[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:03]
WE ARE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
I KNOW WE HAVE A FEW OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT WILL BE JOINING US SHORTLY, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH ROLL IN THE ROOM.
HELLO PLEASANT COMMISSIONER SCH MALACH PRESENT.
COMMISSIONER GRAY PRESENT, AND COMMISSIONER HOUSTON PRESENT.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
WE CAN GO ON TO PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS STAFF.DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK? NOPE, THAT'S IT.
ARE YOU SIGNED UP, BONNIE? YEAH, I SIGNED UP.
YOU, WERE YOU GONNA SPEAK ON AN ITEM? YOU SAID NO? NO.
I WAS JUST TRYING TO SAY I DIDN'T HAVE AN ITEM.
UM, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE.
UM, JUST WANNA REMIND YOU THAT THE MUTT CRACKER SUITE IS OPENING ON FRIDAY AT THE VORTEX.
THIS IS THE VERY BEST SHOW FOR GRANDMOTHERS AND TODDLERS ALIKE.
I HOPE YOU'LL ALL COME AND BRING YOUR FAMILIES 'CAUSE THIS IS, THIS IS THE THING THAT EVERYBODY LIKES, WHICH IS NOT WHAT I CAN SAY ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT I DO.
BUT, UM, BUT IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, UM, THIS IS A GREAT SHOW.
UM, THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE ARTS COMMISSION.
I KNOW I'VE BEEN REALLY CRITICAL OF THE CURRENT, UM, PROCESS IN SPEAKING HERE AND IN PRINT.
AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT, UM, IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE SPENT OUR WHOLE LIVES AND CAREERS BUILDING UP THE ART SCENE IN AUSTIN TO NOT REALLY BE CONSIDERED AND HEARD AND PART OF THE PROCESS.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE REALLY WANT, IS TO REALLY STEP IN AND HELP THE CITY, THE ARTS COMMISSION, THE STAFF, EVERYBODY TO FIND THE BEST PATHWAYS FORWARD.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIND NEW PATHWAYS FORWARD.
AND YOU HAVE YOUR AUSTIN CREATIVES STANDING BY READY TO HELP WITH THIS.
I'VE GOT SO MANY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, AND IF YOU ADD ALL OF MINE WITH EVERYBODY ELSE, WE'VE GOT A THOUSAND YEARS EXPERIENCE THAT WE COULD OFFER YOU TO HELP SORT OUT WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE NEED TO GO WITH THE FUNDING PROCESS.
AND I FEEL VERY SINCERELY THAT THERE IS A STRONG GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT IN AUSTIN THAT IS WILLING TO HELP YOU, THAT IS WILLING TO HELP THE NEXT ARTS COMMISSIONERS COMING IN, THE NEXT STAFF MEMBERS COMING IN TO HELP EVERYBODY FIND A WAY FORWARD THAT'S REALLY GONNA SERVE US THE ARTISTS WHO ARE TRYING TO NOT ONLY MAKE THE ART, BUT MAKE A LIVING IN AUSTIN, WHICH IS GROWING RAPIDLY MORE IMPOSSIBLE.
SO I JUST HOPE THAT YOU'LL CONSIDER OUR OFFER OF SUPPORT AND HELP AS IT COMES THROUGH IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
THAT THERE'S A WHOLE BODY OF PEOPLE STANDING BY WHO HAVE BRIGHT IDEAS, WHO WANNA WORK WITH STAFF, WHO WANNA WORK WITH YOU, WHO WANNA WORK WITH CITY COUNCIL TO MAKE SOMETHING NEW THAT IS GONNA SERVE EVERYBODY BETTER.
BECAUSE I CANNOT STAND TO SEE THESE LONG TIME ORGANIZATIONS FOLDING, QUITTING, GIVING UP, UM, BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE FUNDING FOR STAFF, BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING THAT THEY HAVE ALWAYS HAD.
I KNOW THAT NEW GROUPS ARE COMING ALONG AND THAT'S GREAT.
SO I JUST WANT YOU TO CONSIDER THE EXPERIENCE AND, UM, GIFTS THAT THIS ARTISTIC COMMUNITY HAS GIVEN AND DRAW ON US.
WE ARE A BIG RESOURCE AND WE CAN HELP YOU.
UM, THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR SERVICE.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF YOU ALL ARE ROTATING OFF IN THE FUTURE, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU ALL AND, UM, LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
THAT WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE REGULAR MEETING ON NOVEMBER 18TH.ANY ISSUES WITH THAT DOCUMENT? IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVE.
SO MOVED BY COMMISSIONER MOCK.
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GRAY.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER MEETING.
[00:05:01]
WONDERFUL.UM, UH, AND THEN WE NEED TO MOVE ON TO ITEM TWO, APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES DE ASCENSION REVIEW ON NOVEMBER 22ND.
HAVE WE ALL HAD AN OPPORTUNITY? IT WAS IN THE BACKUP TO REVIEW THAT, THAT DOCUMENT.
AND WE HAVE COMMISSIONER GRAY HERE WHO SERVED ON THAT PANEL.
SO AS LONG AS THAT MET YOUR, YOUR APPROVAL OKAY.
OR IT SEEMED ACCURATE AS, AS WERE THE ONLY ONE IN THE ROOM ACCURATE TO THE MEETING, CORRECT? MM-HMM
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO, MOVE, MOVE BY COMMISSIONER MOCK, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GARZA.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE DS SESSION WORKING GROUP MEETING.
COMMISSIONER NAMA, UH, CHARLA.
IF YOU NEEDED AN AGENDA, THERE'S ALL ME.
UH, ON THE WAY IN, THERE'S SOME PRINTED ONES.
[3. Discussion of Chair’s Report on Happy Holidays by Chair Zisman]
MOVING TO ITEM THREE, DISCUSSION OF THE CHAIR'S REPORT ON HAPPY HOLIDAYS.MY SALINAS HAS BEEN, THAT'S ME.
WELL, I WANNA NOTE THAT COMMISSIONER CHARLA IS NOW WITH US.
UM, AND, UM, AVI STEP, ACTUALLY, CAN WE KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR COMMISSIONER MALDONADO WHO'S GONNA BE JOINING US VIRTUALLY? UM, I THINK AT THEIR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE.
THIS ONE MY PRONOUNS ARE THEY, SHE, I AM THE PERSON OF COLOR WITH SHORT HAIR AND THE LIGHT COLORED SHIRT AT THE FRONT OF THE ROOM.
UM, WE'VE HAD A VERY FULL YEAR, UM, WITH A LOT OF UPS AND DOWNS, AND WE ARE NAVIGATING A LOT OF CHANGE, INCLUDING A, UH, CHANGING OF THE GUARD WITH STAFF.
UM, OUR PROGRAM MANAGER, LAURA ARD, HAS MOVED ON TEMPORARILY, UM, TO A NEW POSITION OUT OF COUNTRY.
WE HAVE MATT SCHMIDT JOINING US NOW AS WE FONDLY CALL HIM THE NEW LAURA.
UM, WE HAVE MORGAN MESS NOW WITH US, AND WE RECENTLY, UM, SAID GOODBYE TO S NOVIA.
UM, HOLT RAB, UM, UH, CELEBRATING A LONG, UH, TENURE HERE AT THE CITY.
AND WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING THE NEW STAFF MEMBER ANTHONY SS WHEN HE JOINS US NEXT MONTH.
UM, I'VE HAD A FEW CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM AND HE'S VERY EXCITED TO BE WITH US.
SO, UM, WITH THAT WE ALL NEED TO BE READIED AND PREPARED, UM, TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS, UH, WITH FRESH EARS, WHICH I THINK IS GONNA BE REALLY GOOD.
UM, WITH THAT WE CAN GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON.
UM, A REPORT OF THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES LEAVES ON CONCERNING ACTIONS TAKING DURING THE DECEMBER 2ND MEETING.
UM, AGAIN, COMMISSIONER, UH, MALDA WILL BE JOINING US.
UM, COMMISSIONER MALAGA WAS WORKING ON GETTING, UH, TO THE MEETING, SO LET'S GIVE HER A FEW MINUTES, UM, TO DO SO AND WE CAN COME BACK.
UM, BUT I HAVE COMMISSIONER MOCK WITH ME.
[5. Update on actions taken at the November 20th Downtown Commission meeting by Commissioner Mok ]
UH, UPDATE ON ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE NOVEMBER 20TH DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MEETING BY COMMISSIONER MOCK.HI, MY NAME IS AMY MOCK, UM, WITH PEPPER AND SALT AND PEPPER.
SHORT HAIR
I, I THINK IT'S A WONDERFUL THINGS TO INTRODUCE.
AND I'M WEARING A, UH, APPLE GREEN SCARF BECAUSE FOR THE OCCASION, UM, YEAH, THE, AT THE LAST DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MEETING, UH, THERE, THERE WAS THREE, ACTUALLY THREE, UH, PRESENTATION THAT ARE RELATED TO THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
UH, ONE OF WHICH IS THE, YOU KNOW, IS FROM THE DOWNTOWN, UH, ALLIANCE.
AND THEY PRESENTED THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN.
I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO BECAUSE, UM, THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE A MASTER PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN AREA, AND THERE WILL BE SOME CREATIVE SPACE.
UM, SO AT THE PRES, AFTER THE PRESENTATION, AT THE MEETING, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, ACTUALLY, I WANTED TO SET UP A WORKING GROUP AND WORKING WITH THE DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE, YOU KNOW, UM, AND, AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO.
AND THEN, UM, THERE'S A PRESENTATION ON THE GREAT STREETS PLAN, UH, TO ADDRESS THE CLIMATE CHANGE.
WE HAVE MORE, UH, BENCHES, TREES, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE THE, THE STREETS MORE, UH, WALKABLE FRIENDLY, YOU KNOW, AROUND THE DOWNTOWN AREA THAT IS FROM THE, UH, PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
SO I WAS WONDERING IF THEY'RE GOING TO SET UP SOME KIND OF BENCHES AND ALL THAT.
WILL THERE BE OPPORTUNITY FOR ARTS IN PUBLIC PLACES? LIKE EVEN DRESS UP THE BENCHES INSTEAD OF JUST PLAINO WOOD OR METAL, THAT THERE IS, THERE'S A SPACE, I THINK, AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE CREATIVE, YOU KNOW, TO SET UP THOSE.
AND THEN ANOTHER, UH, ONE MORE, UH,
[00:10:01]
PRESENTATION IS CALLED THE DOWNTOWN, UH, THE CONGRESS AVENUE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE.THEY ACTUALLY MENTIONED ON THE, ON THE 700 BLOCKS OF CONGRESS AVENUE, NEAR THE, THE, UH, PARAMOUNT THEATER AREA THAT WILL BE DESIGNATED AS THE CREATIVE SPACE.
SO THERE'S A PLAN TO MAKE IT INTO SORT OF LIKE A THEATER, OUTDOOR THEATER, YOU KNOW, A CREATIVE SPACE.
I THINK WE SHOULD DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, GET INVOLVED FROM THE VERY BEGINNING ON THE, UH, ON THE DESIGN.
SO THERE WAS A TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, $130 MILLION AND, YOU KNOW, AND ALL OF THAT.
AND, UM, SO I JUST THINK THAT WE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO, UH, I, I DUNNO IF WE WANTED TO BE ON OUR AGENDA FOR THE NEXT YEAR, I MEAN, FOR THE JANUARY TO MAYBE APPROACH THE, UM, THE AUSTIN DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE AND TO MAYBE RECOMMEND ONE OF THE COMMISSIONER TO, TO SERVE ON THAT WORKING GROUP TOGETHER WITH THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
SO IT'S THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE THAT'S SPEARHEADING THAT FOR THE, UH, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN, THE CONGRESS AVENUE, YEAH.
