2021-07-27 Public Art Subcommittee
To develop, advance, and nurture all facets of the arts
to enhance the quality of life for Meridian residents and its visitors
PUBLIC ART SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING
Parks & Recreation Conference Room, 33 East Broadway Avenue Ste 206 Meridian, Idaho
Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at 4:30 PM
All materials presented at public meetings become property of the City of Meridian. Anyone desiring accommodation for
disabilities should contact the City Clerk's Office at 208-888-4433 at least 48 hours prior to the public meeting.
Agenda
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ROLL-CALL ATTENDANCE
_____ Lizzie Taylor _____ Raeya Wardle
_____ Jessica Peters, Chair _____ Thomas Vannucci
_____ Bobby Gaytan
APPROVAL OF MINUTES [ACTION ITEM]
1. Minutes from Regular Meeting on June 15, 2021
DISCUSSION ITEMS
2. Provide Feedback and Discuss Preferences for Public Art Selection Process
3. Discuss and Develop Public Art Planning Tools
REPORTS
4. Update: Ten Mile Trailhead Installation
5. Update: Meridian Mural Series Status
6. Inclusivity Highlight: Art and Accessibility
NEXT MEETING - August 17, 2021
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ADJOURNMENT
2
PUBLIC ART SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING
Public Works Conference Room, 33 East Broadway Avenue Ste 200 Meridian, Idaho
Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 4:30 PM
MINUTES
VIRTUAL MEETING INSTRUCTIONS
Limited seating is available at City Hall. Consider joining the meeting virtually:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-
join/19%3ameeting_ZDRmOWUzNjMtZGMwNS00MjViLWI1MGUtZTkxNDRiMzdmNmUz%
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ROLL-CALL ATTENDANCE
_x____ Lizzie Taylor _x____ Raeya Wardle
_x____ Jessica Peters, Chair _x____ Thomas Vannucci
_x____ Bobby Gaytan
Steve Siddoway and Kim Warren also in attendance for the Ten Mile Trailhead
presentations.
ACTION ITEMS
1. Presentations from Parks Identity Roster Artists on Ten Mile Trailhead Concepts
All three artists who submitted an application presented their Ten Mile Trailhead
concepts to the selection panel- (the Subcommittee along with Steve Siddoway,
Kim Warren, and Audrey Belnap). First, Dan Beyer from Studio Capacitator, then
Ken McCall, and then Stephanie Inman. After each presentation, the selection panel
asked questions regarding the specifics of the artwork such as durability of
materials, shifting of color, and adjusting to location. After all three presentations,
the artists left the meeting.
The selection panel completed score sheets for each artist and gave them to A.
Belnap to submit for calculations. S. Siddoway and K. Warren also left the meeting.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
2. Review Budget and Funding for Public Art
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Item 1.
A. Belnap walked the Subcommittee through the June financial sheet. The
Subcommittee discussed the use of MAPS funds, the ability to carry over and save
for larger projects. Once the Ten Mile Trailhead installation and Public Art Plan is
underway, the Subcommittee will begin to consider locations for the 2022 art
installation.
3. Discuss Participation or Application for NEA Creative Placemaking Grant 2022
J. Peters introduced the grant to the Subcommittee. J. Peters stated that the
Subcommittee will not be able to apply for the grant in 2021 but the Subcommittee
can consider this for 2022. The Subcommittee voiced their support and discussed
possible projects for this funding when applying next year.
4. Discuss: What are we doing to support our AIM goals?
Each Subcommittee member spoke in support of the initiative. The Subcommittee
unanimously agreed that one of the key ways to ensure equality in their processes
is to spread the word of Call to Artists and Request for Proposals to all groups,
including those that have historically been marginalized. The goal is to make sure
that all are welcome to apply for Meridian’s public art projects.
5. Determine Public Art Plan Next Steps
J. Peters informed the Subcommittee that the next Subcommittee meeting in July
will be longer than one hour in order to give the Subcommittee sufficient time to
develop the Public Art Plan. Prior to the meeting, A. Belnap will send out various
planning documents that the Commission has used in the past, including the Via
Partnership report, the City’s placemaking guide, T. Vannucci’s report from the
workshop, and the strategic plan. J. Peters requested that the Subcommittee
members review these documents thoroughly and come prepared to discuss at the
next meeting.
NEXT MEETING - July 20, 2021
ADJOURNMENT
R. Wardle made motion to adjourn, seconded by L. Taylor
All ayes
4
Item 1.
MEMO TO PUBLIC ART
SUBCOMMITTEE
Objective: to outline a public art plan that is realistic to the Arts Commission capacity and
funding.
