDA #9a

MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

FROM:            Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission

SUBJECT:        Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission Report and Recommendations on 2004-2005 Annual Public Art Plan

DATE:             May 10, 2004

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 provide art accessible to the public and to users of Town buildings and parks, for the improvement of the quality of life in Chapel Hill.  More specifically, the Percent for Art Program is designed 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 improvement budgets shall include 1% or another amount for public art, and on which sites the artworks 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 2004-2005 PUBLIC ART PLAN

The Public Arts Commission recommends that the following Capital Improvements Projects be included in the 2004-2005 Public Art Plan.

2004-2005 New Projects

Project Name                                       Estimated CIP Budget  Estimated % for Art Budget

Community Center                                $  1,600,000                            $  16,000

Library Expansion                                 $16,260,000                            $162,600

Parks and Recreation                            $  5,000,000                            $  50,000

Sidewalk/Street Improvement               $  5,600,000                            $  56,000

Town Operations Center                      $42,061,600                            $420,616

Aquatics Center                                    $  5,513,000                            $  55,130

Southern Community Park                    $  2,842,000                            $  28,420

· Public Art Review Committees were approved and established during FY 2003-2004 to determine the scope of each project.  Artists' qualifications will be reviewed in June 2004. 

· The Aquatics Center and Southern Community Park have been approved to receive 1% of the project budget from Orange County for public art.  Orange County will contribute these funds separately from the Town of Chapel Hill.

2004-2005 Establishment of a Percent for Art Fund

On March 4, 2002, upon passing the Percent for Art Ordinance, Chapel Hill Town Council also passed the Percent for Art Resolution "Defining a Percent for Public Art Program and the General Policies of the Program (2002-03-04/R-8)." This resolution included the following recommendation to be made in the Annual Public Art Plan: "The distinction between those capital projects which should include public art on-site and which should contribute 1% of their budget to a pool of funds reserved for public art commission, acquisition, maintenance and conservation."

Beginning in FY 2004-2005, the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission recommends that all eligible CIP projects allocate one percent of their proposed budget to create a Percent for Art Fund defined as pooled funds for public art commission, acquisition, maintenance and/or conservation.  It is recommended that this Percent for Art Fund exclude projects contributing one percent of their principal amount for a public art project identified in the Annual Public Art Plan, as well as projects exempt from percent for art funds because the source from which the percent is calculated prevents such use, specifically land acquisition and grant funds for which the Town provides a local match.

Because the FY 2004-2005 CIP has yet to be approved by the Town Council, the Public Arts Commission is unable to recommend a specific amount for approval.  The current draft of the CIP currently identifies an estimate of $1.2 million for fund projects; approximately $12,200 would thus be allocated to the Percent for Art Fund.  Should the actual budgeted amount change, the Percent for Art Fund would be adjusted accordingly. 

The Public Arts Commission also recommends that the Town Council approve the reallocation of previously identified and approved pooled funds to this new Percent for Art Fund.  Previously approved FY 2003-2004 pooled project funds included:

Tennis and Basketball Courts ($2400)

Sidewalk and Bicycle Facilities ($500)

Streetscape ($3220)

Greenways ($550)

Small Park Improvements ($200)

Capital repairs to the Old Post Office were approved for Percent for Art funds in the 2003-2004 Annual Public Art Plan.  The Public Arts Commission recognizes that this project may be postponed.

RECOMMENDATION

Public Arts Commission’s Recommendation: The Commission met on April 21, 2004, and unanimously approved and voted to recommend that the Town Council adopt the above Annual Public Art Plan for FY 2004-2005.