AND FOR THE, FOR THE GREAT STREET PLAN IS, UH, FROM THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, THE STAFF, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BASICALLY LOOKING AT THE DESIGN, YOU KNOW, OF THE STREETS AROUND DOWNTOWN AREA TO MAKE IT FRIENDLIER AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY WITH THE INTENTION FOR PEOPLE TO STOP MM-HMM
NOT TO JUST WALK THROUGH MM-HMM
AND THEN, UH, ON THE CONGRESS AVENUE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE, UM, THAT IS THE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
SO, BUT THEY'RE WORKING WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.
UH, YEAH, BECAUSE IT'S IN, YOU KNOW, DOWNTOWN AREA, SO WITH THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION AND ALSO WITH THE DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE, SO MM-HMM
I THINK WE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO.
I WANNA JUST TAKE A NOTE AND NOTICE THAT WE HAVE COMMISSIONER MALDONADO PRESENT WITH US AT THE MEETING.
COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR COMMISSIONER MOCK? WE'RE HAVING SOME CHATTER.
UM, AND IT'S VERY EXCITING STUFF, SO VERY EXCITING.
ANY QUESTIONS? AND THEN THINK ABOUT VOLUNTEER TO SERVE
WHAT IT DID IS IT SPARKED MY HEAD TO THE MANY CONVERSATIONS AROUND SIXTH STREET THAT HAPPENED ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S DROPPED OFF THE RADAR, AND I'M JUST WONDERING THEY ARE GOING TO BRING BACK.
BUT, UH, FOR NEXT YEAR'S, I MEAN, SO FOR THE NEXT MEETING, THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE SOME UPDATE ON THE, ON THE SIXTH STREET.
SO THEY, THEY WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE A THING.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? REALLY EXCITING UPDATE.
AND, UM, OH, ARE THEY, UM, AND OF COURSE, I ALWAYS PUT IN MAD DILLO, OF COURSE, THE DILLO.
UM, DID THEY EXPLICITLY ASK FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS FOR A WORKING GROUP? OR ARE WE JUST SAYING, HEY, WE'RE HERE.
WELL, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, UHHUH IS GOING TO SET UP A WORKING GROUP OKAY.
TO WORK WITH THE DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE.
I AM THINKING THAT MAYBE WE CAN VOLUNTEER ABSOLUTELY.
ONE OF OUR VOLUNT, YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONER MM-HMM
TO BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION FROM THE VERY BEGINNING ABSOLUTELY.
SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, OUR CREATIVE COMMUNITY MM-HMM
I'M, I'M LOOKING OUT FOR OUR CREATIVE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, EVEN THE GREAT STREET PLAN MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, THAT CAN BE, YOU KNOW, SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY, UH, PLANNING AROUND THE TREE, THE BENCHES AND ALL OF THOSE CAN BE, CAN HAVE CHARACTER SPECIFICALLY FOR AUSTIN.
AND ACTUALLY THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN, THE DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE HAVE BEEN VISITING DIFFERENT CITY, UH, EVEN OVERSEAS, I MEAN, OUT OF THE COUNTRY IN CANADA, CALGARY, YOU KNOW, UH, TO LOOK AT HOW THEY, UH, DESIGNED THEIR DOWNTOWN MM-HMM
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF WHICH I'M VERY INTRIGUED BY IT IS THEY WENT TO DENVER AND THEN THEY ACTUALLY HAD SOME, UM, PRINCIPLES, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY, THEY WANTED TO HAVE THE DOWNTIME THAT IS WALKABLE, DISTINCTIVE DIVERSITY, AND GREEN.
[00:15:01]
YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR DESIRE MM-HMMYOU KNOW, FOR OUR DOWNTOWN THAT'S WORKABLE.
AND THAT HAS THE DIVERSITY IN IT, AND ALSO HAVE THE GREEN AREA.
ARE THEY, ARE THEY PARTICIPATING IN BOTH GREAT STREET AND THE CONGRESS STREET? OR IS IT JUST CONGRESS STREET? I'M CURIOUS IF THEY'RE INVOLVED IN BOTH.
SINCE BOTH ARE DOWNTOWN THE, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, THIS DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN IS INITIATED BY THEM.
SO THEY'RE, WE COULD GO TO THEM.
EVEN THOUGH IT'S BEING FUNDED FROM EITHER, UM, I THINK THEY HAVE THE PLANNING OR TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, BUT WE JUST TWO PUTS WITH ONE STONE.
THE GREEN STREET, I MEAN, THE GRAY STREET IS, UH, THE GREAT STREET IS FROM THE PLANNING COM DEPARTMENT.
BUT I GUESS MY QUESTION, IS DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE INVOLVED IN THAT ONE AS WELL, OR NO? WELL, I'M SURE THEY MUST HAVE BECAUSE IT'S AROUND DOWNTOWN AREA.
YOU KNOW, SO I THINK, BECAUSE I'M CURIOUS IF, IF ANYTHING ABOUT DOWNTOWN THEY, THAT'S TRUE, THEY SHOULD BE INVOLVED FOR JANUARY OR FEBRUARY.
IF WE INVITED DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE TO COME PRESENT TO US ON THESE PROJECTS, WOULD IT UMBRELLA BOTH OF THESE INITIATIVES? OR DO WE NEED TO INVITE TWO SEPARATE INVITATION? UH, BECAUSE IT IS THREE DIFFERENT PRESENTATION.
SO IF, IF WE WANT, WE CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, APPROACH THE STAFF AT THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND THE STAFF AT THE, UH, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TO TALK ABOUT THIS CONGRESS AVENUE URBAN DESIGN MM-HMM
BECAUSE THIS IS INITIATE MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, IT'S THE VERY, VERY BEGINNING.
BUT I THINK WE SHOULD LOOK IN, I MEAN, BECAUSE SPECIFICALLY THEY WANT THE 700 BLOCK NEAR THE PARAMOUNT THEATER AREA TO BE THE CREATIVE SPACE.
SO I THINK WE SHOULD OFFER SOME OF OUR EXPERTISE ABOUT HOW TO SET UP THE SPACE SO THAT IT IS MORE INCLUSIVE AND, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE THE, THE, THE, THE SPACE MORE, UM, I DON'T KNOW, EXCITING WHERE WE HAVE ALL THESE ARTISTS HERE, YOU KNOW, AMONG US AND, YOU KNOW, HOW SHOULD THE STAGE BEING SET UP AND HOW CAN WE INVITE MORE PARTICIPATION FROM THE AUDIENCE MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK IT'S JUST EXCITING.
I JUST THINK THAT WE NEED TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE ARE INTERESTED.
COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? NO.
UM, COMMISSIONER LINDO, WE SKIPPED OVER YOUR UPDATE TO GIVE YOU A SECOND.
ARE YOU, UH, PREPARED TO DO, UH, A DEBRIEF OF THE NOVEMBER MEETING? WONDERFUL.
SO LET'S GO BACK TO ITEM FOUR.
[4. Report of the Art in Public Places Liaison concerning actions taking during the December 2nd meeting of the Art in Public Places Panel by Commissioner Maldonado ]
REPORT ON THE, UM, MARTIN PUBLIC PLACES LIAISON CONCERNING ACTIONS TAKING DURING DECEMBER 2ND MEETING OF THE A IPP PANEL BY COMMISSIONER MALDONADO.SO FOR THE DECEMBER 2ND A IPP MEETING, WE ONLY HAD ONE ACTION ITEM, WHICH WAS APPROVING THE ARTISTS FOR THE ELIZABETH NAME MUSEUM GROUNDS A IPP PROJECT.
UM, JUST FOR SOME CONTEXT, THAT MUSEUM IS OFF EAST 40, EAST OF 44TH STREET HERE, AND, UM, SHOULD BE A REALLY, REALLY EXCITING PROJECT TO SEE THROUGH.
SO THAT WAS THE ONLY ACTION ITEM SELECTING THAT ARTIST.
[6. Staff briefing regarding an update on the Hotel Occupancy Tax by Jesús Pantel, Cultural Funding Supervisor]
SIX, WE'RE MOVING ON TO STAFF BRIEFING.STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING AN UPDATE ON THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX BY JESUS PENTEL, CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR.
I AM THE CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR.
I HAVE, UH, LONG SALT AND PEPPER HAIR, UM, UH, BLACK AND WHITE BEARD.
MY PRONOUNS ARE HE, HIS, I WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX UPDATE, UH, TODAY.
UM, SO THE TOTAL HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTION IN NOVEMBER WAS $5,806,193.
THAT MEANS THAT OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX, THE CULTURAL ARTS FUND COLLECTION NUMBERS FOR NOVEMBER WERE $559,306.
WITH THESE NOVEMBER NUMBERS, WE ARE 18%, UM, TOWARDS OUR FY 25 APPROVED BUDGET.
AND AS A REMINDER, UM, THERE IS A DELAY IN HOW HOT REPORTING HAPPENS.
SO THIS IS THE DECEMBER PRESENTATION SHOWING FUNDS COLLECTED IN NOVEMBER FOR HOTEL STAYS IN OCTOBER.
SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND THAT WE'RE ALWAYS A LITTLE BIT BEHIND, UM, WHEN WE'RE GIVING THESE PRESENTATIONS.
UM, ON THIS SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE THE GRAPH CONTINUES TO SHOW OUR MONTHLY
[00:20:01]
PROGRESS TOWARDS THE APPROVED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 25.OUR, UM, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX CULTURAL ARTS FUND ACTUALS FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 SO FAR ARE $2,997,205.
AND AS A REMINDER, THE FUNDS COLLECTED IN FY 25 WILL BE USED TO FUND PROGRAMS IN FISCAL YEAR 26.
AND I'M ALSO INCLUDING OUR CULTURAL ARTS, UH, HOT FUND OR FUND HOT COLLECTIONS BY QUARTERS FOR THE PAST FEW FISCAL YEARS.
SO YOU CAN SEE, UM, KIND OF WHERE WE, UM, STACK OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
UH, WE'RE CURRENTLY $250,000 BELOW WHERE WE WERE THIS TIME LAST YEAR.
AND THAT IS MY PRESENTATION AND CAN ANSWER GENERAL QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER SCHOCK.
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS GONNA BE A QUESTION YOU CAN ANSWER, BUT I WAS TALKING WITH SOME OF OUR FELLOW COMMISSIONERS EARLIER.
WE HAD READ, LISTENED TO A REPORT, AND THEN SEEN ON THE AUSTIN MONITOR THAT THE AIRPORT SAW LIKE SIX OF THE BUSIEST DAYS IN ITS HISTORY IN 2024.
AND I JUST LIKE SPARKED IN ME THE QUESTION THAT SEEING THAT OUR HOT COLLECTIONS ARE BASICALLY FLAT BETWEEN 2024 AND 2023, JUST BEGS THE QUE LIKE HAS THERE BEEN ANY, HAVE YOU ALL HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT WHY, YOU KNOW, HOW WE'RE HAVING LIKE, SOME OF THE BUSIEST DAYS? I KNOW SOME OF THAT IS OUTGOING TRAVEL AS WELL, BUT LIKE YOU WOULD THINK THAT THE CORRELATION OF HAVING LIKE NUMEROUS RECORD BREAKING AIRPORT DAYS WOULD ALSO MEAN NUMEROUS RECORD BREAKING HOT COLLECTION MONTHS.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF Y'ALL HAVE HEARD ANY, YOU KNOW, POSTULATING ABOUT WHY THAT MIGHT BE.
AND OF COURSE IT BRINGS BACK UP OUR FAVORITE TOPIC, WHICH IS HOT COLLECTION FROM STR
I DO NOT HAVE ANY UPDATES ON ANY OF THAT SPECIFICALLY.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OTHER STAFF MEMBERS DO OR NOT.
SO NOVIA, IT'S YOUR LAST MEETING.