Goals for the Meeting:
1. Review MAC Strategic Plan and Creative Placemaking Report and identify goals to work
toward in FY22-FY24. Review these documents and goals quarterly or semi-annually.
2. Complete annual planning spreadsheets for FY22-24, identifying specific projects for
meeting those goals and outlining the budgets for each year.
3. Review Via report, March 2021 workshop notes, and AIM statement, and develop/amend
future project criteria.
4. Use our goal-setting document, annual planning worksheet, and future project criteria as
our public art plan until we acquire the resources to expand our public art program.
Resources for public art planning:
• MAC Strategic Plan
• Annual planning spreadsheets
• Creative Placemaking Report
• Draft Future Project Criteria (Google doc)
• Via Partnership report
• March 2021 workshop report
• AIM statement
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Item 3.
MEMO TO PUBLIC ART
SUBCOMMITTEE
Topic: Inclusivity Highlight
The purpose of these articles is to:
• See how other cities have (and are currently) made their public art collections more
accessible
• See how disabled artists have contributed to public art
Now Is the Time to Address Issues of Accessibility for Artists and Institutions
Eugene Mural Celebrates Disabled Women Activists Worldwide
Becoming Public Art: Accessibility (video)
San Francisco Arts Commission Civic Art Collection and Public Art Programs Guidelines for
ADA Access
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Item 6.
PUBLIC ART SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING
Parks & Recreation Conference Room, 33 East Broadway Avenue Ste 206 Meridian, Idaho
Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at 4:30 PM
MINUTES
VIRTUAL MEETING INSTRUCTIONS
To join the meeting online: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-
join/19%3ameeting_ZDRmOWUzNjMtZGMwNS00MjViLWI1MGUtZTkxNDRiMzdmNmUz%
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ROLL-CALL ATTENDANCE
_x____ Lizzie Taylor _x____ Raeya Wardle arrived at 4:42pm
_x____ Jessica Peters, Chair _x____ Thomas Vannucci
_x____ Bobby Gaytan
A. Belnap introduced Keith Watts and Sandra Ramirez from the Purchasing Department
and welcomed Steve Siddoway and Emily Kane to the meeting.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES [ACTION ITEM]
1. Minutes from Regular Meeting on June 15, 2021
L. Taylor made motion to approve minutes, seconded by T. Vannucci
All ayes
DISCUSSION ITEMS
2. Provide Feedback and Discuss Preferences for Public Art Selection Process
A. Belnap explained that this discussion is to gather feedback from the
Subcommittee on the most recent public art selection process in order to improve
the process for the future. K. Watts described the typical process of issuing,
scoring, and selection a vendor through the RFP process, noting that usually the
team prefers to have an in person kick off meeting before releasing the RFP and an
in person discussion following the scoring, but was not done this time. E. Kane
elaborated that the RFP process is a common process in the City to select services
and products of large and small scale. In the process, it is also common to include
all stakeholders which is why representatives from the Parks Department were
included in the selection panel. E. Kane stated that there was no defect in the
process for selecting the Ten Mile Trailhead project, however there was a lack of
education or communication with the Subcommittee on the process and its scope.
K. Watts confirmed that in place of an in person meeting after the scoring, an email
was sent out asking if the selection panel would like to discuss.
L. Taylor expressed her frustration in working with the Bonfire program and its
technicalities. She also expressed that she felt the scoring criteria and verbiage was
too objective for evaluating the subjective nature of artwork. A. Belnap informed
the Subcommittee that the scoring criteria verbiage was taken from the RFP, which
was approved by the Subcommittee and Commission. E. Kane confirmed that the
Arts Commission approved the RFP in March 2021. T. Vannucci stated that he felt
the highest scoring artist was not the most suitable for this project. He expressed
that when using a combination of objective and subjective criteria, the objective
criteria will win. K. Watts assured the Subcommittee that the criteria for selection
and its verbiage can be supplied by the Subcommittee and the Subcommittee’s
expertise during the RFP process. J. Peters summarized that the scoring criteria
will be worked on in moving forward with future projects.
J. Peters stated her concerns regarding the lack of in person discussion following
the evaluations and the notice of the final scores. She indicated that she expected
the selection panel would have the opportunity to discuss the final scores as was
the case in selection processes in the past and was surprised to see the approval on
the Arts Commission agenda. Because of this, she would like to see if the final
decision could be revisited. E. Kane informed the Subcommittee that we have
passed the point of no return on the Ten Mile Trailhead project, but suggestions
can be included in future processes. J. Peters stated that unlike past selection
meetings, she felt that this selection process was a Parks project that the Arts
Commission was invited to instead of an Arts Commission project in partnership
with the Parks Department. T. Vannucci asked if adjustments be made to the
current selection if it is a done deal. K. Watts confirmed that the Subcommittee can
work with the vendor to make adjustments to the proposal.
S. Siddoway expressed his gratitude in working with the Arts Commission and his
hope that we can make this an awesome marriage instead of an us vs. them
situation. He also stated that he has been involved in past selection processes and
the two points that he felt that made this process different was the use of the
Bonfire system and the lack of conversation after the evaluations. He suggested
that the meeting after evaluations be made a rule for all future selection processes.
The Subcommittee agreed.
K. Watts reaffirmed that Bonfire was not the cause of any failings in the process,
but rather the Subcommittee can be involved in adjusting the scoring criteria and
formatting of Bonfire to work best for them. J. Peters mentioned that she had
trouble with the dropdown menu of comments in the scoring because she felt
some of the dropdown comments didn’t fit her reasoning and recommended
adding an “Other” option to make personal notes instead of being required to
chose one of the pre-selected options. L. Taylor stated that she felt the technology
of Bonfire led to a bias towards more technologically inclined persons who were
able to navigate the system. J. Peters suggested that the in person meeting before
the release of the RFP that K. Watts had mentioned before would help for cases like
L. Taylor’s. K. Watts also mentioned that they would be able to submit scores for L.
Taylor and accommodate her.
L. Taylor also cautioned the team to be careful when suggesting adjustments to
artwork. She stated from personal experience that sometimes suggestions doesn’t
go well and the suggestions should be made dispassionately and sensitively. S.
Siddoway confirmed with K. Watts that minor adjustments can be made (ex: the
color of the Ten Mile Trailhead project) but large changes cannot (ex: changing the
flower to an elephant). K. Watts stated that the adjustments can be negotiated in
the agreement process and if the artist in unwilling or unable to make the
requested adjustments, the Subcommittee can then move to the second highest
scoring artist. The Subcommittee agreed to meet together next month to discuss
the changes to request for the Ten Mile Trailhead project and S. Siddoway asked
that he be involved in that discussion as well. Following the next Public Art
Subcommittee meeting, S. Siddoway, A. Belnap, K. Watts, and S. Ramirez will
negotiate the agreement and adjustments with Stephanie Inman, the artist. E. Kane
also mentioned that since these adjustments will be minor, it will not need to go to
the Arts Commission for re-approval but should be included in the Subcommittee
report.
Lastly, A. Belnap informed the Subcommittee that the City staff will get together in
the next couple of weeks, create a formal step by step procedure for selecting
public art and present it to the Arts Commission in the coming months. The
Subcommittee agreed.
S. Siddoway, E. Kane, K. Watts, and S. Ramirez took their leave and the
Subcommittee took a 5 minute break.
3. Discuss and Develop Public Art Planning Tools
A. Belnap suggested that the Subcommittee start with goal #3 on the agenda memo
in order to first establish a vision for the public art program. J. Peters stated that
the Subcommittee has much of the information needed for this, it is just split
between several reports and documents that need to be compiled and organized
together. The Subcommittee discussed the benefits of establishing the vision and
getting to the action items. B. Gaytan suggested that an education piece be included
in the plan in order to reach the public. J. Peters will send out Fargo, North
Dakota’s Public Art Plan as an example. The Subcommittee agreed to set up a
Saturday workshop to do this compilation in October. A. Belnap will send out
dates.
REPORTS
4. Update: Ten Mile Trailhead Installation
A. Belnap recapped what was previously agreed upon in Agenda Item #2: the
Subcommittee will discuss adjustments to request from Stephanie Inman for the
final design and structure, then S. Siddoway and A. Belnap will work with the
Purchasing and Legal departments to negotiate and create an agreement with S.
Inman. T. Vannucci requested that we obtain S. Inman’s maquette for our
discussion next month.
5. Update: Meridian Mural Series Status
A. Belnap informed the Subcommittee that the easement for the Meridian Cycles
mural will be issued this week. Centercal, the corporate property owner of the
Boise Co op, is still resisting pieces of the easement agreement and in the
negotiation process with the Legal department. The Meridian Library District has
given a soft commitment to becoming the third mural property and E. Kane is
drafting an up front agreement in order to avoid getting into snags later on, like
what happened with Centercal and SagePoint Financial.
6. Inclusivity Highlight: Art and Accessibility
J. Peters explained to the Subcommittee that these memos are for the
Subcommittee to review and to discuss if requested. J. Peters also said that she
plans on including a memo for each meeting and if anyone would like to produce
their own memo, they are welcome to do so.
NEXT MEETING - August 17, 2021
ADJOURNMENT
L. Taylor made motion to adjourn meeting, seconded by T. Vannucci
All ayes
Meeting adjourned at 6:49pm