YOU KNOW, WE WEREN'T GONNA LET YOU OFF THE HOOK THIS EASY.
SO NOVIA HORAB, DIRECTOR OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, THE SAME KIND OF QUESTION CAME UP IN THE MUSIC COMMISSION.
SO EVEN THOUGH IT MAY BE RECORD NUMBER OF TRAVELS, THEY COULD BE STAYING IN STRS, WE JUST DON'T KNOW.
UM, BUT THEY ALWAYS FACTOR THAT IN WHEN WE ARE BUDGETING, UM, THOSE MAJOR EVENTS.
SO, UM, IF WE HAD THAT SECRET SAUCE, BUT WE DO NEED TO WORK ON THE SST R COMPONENT.
IS THERE ANY UPDATE, I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER VILLA HAD MADE SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT PROMISES AROUND THE PROGRESS OF THOSE, THAT COLLECTIONS PRO PROTOCOL.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY PROGRESS FROM THE COUNCIL'S PERSPECTIVE? NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF, BUT WE CAN GO BACK AND DOUBLE CHECK WITH, UM, UM, STAFF, WITH THE STAFF.
I KNOW THAT EVERYBODY'S COMING AT IT FROM ALL ANGLES.
SO WHOEVER'S GOT THE MOST FOOTING I THINK WE CAN ALL GET BEHIND, BUT RIGHT.
AND I THINK EVEN ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS FROM THE MUSIC COMMISSION TALKED ABOUT HOW TRAVEL, YOU KNOW, WE MAY HAVE RECORD DAYS, BUT OVERALL TRAVEL IS SLIGHTLY DOWN, SO MM-HMM
SO WE MAY HAVE THE RECORD DAY THAT DAY, BUT IT MAY BALANCE OUT THOSE OTHER DAYS THAT WE HAVE AND KNOWING WHEN THOSE DAYS HAPPENED IN THE CALENDAR TOO.
'CAUSE IF SOME OF THE, LIKE, WE'RE BEHIND ON COLLECTIONS AND SO, AND IF IT'S SIX DAYS OVER THE COAST OF 12 MONTHS, THAT'S NOT GONNA NECESSARILY BE A ONSLAUGHT OF COLLECTIONS.
IT JUST CORRELATION WISE, YOU'RE, IT BEGS THE QUESTION LIKE, IF WE'RE HAVING SIX OF THE TOP 10 BUSIEST TRAVEL DAYS EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE AIRPORT, YOU MIGHT, YOU KNOW, MAKE A GUESS THAT THAT WOULD EQUATE TO MORE VISITORS.
BUT I WOULD ALSO GUESS THAT A LOT OF THEM ARE STAYING SPRS.
AND SO NONETHELESS, IT'S JUST A GOOD REASON TO YET AGAIN, LIKE HAVING THAT DATA POINT IS ANOTHER REASON, IN MY OPINION, TO LIKE POKE AT THE ISSUE YET AGAIN, THAT WE NEED SOME UNIFORM COLLECTION SO WE'RE NOT CONTINUING TO MISS OUT ON MONEY THAT IS COMING THROUGH STRS.
YEAH, JUST, JUST ALSO QUICKLY, JUST LIKE THE DIRECTOR SAID, I MEAN SOME, THE COMMISSIONER IN THE KNOW OF LIKE FESTIVALS AND ALL BASICALLY COMMENTED THAT THEIR, UH, THE TOURISM OVERALL HAS, UH, GONE DOWN A BIT.
WHAT ARE THEY USING TO MEASURE? I'M NOT SURE THE, THAT'S WHAT WE NEED.
I'M NOT, IS IT ATTENDANCE? IS IT, YOU DON'T KNOW.
IT'D BE INTERESTING IF WE COULD GET OUR HANDS ON THAT REPORT, THE RECORD SETTING REPORT, AND, AND FIND LIKE, OH, IS IT SOUTH BY THAT IS SETTING THESE RECORDS, IS IT ACL THAT'S SETTING THESE RECORDS? IS IT F1? JUST SO THAT WE CAN HAVE SOME SORT OF ANTICIPATORY PROCESS FOR THE FUNDS THAT ARE GONNA COME IN.
OH, YOU'VE GOT THEM THE DATE, THE
[00:25:01]
DATES ARE HERE.UM, JESUS, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD? NO, NO, YOU'RE JUST HANGING OUT.
NEXT PRESENTATION OR IF THERE'S OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THIS ONE.
ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS REGARDING HOT? NO COMMENTS? NO.
GINA, YOUR FACE IS LIKE, I GOT THINGS TO SAY.
THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
[7. Staff briefing on the Cultural Arts Funding Programs by Jesús Pantel, Cultural Funding Supervisor ]
STAFF BRIEFING ON THE CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING PROGRAM BY JESUS PATEL, CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR.AND I AM BACK, UM, AGAIN, COMMISSIONERS.
MY NAME ISUS PATEL, CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR.
UM, AND TODAY I WILL BE SPEAKING ABOUT, UM, OUR ACTING CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER, WHICH, UM, WAS MENTIONED EARLIER.
UM, CONTRACTS AND PAYMENTS, OUR FY 25 NEXUS UPDATES AND GRANT FUNDED ACTIVITIES.
UM, AND, UH, LAURA, AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, IS ON A FULBRIGHT FELLOWSHIP IN CAMBODIA.
SO MATT WILL BE OUR ACTING, UH, MANAGER, UM, WHILE, UM, SHE IS AWAY IN CAMBODIA UNTIL OCTOBER 1ST.
AND THEN, MATT, IF THERE WAS ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO THE COMMISSIONERS.
YEAH, JUST WANNA INTRODUCE MYSELF.
MATTHEW SCHMIDT WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
I WAS IN THE, UH, GLOBAL BUSINESS EXPANSION DIVISION WORKING ON OUR ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DISTRICTS.
UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EVERYONE AND JUST ADVOCATING FOR OUR CREATIVE ECONOMY.
SO NICE TO MEET, UH, Y'ALL AND CONTINUE TO WORK WITH Y'ALL.
SO, YEAH, WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE, UH, MATT ON BOARD TO, UM, UM, KIND OF HOLD THE SHIP STEADY WHILE, UH, WE, UH, WHILE LAURA IS AWAY ON HER FULBRIGHT FELLOWSHIP, UM, I WILL ALSO BE SPEAKING ABOUT, UH, CONTRACTS AND, UH, PAYMENTS, UH, THIS EVENING.
UM, SO AS USUAL, THE, UM, LOTS OF INFORMATION ON THESE, UH, SLIDES, BUT, UH, THE MOST IMPORTANT IS, UM, DOWN AT THE BOTTOM TO SEE WHEN THE FINAL, UH, PAYMENTS, UM, HAVE GONE OUT.
UH, SO FINAL REPORTS OR FINAL PAYMENTS, UM, YOU CAN SEE WHERE, UM, UM, OVER HALFWAY THROUGH WITH, UH, FY 23 ELEVATE.
UM, SOME OF THOSE, UM, ARE IN, UM, AND THIS IS LIKE FINALIZED.
SO SOME OF THESE ARE ALSO WHERE IN, UM, TOUCH WITH PEOPLE AND, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST HAVE, UH, CORRECTIONS ON THEIR FINAL REPORTS THAT NEED TO, UH, BE HAD.
SOME MAY HAVE HAD CONTRACT EXTENSIONS.
AND SO FINAL REPORTS ARE, ARE NOW COMING DUE.
UM, AND THEN OTHERS WE'RE JUST, UM, IN TOUCH WITH IF THEY HAVE NOT TURNED IN, UH, THEIR FINAL REPORT, UM, WE'RE ALMOST COMPLETELY DONE WITH A NEXUS FALL WINTER AS WELL AS SPRING.
SUMMER, UM, THRIVE, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, UH, THEIR FINAL ACTIVITY, UM, THEIR ACTIVITIES GO THROUGH THE END OF DECEMBER.
SO, UM, THERE'S A FEW THAT HAVE, UH, COMPLETED ALL THEIR ACTIVITIES AND TURNED IN THEIR FINAL REPORTS.
BUT THE MAJORITY OF THE THRIVE FINAL REPORTS ARE GONNA BE IN AT THE END OF JANUARY.
UM, AND THEN ARTS ED, UM, RELIEF, UH, FROM OVER THE SUMMER WE HAD A GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS.
UM, OFTEN REPORTS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED.
WE'RE JUST AWAITING AN INVOICE, UH, FOR ONE MORE TO COMPLETELY CLOSE OUT THE, UM, ARTS ED, UH, RELIEF PROGRAM.
AND THEN, UH, NEXT, UH, WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT, UH, UPDATES TO THE NEXUS PROGRAM.
SO IN THE, UM, OCTOBER ARTS COMMISSION MEETING, WE MENTIONED THAT NEXUS WAS MOVING TO A SINGLE APPLICATION PER YEAR.
SO THIS IS MORE, UH, WITH THAT YEAR.
UH, NEXT YEAR WILL LOOK LIKE, UH, WITH A TIMELINE.
SO, UH, NEXUS WILL OPEN ON JANUARY 28TH, SO, UM, NEAR THE END OF JANUARY.
UM, IT WILL CLOSE ON MARCH 6TH, SO IT'LL BE OPEN FOR, UM, A LITTLE OVER A MONTH.
UM, AND IT WILL BE FOR ACTIVITIES THAT START, UH, NO EARLIER THAN MAY 1ST, 2025 AND BEGIN NO LATER THAN APRIL 30TH, 2026.
UM, IT COULD BE ONE ACTIVITY, IT COULD BE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES OVER, UH, THAT TIME PERIOD.
SO, UH, NEED TO TAKE PLACE BETWEEN MAY 1ST AND APRIL 30TH.
UM, FINAL REPORTS ARE DUE 30 DAYS AFTER THE, UH, LAST ACTIVITY, AND IN NO CASE, UM, NO LATER THAN MAY 30TH, 2026.
UH, SINCE THE LAST NEXUS ACTIVITY, UM, WILL BE, UM, APRIL 30TH, UH, 2026.
UM, SO AGAIN, UM, OPENS THIS JANUARY, 2025, UH, WITH ACTIVITIES, UH, STARTING MAY 1ST, 2025.
UM, SOME ADDITIONAL, UH, CHANGES, UH, FOR THE NEXUS PROGRAM INCLUDE CLARIFYING AND SIMPLIFYING LANGUAGE IN BOTH THE GUIDELINES AND IN THE APPLICATION QUESTIONS.
UM, AND THE APPLICATION QUESTIONS THEMSELVES, UH, NOW WILL BE MULTIPLE CHOICE, UH, RESPONSES.
THIS WILL SPEED UP THE TIME TO REVIEW EACH APPLICATION AND ELIMINATES, UH, THE NEED FOR PEER REVIEW PANELS, UH, WITHIN THE NEXUS PROGRAM SPECIFICALLY, UM, SINCE IT WAS SUCH A RELATIVELY SMALL DOLLAR AMOUNT, UH, FLAT $5,000 AWARDS, UH, FOR THE NEXUS PROGRAM.
[00:30:01]
UM, ALL OF THESE CHANGES THAT WE'RE, UM, INSTITUTING IN, UH, NEXUS INTEGRATE, UH, WHAT WORKS BEST WITH THE OTHER HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUNDED PROGRAMS. UM, WITH THE CLARIFYING LANGUAGE AND SIMPLIFYING LANGUAGE.WE'RE LISTENING TO, UH, COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, UM, AS WELL WHEN WE'RE IN INSTITUTING THESE CHANGES.
UM, THE STUFF THAT WE'VE SEEN, UM, THAT HAS WORKED AND HAS NOT WORKED ACROSS ALL THE VARIOUS PROGRAMS, UM, AND NOT JUST, UH, THRIVE ELEVATE NEXUS, BUT ALSO THE LIVE MUSIC FUND.
UM, SO ALL OF THE EDD HOT FUNDED, UM, UH, PROGRAMS, UM, AND, UM, AS PART OF THE CULTURAL FUNDING ECOSYSTEM, NEXUS WILL STILL CONTINUE TO FUND A HUNDRED AWARDS.
UH, THEY DID THAT IN TRANCHES, YOU KNOW, TWO, UM, APPLICATIONS PER YEAR, BUT IT WAS A TOTAL OF 100 WE'RE GOING, UH, TO CONTINUE, UH, THAT 100, UM, AWARDS, AGAIN, FLAT $5,000 AWARDS FOR A 500,000, UH, DOLLARS ALLOCATION, UH, FOR THIS PROGRAM.
UM, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE TIES, SO WE ARE AWARE OF THAT AND SO HAVE A, A LITTLE BIT OF, UM, MONEY IN THE BUDGET IF NEED BE, UM, TO, UH, DEAL WITH, UH, TIES.
UH, BUT WHAT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS, UH, $500,000 FOR A HUNDRED AWARDS OF $5,000 EACH IN THE NEXUS PROGRAM.
AND THEN, UH, GRANT FUNDED ACTIVITIES IS NEXT.
WE'RE KIND OF GETTING, UH, NEAR THE END OF, UH, SOME OF THE PROGRAMS. SO, UM, WHAT I DID IS WE DO HAVE ENOUGH ELEVATE GRANT ACTIVITIES, UM, THAT I'M LISTING.
THESE ARE ALL ELEVATE ACTIVITIES HERE.
UM, SO WE'VE GOT BEETHOVEN, TEJANA, MUSIC ALLIANCE OF TEXAS CREATIVE C AND DEAF AUSTIN THEATER, UM, SOME OF OUR ELEVATE ACTIVITIES, UH, OR OUR GRANTEES WITH ACTIVITIES COMING UP.
AND THEN INSTEAD OF, UH, YOU KNOW, BREAKING DOWN THRIVE AND, UH, NEXUS, SINCE WE'VE ONLY GOT A FEW OF THOSE, WE WE'RE MIXING THOSE IN WITH SOME ELEVATE, UH, HERE ON THIS SLIDE AS WELL.
SO JUST OTHER FY 23 AND 24 CULTURAL FUNDING GRANTEE ACTIVITIES.
UM, WE'VE GOT LA PENA, EMILY, ABRAM SMITH, AIDA DANCE COMPANY AND BUILD YOUR OWN DREAMS. HAVE EVENTS THAT ARE UPCOMING AS WELL.
AND THAT IS THE PRESENTATION FOR THIS EVENING.
AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MAY HAVE.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR JESUS? COMMISSIONER HOUSTON.
HOW, HOW ARE THE NEXUS GRANTS GONNA BE CALENDARED? 'CAUSE IF YOU'RE JUST DOING ONE GRANT FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR, HOW ARE WE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE SPRING FULL OF PROJECTS OR FALL PULL UP PROJECTS AND THEN NO SUMMER PROJECTS.
SO IT'LL BE, UM, THE HIGHEST SCORING APPLICATIONS DEPENDING ON, UH, WHEN THEY FALL.
SAME WITH, UH, LIKE HOW WE DO WITH ELEVATE AWARDS, THAT IT'S JUST THE HIGHEST, UH, SCORING APPLICATIONS.
UM, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE ACTIVITIES ARE TAKING PLACE.
THEY'RE PROPOSING ACTIVITIES AND THE HIGHEST SCORING ONES WILL BE FUNDED.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER GRAY? UH, IT MAY BE A MOOT POINT, BUT IS THERE ANY WAY ARTS COMMISSION CAN SEE THESE CHANGES MADE TO THE APPLICATION? TO SIMPLIFY IT IN MULTIPLE CHOICE RESPONSES? BECAUSE IT'S RELATIVE TO COMMUNITY RESPONSIVENESS.
UM, WE ARE UNDERGOING THOSE, UH, CHANGES NOW.
WE CAN SEE WHAT, UH, WE CAN, UM, MAYBE ABLE TO, UH, PROVIDE AND, AND SHOW YOU AS BACKUP.
I JUST WANNA, I JUST WANNA SAY I, AS A COMMISSIONER, I'M IN MY FOURTH YEAR AND I'VE HEARD THAT AND I, I WOULD JUST LOVE TO SEE THAT FOLLOW THROUGH SO WE CAN, I FEEL AS A COMMISSIONER, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THESE QUESTIONS BECAUSE IT IS THE COMMUNITY, IT IS OUR FEEDBACK, PERHAPS INDIRECT AND HONESTLY, AS AN ARTS COMMISSIONER, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'M DOING ANYTHING AND I WOULD LIKE TO BE INVOLVED AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON BEFORE THE COMPLAINTS COME FROM THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO THAT'S, SORRY FOR THAT TO BE A NEGATIVE POINT, BUT I JUST WANNA BE INFORMED AS A COMMISSIONER.
UH, WOULD IT BE JUST POSSIBLE TO SHARE, UH, I THINK WE DID THAT ON THE MUSIC COMMISSION IS JUST SHARED THE, UH, THE RUBRIC, THE QUESTIONNAIRE, UH, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AHEAD OF IT BEING RELEASED.
SO IF THERE ARE ANY FOR NOW FOR THIS ROUND, BASICALLY LET'S DO THAT.
SO IF THERE ARE ANY OVERRIDING CONCERNS THAT CAN BE PUT FORTH, BUT OTHERWISE IT GOES THROUGH JUST FINE AS PLANNED.
I BELIEVE THAT WAS OUR, OUR PLAN, UM, TO, UH, THIS IS WHAT WE WERE PLANNING ON DOING ANYWAY, SO GOT, THANK YOU.
UH, BUT TO MAKE THAT MORE CLEAR, UH, TO COMMISSIONER GRAY'S, UH, POINT.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
UH, ON THAT NOTE, I KNOW, UM, THESE, THESE, THE DETAILS OF THE CHANGES ARE YET TO BE MADE, BUT IN TERMS OF BROADCASTING THAT THERE WILL BE CHANGES.
ARE YOU GUYS NOTIFYING PREVIOUS NEXUS APPLICANTS? IS THIS BEING INCLUDED ON A NEWSLETTER? BECAUSE I THINK A
[00:35:01]
LOT OF TIMES IT FEELS LIKE PEOPLE ARE SCREAMING INTO THE VOID IF THEY'RE ASKING FOR CHANGES.AND THE ONLY ANNOUNCEMENT OF THOSE CHANGES, OR IN THIS ROOM IS THE CHANGE ITSELF.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS A WAY TO SORT OF MIRROR THE, THE REQUEST OR, UM, YOU KNOW, HEED THE REQUEST OF THE COMMUNITY SAYING, HEY, HERE'S AN UPDATE TO HOW WE'VE HEARD YOU LISTENED AND IMPLEMENTED CHANGES.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT THERE'S A LACK OF RECOGNITION.
PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY MAKE, UH, REQUESTS AND THEY DON'T SEE THEM GET MADE.
AND SO IT IS LIKE, BUT EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE BEEN MADE, RIGHT, WE EXPERIENCED THAT WITH THE FIRST ITERATION OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT YOU GUYS WERE MAKING REAL TIME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE RUBRIC AND PEOPLE WERE STILL ASKING FOR THOSE CHANGES TO BE MADE AFTER THEY HAD BEEN MADE.
SO LIKE, REALLY CREATING TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLICLY ANNOUNCING THAT, HEY, WE HEAR YOU.
HERE'S WHERE, YOU KNOW, THESE WERE SUGGESTIONS THAT WERE MADE AND HERE'S HOW WE'VE INTEGRATED THEM INTO THE RUBRIC MOVING FORWARD, OR THE PROTOCOL, THE PROCESS MOVING FORWARD.
I WAS GONNA SAY THANK YOU FOR GREAT REMINDER.
UM, I WILL SAY BEFORE MORGAN, UH, SPEAKS, WE DO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE SEND OUT, UM, UH, THINGS IN OUR NEWSLETTER WITH INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM.
WE HAVE APPLICATION WORKSHOPS.
SO THIS IS NOT THE ONLY PLACE WHERE WE ANNOUNCE THOSE.
IT IS ONE OF THE PLACES THAT WE DO THAT.
BUT I AGREE WE SHOULD HAVE A MORE, YOU KNOW, UM, FULLY, UH, INFORMED MARKETING PLAN.
SO THIS WILL BE ONE OF THE PLACES THAT WE'RE ANNOUNCING THAT IT SHOULD BE CELEBRATED.
RIGHT? AND I THINK THAT'S THE THING IS LIKE PAT YOURSELF'S ON THE BACK, RIGHT? LIKE, AND, AND JUST IN A WAY THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN SEE IT IN REAL TIME INSTEAD OF BEING LIKE, OH YEAH, WE MADE THOSE CHANGES MONTHS AGO.
IT'S LIKE, WELL, WHO TOLD ME? AND I THINK SPECIFICALLY THOSE THAT APPLIED, NOT JUST THOSE THAT WERE AWARDED, BUT THOSE THAT APPLIED AND DIDN'T RECEIVE THE GRANT, MAYBE BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WERE ADDRESSED AND CHANGED AND IMPROVED, SO AS TO SAY, HEY, LARGE BODY OF GROUP, AND WE'VE GOT PEOPLE, LIKE ALMOST REAL THINGS WHO ARE COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHO ARE HOSTING THESE WORKSHOPS.
LIKE, WE NEED TO BE USING THE PHONE TREE TO INFORM THE COMMUNITY, HEY, THESE CHANGES ARE BEING MADE AND IT'S, AND IT'S BEING ADJUSTED TO MAKE THIS MORE ACCESSIBLE.
CAN I JUST ADD ON THAT? I THINK I AGREE.
I THINK WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT, AND I LIKE, SPECIFICALLY THESE WERE THINGS THAT WERE ASKED FOR.
AND HERE, HERE IS WHERE YOU SEE THAT REFLECTED IN THE CHANGES WE'VE MADE.
NOT A GENERAL, LIKE WE HEARD YOU AND WE MADE CHANGES.
I THINK THE, THAT WOULD MAKE EVERYONE'S ADVOCACY MORE STREAMLINED SO THAT WE'RE NOT CONTIN, YOU KNOW, WHERE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED ARE, ARE STILL SHOWING UP, UM, AS, AS COMPLAINTS WHERE WE CAN THEN FOCUS ON LIKE, OKAY, HERE ARE SOME THINGS WE HAVEN'T WORKED THROUGH YET.
HOW DO WE GO THROUGH THAT TOGETHER? I THINK THE, THE SPECIFICITY OF HOW THE CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE AS A, AS A, IN RESPONSE TO COMMUNITY FEEDBACK IS GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT GOING FORWARD.
UM, MORGAN MASSEK, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, THOSE ARE SOME GOOD, VERY TANGIBLE SPECIFICS FOR WHAT WE CAN INCLUDE.
AND I JUST WANTED TO SHARE, UM, AND WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS AT THE MUSIC COMMISSION AS WELL, THAT WE ARE WORKING ON, UM, A PUBLIC INPUT, UH, PLATFORM, WHICH IS THE CITY'S KIND OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DIGITAL PLATFORM THAT THEY USE.
WE'RE BUILDING OUT EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, LIKE A PLACE WHERE WE CAN SAY, HERE IS THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE HEARD OVER THE LAST YEAR, AND HERE ARE THE CHANGES YOU CAN EXPECT GOING INTO 2025.
AND THERE WILL BE A PAGE, A SEPARATE PAGE FOR LIVE MUSIC FUND.
AND THEN THERE WILL BE A SEPARATE PAGE FOR THE CULTURAL ARTS, UM, OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH WILL BE NEXUS AND ELEVATE FOR THIS YEAR.
AND THEN WE'LL BE WORKING ON BUILDING THE THRIVE ONE AS WELL, THAT WILL LAUNCH NEXT YEAR.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO INCLUDE AS MANY SPECIFICS AS POSSIBLE OF LIKE, HERE ARE WHERE YOU HAVE GIVEN US THE FEEDBACK, INCLUDING, UM, THROUGH SURVEYS AND THROUGH, UH, COMMISSION MEETINGS AND OTHER PLACES WE HAVE RECEIVED THAT I'LL MAKE SURE THAT THE TEAM IS AWARE OF, LIKE, AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE, IS HELPFUL.
LIKE, HERE'S WHAT YOU SAID AND HERE'S WHERE YOU SEE IT.
THERE WILL ALSO BE A SINGLE SPACE TO GIVE FEEDBACK.
UM, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THESE CHANGES? AND THEN WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN FUTURE FUNDING CYCLES? FISCAL YEAR 26 AND BEYOND? WE DO WANNA HOLD SPACE TO, TO BE REALISTIC WHEN WE ASK FOR FEEDBACK THAT LIKE, WE CAN ACCEPT FEEDBACK, BUT WHEN OUR TIME IS SO LIMITED LEADING UP TO A LAUNCH, THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH CHANGE THAT CAN HAPPEN BY JANUARY OR BY MAY.
SO WE DO WANNA LIKE, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, BUT WE ARE PLANNING TO SHARE THAT.
AND OUR GOAL IS TO LAUNCH THAT IN JANUARY.
SO WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING ON THAT WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM, UM, WITH OUR CULTURAL FUNDING TEAM, AND WE'LL, WE'LL BE SURE TO GET THAT OUT.
AND WE DID TALK ABOUT TARGET AUDIENCES TO SEND THAT DIRECTLY TO GENERAL MARKETING, BUT ALSO TO PEOPLE WHO, UM, HAVE APPLIED OR WHO HAVE STARTED TO APPLIED AND NOT SUBMITTED.
AND THEN OF COURSE, PEOPLE WHO HAVE FORMALLY APPLIED AND BEEN DENIED OR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN AWARDED.
SO WE'LL HAVE KIND OF LIKE TIERS OF COMMUNICATION TO BE SURE WE DISTRIBUTE THAT IN
[00:40:01]
EARLY JANUARY.I'VE HEARD AS A A POINT OF FEEDBACK FROM CERTAIN FOLKS THAT WERE FORMALLY CULTURAL CONTRACTORS THAT LIKE THE, THE OPENING OF, UH, PROGRAMS AND APPLICATION, LIKE THE APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING RECEIVED.
LIKE THEY DON'T GET THOSE NOTIFICATIONS AND YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT IT'S WORTH DOING A PERSONAL TOUCH AND HAVING THESE SEGMENTS THAT ARE BEING OUTREACHED TO SPECIFICALLY, RIGHT.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARKETING AND OUTREACH MM-HMM
IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT JUST COLD BLASTING THIS INFORMATION TO THE ETHOS SPHERE.
IT'S ACTUALLY GOING INTENTIONALLY TO THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE PARTICIPATED, EVEN IF THAT'S JUST HAVING APPLIED AND NOT NECESSARILY BEING AWARDED.
UM, BUT I'VE HEARD FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES THAT IT'S LIKE, I HAD NO IDEA THAT THIS LAUNCHED.
I, AND NOW I ONLY HAVE A WEEK.
AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S, THE ONUS IS ON EVERYBODY.
IF, IF YOU'RE RELIANT ON FUNDING IN ANY CAPACITY, PAYING ATTENTION TO THOSE DEADLINES IS JUST AS MUCH YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS IT IS OURS TO NOTIFY YOU MM-HMM
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I THINK WE SHOULD BE DOING EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING WE CAN TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT THESE DEADLINES ARE APPROACHING THAT, THAT, THAT THESE LAUNCHES ARE COMING UP, RIGHT? SO KNOWING THAT A NEXUS WILL OPEN IN 1 28 SAYING, HEY, HERE ARE THE CHANGES THAT ARE BEING MADE AND GET READY BECAUSE COME THE END OF JANUARY, THESE PROGRAMS ARE GONNA BE LAUNCHED.
AND I LIKE THAT THAT'S GONNA BE SORT OF AN EVERGREEN OPTION FOR PEOPLE.
I REALLY FIND IT HELPFUL TO MAP OUT FOR SOMEBODY WHAT EXPECTATIONS THEY SHOULD HAVE.
THANK YOU FOR SUBMITTING FEEDBACK.
YOU'LL HEAR BACK FROM SOMEBODY IN X AMOUNT OF TIME.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST SOME RECIPROCITY BECAUSE IT TAKES SO MUCH TIME TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
AND IF YOU DON'T SEE IT, IF THERE'S NO RESPONSE TO KNOW THAT LIKE IT'S BEING RECEIVED OR WE'VE HEARD THIS FROM 20 OTHER PEOPLE OR, YOU KNOW, AND JUST KNOWING THAT THEY'RE BEING HEARD I THINK GOES A LONG WAY.
WE JUST HAD BONNIE PRESENT AND WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE EAGER TO PARTICIPATE AND WE DON'T WANT THEM TO EXPERIENCE SURVEY FATIGUE OR TO FEEL LIKE IT'S FRUITLESS TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE THINGS WHEN WE'RE REALLY RELIANT ON THEM TO BETTER THESE PROGRAMS. SO JUST LIKE GIVING PEOPLE EXPECTATIONS, LIKE, YOU MAY NOT HEAR FROM US IN A WEEK, BUT WE'LL TRY AND GET BACK TO YOU IN TWO JUST SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE, THE TIMELINE AND THE IMPLEMENTATION.
AND EVEN HAVING LIKE A, A TICKER LIKE, HEY, THERE'S, AND I KNOW WE'RE LIMITED BASED ON WHAT THE CITY WEBSITES CAN, YOU KNOW, CAN DO, BUT LIKE WE ARE 30 DAYS FROM THE NEXT OPENING, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE NEXT LAUNCH OF A PROGRAM.
JUST TO BE AS, AS REDUNDANTLY TRANSPARENT AND LIKE COMMUNICATIVE AS POSSIBLE, I THINK GOES A REALLY LONG WAY TO, TO DEMONSTRATE EFFORT TO THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE FEELING REALLY UNHEARD AND UNSEEN.
ANYBODY ELSE? COMMENTS? I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU DO HAVE A PLAN, BUT, UM, BUT IT WAS NOT KNOWN TO THE COMMUNITY THAT YOU HAVE A PLAN.
SO I THINK YOU ARE NOT DOING YOURSELF A FAVOR BY NOT MARKETING YOURSELF, MARKETING YOUR PLAN.
UM, SO MAYBE YOU NEED TO RING YOUR BELL LOUDER AND EARLIER SO THEN PEOPLE KNOW AND ANTICIPATE THAT YOU DO HAVE A PLAN COMING UP.
I THINK THAT'S JUST MARKETING, RIGHT? YEAH.
YEAH, A LITTLE BIT OF DESIGN AS WELL.
I JUST PULLED UP THE, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PAGE RIGHT HERE AND IT COULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCESSIBLE.
IT COULD BE NOT SUCCESSFUL, BUT IT COULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ATTRACTIVE.
IT'S JUST A LOT OF TEXT GOING ON ALL THE WAY, ALL THE WAY UP AND DOWN.
UH, YOU KNOW, REVAMP THAT A LITTLE BIT.
PEOPLE ARE KIND OF LOOKING AT STUFF AND IF IT LOOKS LIKE THIS, YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO HIT AND WHERE TO HIT.
UH, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE LIVELY FOR AN ARTS COMMISSIONER, AN ARTS COMMUNITY WOULD BE REALLY NICE.
I KNOW THERE'S LIMITATIONS WITH THE WEBSITE, BUT, UM, YOUR, YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER JOSE VELAZQUEZ IS SPEARHEADING, I THINK, RIGHT? WHAT WILL BE A REDESIGN? SO THERE'S HOPE FOR AN ACTUALLY LEGIBLE WEBSITE.
COMMISSIONER, ANYBODY ELSE? COMMISSIONER GRAY.
I THINK WITH OUR SPEAKER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE, OF THE EVENING AS WELL AS JUST FOR MANY OF US THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME, I THINK WHAT IT FEELS LIKE, 'CAUSE IT'S REALLY COMMENDABLE THAT COMMUNICATION, UM, AVENUES ARE BEING MADE FOR INFORMATION TO GO IN TO THE DEPARTMENT TO MAKE CHANGES, IS THE FACT THAT THE ARTISTS AND THE ARTISTIC COMMUNITY ARE NOT INVOLVED IN THE ROOM LOOKING AT THE 30,000 FOOT VISION OF WHATEVER YOU GUYS ARE SEEING.
AND I THINK WE MAY ALL AGREE, AND IT GOES BACK TO COMMUNICATION.
IT'S LIKE, WHAT IS THAT VISION? WHAT IS IT? UM, AND WHEN DECISIONS ARE MADE, UM, IT JUST FEELS LIKE IT NEEDS TO BE WELL.
[00:45:01]
'CAUSE I REALLY, UM, I JUST FEEL MANY DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE WITHOUT TRUE VISION AND BEYOND THE DEMO, BEYOND THE DATA AND WITH THE DATA WITH ARTISTS IN MIND.BECAUSE WE ARE LOSING ARTISTS, WE ARE LOSING ORGANIZATIONS, WE ARE LOSING ARTISTS THAT HAVE HELPED THE COMMUNITY BECOME WHAT IT IS.
AND I THINK EVEN IF YOU MAKE THE, THE QUESTIONS GREAT AND YOU GET SOME RECIPROCITY AND IT COMES BACK SOMETHING'S, SOMETHING'S GOTTA BE LIKE THIS.
AND BEING ON THIS BODY FOR FOUR YEARS, THE COMMUNITY FEELS LIKE WE'RE, THEY GO AROUND US BECAUSE THEY FEEL WE'RE NOT DOING THINGS THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING.
AND I'M NOT SAYING IT'S STAFF PROBLEM, IT'S NOT YOU GUYS, BUT SOMETHING BIG TIME IS WRONG.
THERE'S A LOT, RIGHT? THERE'S THINGS THAT ARE GOING RIGHT, BUT SOMETHING'S GOTTA CHANGE IN A MUCH BIGGER WAY.
AND MY NEXT QUESTION IS, WE MAY BE LOOKING AT NEXUS RIGHT NOW.
WHEN IS THAT, WHEN IS THAT WINDOW OF A WORKING GROUP THAT THE ARTS COMMISSION IS PUTTING TOGETHER WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS? WHEN CAN WE GET INFORMATION TO YOU GUYS FOR ELEVATE? IS IT TOO LATE? IT ALWAYS SEEMS LIKE IT'S TOO LATE THAT WE'LL SEE THE APPLICATION AT THE SAME TIME THE COMMUNITY DOES.
I JUST DON'T THINK IT'S RIGHT.
AND I KNOW I MAY BE ON A, I FEEL LIKE I'M ON A SOMETHING TODAY, BUT SOMETHING'S GOTTA CHANGE.
COMMISSIONER HOUSTON AND IT, IT DOES GO BACK TO WHAT, WHAT BONNIE CULLUM WAS SAYING EARLIER, THAT WE'RE NOT, I FEEL AS THOUGH WE ARE REACTING TO DECISIONS THAT ARE BEING MADE AND, AND THEN EXPECTED TO EXPLAIN TO THE COMMUNITY WHAT THOSE DECISIONS ARE WHEN WE HAD NO INPUT IN THE DECISIONS, WHICH MEANS THE COMMUNITY DIDN'T HAVE ANY INPUT IN THE DECISION.
SO FOR YOU TO SAY TO US ON DECEMBER 16TH THAT YOU'RE UPDATING THE QUESTIONS, IT HASN'T BEEN DONE YET, BUT THE APPLICATION OPENS ON JANUARY 28TH, THEN THAT MAKES ME GO, WELL, WE'RE JUST HEARING THAT THERE'S GONNA BE CHANGES.
THERE'S NO WAY THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO GET US THE CHANGES FOR US TO THEN SAY TO THE COMMUNITY, DOES THIS WORK AND THEN GET IT BACK BEFORE THE APPLICATION ACTUALLY STARTS.
SO THAT, THAT'S WHERE THE DISCONNECT SEEMS TO COME IN, IS THAT WE'RE AS COMMISSIONERS, WE ARE BACK HERE FOLLOWING WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND WE'RE NOT ABLE TO, TO INTERVENE IN A TIMELY FASHION.
SO WHERE THE RESPONSE FROM THE COMMUNITY ISN'T AS VITRIOLIC AS IT CAN GET BECAUSE THEY'VE JUST BEEN BLINDSIDED.
SO I THINK THE TIMING OF, IF, IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A CHANGE, WE NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU'RE DECIDING TO MAKE A CHANGE.
WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT THOSE CHANGES ARE BEFORE YOU ASK THE COMMUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE CHANGES SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TELLING US THEY WANT.
THERE'S NO WAY FOR US TO DO WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO IF WE DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING BEFORE YOU DO IT.
COMMISSIONER GARZA, UH, I'VE PROBABLY BEEN ON THIS COMMISSION MAYBE TWICE AS LONG AS COMMISSIONER GRAY HAS BEEN.
AND ONE THING I'VE NOTICED, AND I'M SURE WE'VE ALL NOTICED IT AT DIFFERENT POINTS, IS THAT EVERY COUPLE YEARS OR MAYBE EVERY EVERY SINGLE YEAR, THERE SEEMS TO BE A CHANGE SOMEWHERE IN THE APPLICATIONS CHANGE IN OUR GOALS OR WHATNOT.
AND WHILE THAT'S OKAY IF YOU'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, RUNNING A REGULAR RUN OF MILL BUSINESS, BUT WE'VE GOT A MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS HERE THAT WE'RE RUNNING FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT'S CALLED THE ARTS DEPARTMENT AND OUR CONTRACTORS MILLION DOLLAR CORPORATION HERE.
BUT, UH, I DON'T SEE A 10 YEAR PLAN.
I DON'T SEE A FIVE YEAR PLAN, I DON'T SEE A THREE YEAR PLAN, I DON'T SEE LONG-TERM PLANNING.
AND IF WE'RE GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL WITH THIS COMMISSION AND WHAT WE DO, OUR MISSION IS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED OVER YEARS.
OUR CONTRACTORS, OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT IS OUR LONG-TERM GOAL? IS THERE A LONG-TERM GOAL TO THIS? IS THERE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN COUNT ON THAT IF I APPLIED 10 YEARS AGO AND I'M STILL GETTING MY MONEY, THAT I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE I'M GOING AND WHAT THAT PLAN IS.
AND THAT'S ONE THING I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO SEE.
I'D LIKE TO SEE WHAT IS THE LONG-TERM GOAL FOR THIS CITY AS FAR AS ARTS GO.
ARE WE COMING UP WITH NEW STUFF AND FORGETTING THE
[00:50:01]
OLD, ARE WE BEARING A HISTORY TO COME UP WITH, UH, BLINKING LIGHT PIECES OR WHATNOT? I'D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW, AND I'D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW, HOW MUCH ARE WE PRESERVING, UH, FOR A COMMUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO COME IN AND WITNESS AND ENJOY THE HISTORY OF AUSTIN? HIS AUSTIN HAS A BEAUTIFUL HISTORY.SOMETIMES IT'S A VERY VIOLENT HISTORY.
UH, IT'S BEEN A DISCRIMINATORY HISTORY.
IT'S BEEN A, A HISTORY OF DISPLACEMENT AND WHATNOT, BUT WE'RE STILL HERE, WE'RE STILL SURVIVING.
UH, I'VE MENTIONED THIS MANY TIMES BETWEEN THE TEXAS REVOLUTION AND THE CIVIL WAR, ACCORDING TO ALL HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS THAT I'VE SEEN, IS AUSTIN LOST HALF OF ITS INDIGENOUS POPULATION OF ITS AMERICAN, MEXICAN AMERICAN POPULATION.
AND IMAGINE WHERE WE WOULD BE TODAY IF THAT HAD NOT HAPPENED, IF HALF OF OUR PEOPLE HAD BEEN ABLE TO STAY HERE AND STILL BE IMPACTED IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND SO WHAT'S HAPPENED IS WE FOR FORGOT WHO THIS COMMUNITY IS, WE'VE FORGOTTEN THAT IT'S NOT THE COMANCHES THAT WERE HERE, IT'S THE TONKO WAS, UH, WE'VE FORGOTTEN THAT CLARKSVILLE ISN'T ALWAYS JUST A TRENDING NEIGHBORHOOD.
IT USED TO BE A FREEMAN'S TOWN.
SO AT WHEATSVILLE, ALL THESE LITTLE HISTORIES ARE FORGOTTEN AND NEVER CELEBRATED IN OUR HISTORY, NEVER CELEBRATED IN OUR FUNDING.
AND I REALLY THINK THAT WE'RE GONNA DO SOME LONG TERM PLANNING.
THIS IS WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO DO, A LITTLE REVAMP.
WE NEED TO KEEP THOSE THINGS IN CONSIDERATION AS WE GO FORWARD.
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A SUGGESTION.
UM, IT IS VERY UN UNSETTLING TO ME, UM, THAT I, I THINK WE NEED TO DO OUR JOB AS COMMISSION.
I AM GOING TO PROPOSE MAYBE WE CAN DISCUSS IT AT OUR NEXT MEETING TO HAVE US TO SET UP A STANDING COMMITTEE TO WORK WITH THE STAFF ON THE GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS.
WE NEED TO HAVE A COMMITTEE THAT IS, HAS THE COMMISSIONERS AND HAVE THE GRANTEES, YOU KNOW, AND YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THE, WITH WITH THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS AND THEN WORKING WITH THE STAFF.
BECAUSE I THINK THAT IS MISSING, DON'T YOU THINK? COMMISSIONER CHARLA? YEAH.
UM, I THINK, UM, PARTLY, AT LEAST TO A GOOD EXTENT, THAT'S WHAT THE WORKING GROUP THAT WE VOTED ON INTENDS TO DO.
UM, AND, UM, UM, FOR, UM, AND, AND, UH, WE'LL SPEAK JUST A LITTLE MORE TO THAT AND BETTER UPDATES IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.
BUT, UH, UM, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IS WHAT IS IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF US.
AND, UH, WE WERE REALLY GONNA LOOK AT ELEVATE, UM, ADDED ADD ON WITH THE NEXUS, UH, WITH THE NEXUS ROLLOUT, UM, END OF JANUARY.
OBVIOUSLY THAT DOESN'T GIVE US ENOUGH OF A BANDWIDTH TO COME BACK WITH ANY, UM, NECESSARY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE WORKING GROUP.
UM, BUT JUST TO ALLEVIATE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE STRESS WE HAVE ABOUT RIGHT NOW AROUND NEXUS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, STAFF HAS AGREED TO PUT THE QUESTIONNAIRE IN IN YOU.
YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT YOU'RE GONNA PUT THE QUESTIONNAIRE IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY.
UH, AGAIN, IF THERE ARE REALLY OVERRIDING CONCERNS, WE CAN ALWAYS RECOMMEND A POSTPONEMENT AND THAT'S WHAT WE SHOULD COME UP WITH, EVEN IF IT'S JUST FOR A MONTH, IF THERE ARE REALLY VERY HARD CONCERNS, OTHERWISE AT LEAST WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW AND MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS ROUND OF NEXUS IN JANUARY.
WE WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK WITH RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND ELEVATE AND, UH, AND GO FROM THERE.
I THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MARK.
I JUST FEEL LIKE I'M NOT INFORMED OR I DO NOT HAVE THE COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION.
IT MAKES ME FEEL VERY INCOMPETENT, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK IN ORDER FOR ME TO ADVISE MY COUNCIL MEMBER SUCCESSFULLY TO REALLY ADVOCATE FOR THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY, I NEED TO BE INFORMED AND HAVE COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION SO THAT I CAN DO MY JOB.
UM, SO I THINK WE, WE NEED TO HAVE SOME KIND OF, UM, STANDING COMMITTEE AND HAVE A REGULAR TYPE OF REPORTING, YOU KNOW, TO, TO TALK ABOUT, OKAY, WE HAVE THIS MEETING AND WE HAVE THIS FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THIS IS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO.
HAVE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF, UH, SCHEDULE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW FORMAL IT CAN BE, BUT AT LEAST TO HAVE SOME KIND OF ROUTINE SCHEDULE SO THAT I WILL BECOME MORE INFORMED, EVEN THOUGH EVEN IF I DON'T SERVE ON THE COMMITTEE, AT LEAST I WILL HAVE THAT REPORTING FROM THE COMMITTEE WHO HAVE BEEN LOOKING INTO THE PROCESS.
[00:55:01]
YEAH.I, I THINK THE, THE, THE INTENTIONALITY IS RIGHT ON.
UM, I, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE US ACCOMPLISH MOST OF ALL OF IT IN THIS MEETING RIGHT HERE, BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE, THIS IS THE FORMAL MEETING THAT WE HAVE AS COMMISSIONERS WITH STAFF WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
THIS IS THE FORUM IN WHICH THAT SHOULD BE HAPPENING.
AND BEYOND THAT, ANY KIND OF DEEP DIVES, OF COURSE WE ARE FORMING WORKING GROUPS RIGHT IN, IN, IN, IN RELATION TO, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THE TOPIC OF GRANTS HERE.
UH, AND THAT'S WHERE I THINK SOME OF THE FURTHER ENGAGEMENT, FURTHER DEEP DIVES, UH, PER SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS COULD COME THROUGH.
BUT A LOT OF WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING IS WHAT ESSENTIALLY, UH, WE SHOULD BE ACCOMPLISHING COLLECTIVELY AS A TEAM IN THIS FORUM, IS HOW I SEE IT.
YEAH, THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH STANDING WORKING GROUPS, RIGHT? OR COMMITTEES.
WE, THEY'RE, THEY HAVE TO BE TIME-BASED AND SO THAT IN AND OF ITSELF PRO PROPOSE OR PRESENTS AN ISSUE.
WE DO HAVE A COMMUNITY WORKING GROUP OR A WORKING GROUP THAT IS INCORPORATING COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
WE KNOW WE HAVE WILLING, UM, COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT SPACE.
OBVIOUSLY WE'RE IN A BIT OF A CONUNDRUM WITH NEXUS BECAUSE WE HAVE A ROLLOUT DATE.
IT IS GOING TO AN ANNUAL AND NOT A BIANNUAL.
SO ANY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE PUT FORTH, IF NOT IMPLEMENTED BY THAT JANUARY 28TH ROLLOUT, WE'LL HAVE TO BE CARRIED OVER TO NEXT YEAR.
AND THEN BY THEN WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE A WHOLE NOTHER LIST OF IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, AND I SAW ANOVIA STAND UP, BUT I THINK WHERE SHE'S COMING IN IS ANY POSTPONEMENT IS REALLY NOT UP TO US BECAUSE WE HAVE A BUDGET OFFICE THAT ALLOCATES PAYMENTS.
IF WE DON'T TAKE THAT, THAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET PAYMENTS OUT, IT, IT'S A WHOLE DOMINO EFFECT WITH ALL THE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE BEING FACILITATED AND PAID FOR.
IF I MAY QUICKLY ASK, I MEAN, IS THAT EVEN A MONTH? UH, UH, UH, WOULD, WOULD HAVE THAT IMPACT? I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER.
AND, AND AGAIN, I'M NOT SUGGESTING A POSTPONEMENT RIGHT NOW.
IT IS, WE HAVE AN OVERRIDING CONCERN RIGHT NOW ABOUT NOT HAVING ENOUGH TIME TO RESPOND.
UM, I DOUBT WE WILL SEE ANYTHING THERE THAT'S GONNA BE SO OVERRIDING THAT WE WOULD WANT TO POSTPONE IT, BUT IF WE DO, I JUST WANT TO HAVE THE OPTION OPEN FOR US TO PRESENT A RECOMMENDATION IN THAT REGARD.
I THINK, OH, OH, COMMISSIONER SMBA, I JUST WANNA A QUICK CLARIFICATION FOR, UM, NEXUS THAT YOU'RE GONNA GIVE US THE QUES THE APPLICATION QUESTIONS AHEAD OF TIME, RIGHT? IS THAT WHAT WE JUST AGREED WITH? OUR, OUR PLAN IS TO, AND THE, WHAT WE HAVE DONE WITH ALL LAUNCHES OVER AT LEAST THE LAST YEAR, IS WE PUBLISH APPLICATION QUESTIONS WELL IN ADVANCE THREE WEEKS TO SEVERAL MONTHS OUT.
OUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO GET THEM PUBLISHED AROUND A MONTH.
THE HOLIDAYS OF COURSE, PRESENT, UM, TIME CONSTRAINTS AS WE WORK WITH THE LONG CENTER OR PARTNERS, BUT THOSE WOULD STILL BE SUBJECT TO LIKE, IF THE QUESTIONS ARE PUBLISHED PUBLICLY RIGHT BEFORE WE'VE HAD A CHANCE TO SEE THEM, WOULD THAT STILL GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY IF THERE WERE ANY GLARING ISSUES TO SAY SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE.
SO I, WHAT, WHAT I HEAR YOU ALL ARE SAYING IS THAT YOU FEEL LIKE PART OF YOUR ROLE IS TO GET QUESTIONS AT ADVANCE AND EVALUATE AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK POSSIBLY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK THAT DEVIATES FROM THE MODEL THAT WE'VE HAD FOR ALL THESE YEARS.
SO THAT'S, THAT IS SOME FEEDBACK THAT I AM TAKING IN RIGHT NOW AND THAT IS NOT SOMETHING I THINK THAT WE SHOULD EXPECT BETWEEN NOW AND JANUARY 28TH.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW CANDIDLY IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS APPROPRIATE WITH THE MODEL OF RELATIONSHIP WE HAVE.
LIKE I WOULD LOVE TO CONFER WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE TO SEE IF THAT IS WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF THE WORK THAT WE DO TOGETHER.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I WANT TO PUT ON, I THINK WHAT WE'RE ALL SAYING IS LIKE, WE ARE ALSO, I THINK I'M SPEAKING FOR YOU, BUT PART OF THE REASON WHY I ALSO FEEL INEFFECTIVE AS AN ARTS COMMISSIONER IS IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY SO MUCH TO SAY IN PARTNER, LIKE TO SAY LIKE, HEY GUYS, HERE'S, THIS IS GONNA BE AN ISSUE.
LET'S TAKE A CHANCE TO FIX IT NOW BEFORE IT GOES LIVE TO THE PUBLIC.
BECAUSE WE ARE THE PUBLIC AND WE'RE IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE PUBLIC.
AND IT JUST DISADVANTAGES EVERYBODY WHEN WE DON'T HAVE ANY WAY THAT, AT LEAST THAT WE'RE NOT, I THINK WE'RE ALL SITTING HERE SAYING, WE DON'T FEEL LIKE WE'RE SET UP TO DO.
AND IT'S NOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BABYSITTING THE STA YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO SAY LIKE, WE KNOW HOW TO DO YOUR JOB.
IT'S SAYING LIKE, I THINK WE'RE SEEING SOMETHING HERE THAT IS GONNA BE AN ISSUE AND WE CAN HEAD IT OFF AND FIX IT BEFORE IT BECOMES PUBLISHED TO THE PUBLIC.
AND THEN WE GET ALL OF THE FEEDBACK WHEN WE COULD HAVE SAID THAT'S GONNA BE AN ISSUE AND SAVED THE SAVED THE TIME.
SO THE, BUT JUST TO CLARIFY FOR NOW, THE PLAN IS THAT THE APPLICATION QUESTIONS AND IN EACH, AND THE GUIDELINES WILL BE PUBLISHED IN EARLY JANUARY.
[01:00:01]
WE WILL NOT SEE THEM RIGHT NOW BEFOREHAND.IT'LL ALL BE PUB, IT'LL BE MADE PUBLIC TO THE ARTS COMMISSION AT THE SAME TIME THAT IT'S MADE PUBLIC TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, AND I ALSO HAVE JUST AS A LEVEL OF NUANCE FOR THE QUESTIONS, THE QUESTION OF LIKE, LOOKING AT THE QUESTIONS.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE ARTS COMMISSIONERS WHO REGULARLY APPLY FOR FUNDING.
AND SO LIKE, I JUST HAVE QUESTIONS AROUND LIKE INFLUENCING WHAT THE QUESTIONS ARE AS A BODY OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ALSO APPLYING TO RECEIVE THE FUNDING.
SO IT'S CL CLEARLY IT'S MORE NUANCED THAN JUST LIKE, CAN WE SEND YOU A DOCUMENT OF WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON BECAUSE, UM, WE HAVE, THERE ARE A LOT MORE LAYERS TO IT THAN THAT.
SAY SOMETHING, COMMISSIONER GRAY AND THEN COMMISSION ATTORNEY.
I HAVE A, A LOT OF ANSWERS TO THAT AND IT'S A LOT LONGER THAN I'M GOING TO RESPOND.
UM, HAVING SERVED NOT ONLY ON PEER PANELS, NO WORRIES.
UM, I, I WASN'T GONNA GET UP, BUT, UM, I HEAR YOU.
I HEAR YOU WANTING, UM, INPUT AND REVIEW OF THE QUESTIONS.
SO I'M GONNA GO BACK WITH THE TEAM TO SEE WHAT IF THE PLANS CAN BE ALTERED.
BUT I, I WANNA RESPECTFULLY TAKE ISSUE OUT OF A PLAN BECAUSE IN 2018 WHEN WE SAT OVER AT DORIS MILLER AND WE SAID, WHO FUNDS EVERYBODY, THERE WAS A PLAN TO REIMAGINE THIS PROCESS.
WE DID A PILOT YEAR AND NOW WE'RE IN A TWO YEAR PLAN.
SO WE WILL BE EVALUATING, IT'S NOT LIKE WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN OF FUNDING THE PROCESS.
I HEAR YOU ABOUT TRANSPARENCY AND I REMEMBER COMING TO SAY, UH, COMMUNITY SAID THIS, WE MADE A CHANGE.
COMMUNITY SAID THE PORTAL WAS TOO HARD.
WE, WE HAVE BEEN RAPID FIRE TRYING TO RESPOND.
SO I, I WANNA SAY THAT THE TEAM HAS DONE YEOMAN'S WORK AND I HEAR YOU ABOUT TRANSPARENCY.
WE ALL LEARN DIFFERENT, SOME ORAL, SOME WRITTEN, ET CETERA.
SO GIVE US A CHANCE, BUT TO SAY WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN, WE HAVE A FIVE YEAR FUNDING PLAN.
WE DO A THREE TO FIVE YEAR FORECAST.
WE ARE EVALUATING IF THRIVE, ELEVATE NEXUS ARE WORKING.
SO WE HAVE A PLAN, GIVE US TIME TO NOW COME BACK WITH SOME FEEDBACK ON WHAT THE NEXT YEAR, TWO NEXT YEAR.
BECAUSE WE ARE GONNA THEN NEED TO START THINKING WHAT'S THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEAR PLAN.
BUT I ALSO WANNA PUT OUT THERE WE HAVE 45 MILLION IN REQUESTS, 17 MILLION ONLY TO DEPLOY JUST ON THIS SIDE.
27 MILLION IN REQUESTS ON THE MUSIC AND ONLY 4.4 TO DEPLOY.
THERE IS A MATHEMATICAL IMBALANCE AT THE END OF THE DAY, NO MATTER THE CHANGE, EVEN IF WE GOT A PERFECT SYSTEM, THE MATH DOES NOT MATH.
SO KNOW THAT STAFF IS DOING THE BEST.
AND WE'RE GONNA GO BACK, EVALUATE THE TIMING, MAKE SURE LAW IS CLEAR ON WHO SHOULD SEE HOW THE QUESTIONS SHOULD BE COMING THROUGH, JUST TO MAKE SURE THE PLAYING FIELD IS LEVEL AS WE CAN HAVE IT.
THERE IS A PLAN WE COMMUNICATING, UH, MAYBE WE NEED MORE COMMUNITY AMPLIFIERS, INFLUENCERS.
SO LET US GO BACK MAYBE A MONTH.
THERE ARE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE ROLLING OUT.
SO WE HEAR YOU AND I'M SURE ANTHONY IS WATCHING OUR INTERIM THAT'S COMING UP, BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO APPEAR THAT THERE WAS NO PLAN.
2018, WE STARTED THE RE-IMAGINING.
WE ARE HERE NOW WITH NEW PROGRAMS. WE ARE ONLY TWO YEARS IN.
WE GET THE DATA BACK FROM OUR CONSULTANT TO SEE IF IT HAS BEEN EFFECTIVE, THEN WE NEED TO START PLANNING AGAIN.
SO THAT'S WHY I GOT UP TO SAY STAFF HAS DONE A GREAT JOB.
ORAL LEARNERS, WRITTEN LEARNERS TRY TO GET THE, HELP US AMPLIFY THAT.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE MATH DOESN'T MATH.
SO DOES THAT, I HOPE THAT, I HOPE YOU FELT MY SPIRIT IN THAT.
AND I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM THAT WE'RE ALL COMING HERE WITH.
ETERNALLY GRATEFUL AND YOU SEE THE WORK AND I THINK WE'RE SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHAMPIONS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY SPEAKING TO THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE IN REAL TIME.
SO I, I DON'T WANNA UNDERMINE HOW GRATEFUL THIS BODY IS FOR THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE.
AND WE KNOW THAT THERE'S NEVER GONNA BE A PERFECT SYSTEM AND WE'RE ALWAYS WORKING TOWARDS IT.
[01:05:01]
I THINK THE REQUEST ACROSS THE BOARD IS TO INCLUDE US.WE, AND NOT TREAT US LIKE THE PUBLIC.
AND WHILE I TOTALLY HEAR YOU ABOUT SORT OF A CONFLICT OF INTEREST, I DON'T APPLY FOR CITY FUNDING.
HEIDI DOESN'T APPLY FOR CITY FUNDING.
GINA DOESN'T APPLY FOR CITY FUNDING.
SO WHILE MAYBE 50% OF THIS BODY DOES, THERE ARE PLENTY OF US THAT DON'T, AND WE'RE JUST TRYING TO HELP, RIGHT? WE HEAR THE HARASSMENT THAT YOU GUYS GET AND WE WANNA CIRCUMVENT THAT.
WE DON'T, NOBODY DESERVES TO BE TREATED LIKE THAT.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS FEEL LIKE, UH, WILD ANIMALS BEING CORNERED IN TERMS OF THEIR RESPONSE.
AND THAT IS SORT OF THE VICIOUSNESS THAT COMES OUT AND THAT YOU GUYS HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, BEAR THE BRUNT OF, RIGHT.
WE WANT TO AVOID THAT BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING.
AND WE'RE COMING TO YOU LIKE WE ARE ADVOCATING AND DEFENDING CAD STAFF.
AND SO IT'S LIKE, WE'RE ALL HERE BECAUSE WE CARE.
ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM ARE HERE BECAUSE WE CARE.
AND SO HOW DO WE GET FURTHER TOGETHER INSTEAD OF SORT OF POINTING, WELL THAT'S THIS PROCESS.
AND, AND I, I REALLY WANNA GET AWAY FROM LIKE, OR GET REALLY EXAMINE LIKE PRACTICE VERSUS POLICY, RIGHT? LIKE DON'T, LET'S NOT STICK WITH SOMETHING JUST BECAUSE IT'S THE WAY WE'VE ALWAYS DONE IT.
LET'S TRY AND CRAFT A SYSTEM WHERE WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE BEING UTILIZED, UM, TO THE, FOR THE EXPERTS THAT WE ARE, FOR THE REASON THAT WE'RE HERE ON THIS BODY.
AND IT REALLY, I THINK, BUILDS CONFIDENCE IN THE COMMUNITY FOR CAD STAFF TO SEE US BEING UTILIZED IN THAT WAY.
AND SO THAT'S WHY I HAD CONSULTED JESUS, LIKE I NEED THE WORKING GROUP NAMES.
SO YOU MAY BE GETTING SOME CALLS SO WE DON'T DELAY.
MAYBE THE WORKING GROUP WE GET TOGETHER, BUT HOLIDAYS.
SO WE COME BACK IN JANUARY, WE'RE READY TO ROLL SEVEN.
UM, SO I JUST WANNA ADD, JUST AS SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID EARLIER, AND PERSONALLY HAVING WORKED WITH THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AND TEXAS COMMISSION ARTS, WHEN YOU HAVE A BODY OR A COMMISSION, IT SHOULD INVOLVE THE COMMUNITY THAT MAY BE INVOLVED IN PROCESSES.
I DO NOT THINK ABOUT WHETHER I'M, WHETHER I HAVE AN ORGANIZATION THAT'S GONNA GET MONEY, IT'S NO, HOPEFULLY WE'RE VET, WE'RE VETTED BY PEOPLE THAT PUT US HERE BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE.
IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR ORGANIZATIONS GETTING MONEY.
THE FACT THAT WE ARE A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT KNOW THE ARTS AND MANY ON STAFF MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW THE ARTS.
YOU CAN'T RUN AN ARTS GRANT PROCESS WITHOUT ARTISTS.
THAT PEOPLE THAT KNOW HOW ARTISTS WORK AND HOW THAT COMMUNITY WORKS.
TO ME, THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS. NOT THAT MAJOR, MAJOR THINGS HAVEN'T BEEN FIXED AND ADJUSTED BECAUSE I DO SEE WHAT THAT PLAN, I'VE SEEN THAT PLAN ROLL OUT.
SO MANY WONDERFUL THINGS HAVE HAPPENED, BUT THERE'S MANY THINGS THAT NEED TO SHIFT BACK IN, IN ANOTHER.
AND SO NOVIAS RIGHT NOW, IT'S TIME TO LOOK AT THE REPORTS.
WHAT ARE THE, WHAT'S THAT NEXT VISION? BUT I JUST WANNA SAY TO SAY THAT, THAT PEOPLE HERE SHOULD NOT SERVE IF WE'RE NOT INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS.
I WOULD HOPE YOU RETHINK THAT STATEMENT.
AND, AND I THANK YOU SO MUCH, STEPH, FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO BECAUSE IT COULD NOT GO ON WITHOUT YOU.
IT'S BEEN AMAZING, THE WORK YOU DO.
SO WE'LL DEFINITELY CIRCLE BACK AND, UH, REPORT BACK THROUGH THE APPROPRIATE CHANNELS.
COMMISSIONERS ANY FURTHER COMMENTS? UH, I JUST WANT TO SEE, I JUST WANT TO, I HAVE A QUESTION.
SORRY I COULDN'T, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD SEE ME AND I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO RAISE MY HAND.
SINCE THIS IS HAPPENING NEXT MONTH SINCE PREVIOUSLY THERE WAS, UH, TWO OPPORTUNITIES TO APPLY AND NOW THERE'S ONLY GONNA BE ONE.
SO IF THEY DON'T APPLY IN JANUARY, THEY LOSE THEIR CHANCE FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR TO APPLY.
SO WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IS HOW LONG THE APPLICATION PERIOD WILL BE OPEN FOR? WILL IT BE OPEN FOR LONGER TO ALLOW THAT MARKETING AND INFORMING PEOPLE THAT THERE'S ONLY ONE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY? UM, SO MARKETING AND INFORMATION SHARING, YOU KNOW, STARTS HERE.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT JANUARY 28TH FOR A WHILE.
SO NOW WE'RE SHARING, IT'S ONCE A YEAR.
WE ARE LAUNCHING OUR, UH, QUESTIONS, OUR GUIDELINES AND OUR CAMPAIGN AT THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY.
I BELIEVE THE APPLICATION'S OPEN FOR TILL MARCH 6TH.
TILL MARCH 6TH TILL MARCH 6TH.
UM, WE WILL HAVE LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO GET WITH STAFF AND ASK QUESTIONS.
WE HOPE THAT WE HAVE EASED THE BURDEN FOR THE APPLICATION TIMELINE BY MAKING LOTS OF MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS AND MAKING IT EASIER TO APPLY LESS TIME.
AND OF COURSE THOSE QUESTIONS WILL BE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE SO THAT THEY CAN PREPARE THEIR ANSWERS AHEAD OF ACTUALLY DIVING IN TO FILL IT OUT.
AND SINCE WE KNOW THAT THAT APPLICATION'S
[01:10:01]
GONNA LAUNCH JANUARY, IN JANUARY, CAN THE WEBSITE BE UPDATED JUST WITH SOMETHING SIMPLE SAYING NEXT, UM, NEXT APPLICATION OPENS MORE INFORMATION COMING OR SOMETHING.I JUST WENT TO THE LANDING PAGE FOR THE NEXUS APP AND IT STILL HAS THE INFORMATION THAT IT'S CLOSED AND IT CLOSED ON AUGUST 27TH AND AUGUSTLY THE INFORMATION FROM THE LAST TWO.
UM, SO I, I THINK THAT'D BE SOMETHING AND HOPEFULLY SOMETHING SIMPLE THAT CAN BE DONE JUST SO THAT IF SOMEONE DOES GOOGLE NEXUS APPLICATION AND THEY END UP ON THAT LANDING PAGE, THEY SEE THAT IT'S COMING.
UM, JUST I'M GONNA JUMP IN JUST 'CAUSE ON THE MARKETING TOPIC.
UM, I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS HAVE TO JUMP THROUGH A TON OF HOOPS FOR, UM, GETTING SOMETHING PUBLISHED ON SOCIAL FOR THE NEWSLETTER.
UM, NOT TRYING TO MICROMANAGE YOUR MARKETING PERSON, BUT THERE SHOULD BE A SOCIAL CALENDAR.
HEY GUYS, CAN WE GET THE SIDE COMBOS TO COMMISSIONERS? THANK YOU.
UM, IT IS VERY STANDARD PRACTICE FOR THERE TO BE A YEAR'S WORTH OF MARKETING CALENDAR DONE.
AND I THINK KNOWING THE DATES THAT ARE IMPENDING AND COMING UP AND LIKE REMINDER FOR THIS LIKE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THAT LAUNCH OF THIS, LIKE YOU GUYS SHOULD BE, OR THE MARKETING, THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF MARKETING SO AS TO BE ON TOP OF THE COMMS REQUEST TO LEGAL.
'CAUSE I KNOW, AGAIN, I KNOW THAT THERE'S A WHOLE TRAIN, A WHOLE CHAIN OF COMMAND.
THERE'S NO SIMPLE STORYING, RIGHT? SO WORKING BACKWARDS FROM THE END OF 2025 TO TODAY, CALENDARING OUT EVERY POST, EVERY NEWSLETTER, IT SEEMS IT IS TEDIOUS AS A MARKETER, IT IS ABSOLUTELY TEDIOUS.
BUT WHAT'S BEING ASKED OF BY THE COMMUNITY IS THIS, IS IS CONSTANT FLOW OF INFORMATION.
AND YET TO COMMISSIONER MALDONADO'S POINT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT, IT'S BEEN ANNOUNCED IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS, THERE SHOULD ABSOLUTELY BE COMING SOON, JANUARY 28TH, THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE NEXT GRANT.
EVEN FOR THE, YOU KNOW, ANY DATES THAT WE GET HERE, I THINK COULD REALLY EASILY BE MIRRORED ON THE WEBSITE SO PEOPLE CAN ACCURATELY PLAN.
UM, AGAIN, HONORING THE WORK THAT YOU DO.
I KNOW YOUR MARKETING TEAM IS PROBABLY BUSTING BUTT TRYING TO DO ALL THIS STUFF.
WE ARE HERE, HAVE THEM WORK WITH US.
IF THEY, YOU KNOW, THERE SHOULD BE MUCH MORE THAN THE BARE MINIMUM IN TERMS OF ONLINE COMMUNICATION WITH AN EMPHASIS ON SOCIAL BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE PEOPLE ARE, PEOPLE CAN RESHARE, I CAN REPOST A STORY REALLY EASILY AND READILY.
AND THAT MAY BE THE FOREST FIRE STYLE OF COMMUNICATION THAT'S GONNA GET FURTHEST AND WIDEST THE FASTEST.
AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO HEAR AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A GRANT THAT OPENED TWO WEEKS AGO THAT NOW YOU ONLY HAVE TWO WEEKS LEFT TO APPLY WHEN THERE COULD HAVE BEEN AN ONSLAUGHT OF REMINDERS, RIGHT? LIKE, IF WE'RE DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE AND PEPPERING PEOPLE WITH INFORMATION TO THE POINT WHERE THEY'RE LIKE, WE KNOW, WE KNOW NEXUS IS OPEN, WE GET IT.
WE KNOW THAT THESE, LIKE, THAT'S WHERE THE COMMUNITY REAL, THEY NEED TO BE OVER COMMUNICATED TO.
WELL, I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.
DO NOT FORGET COVID COVID DURING COVID.
WE LOST A COUPLE OF YEARS AND ALSO IT PUT THE COMMUNITY INTO A MUCH MORE STRESSFUL STATE.
SO I WANTED TO, FIRST, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE GOOD WORK THAT YOU HAVE DONE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY DURING SUCH DIFFICULT TIME, UH, WHEN DEALING WITH PANDEMIC, WHEN THEN THERE'S NO AUDIENCE, WHEN THERE'S NO MONEY MADE, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THE PROGRAM.
SO I REALLY LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE HOW YOU HANDLE THAT CRISIS SO WELL.
AND, AND ALSO THE REASON WHY, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALMOST LIKE THERE'S SUCH A STRESSFUL ENVIRONMENT.
I THINK WE ARE DEALING WITH THE, THE LEFTOVER OF THE COAG, YOU KNOW, THE CO PANDEMIC.
SO I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR GOOD WORK DURING THOSE CRISIS.
AND I'M SURE WE CAN DO MUCH BETTER WORK AS WE MARCH FORWARD.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO, WE JUST WANTED TO OFFER OUR SERVICE, YOU KNOW, TO THE COMMUNITY AND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR GOOD WORK COMMISSIONERS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER GARZA? UH, YES, I DO AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER MALOR NOW THAT WE SHOULD HAVE A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME BETWEEN THE APPLICATION COMING OUT AND THE APPLICATION BEING DEADLINED.
I KNOW PERSONALLY, UH, SEVERAL YEARS BACK I APPLIED TO, UH, ART PUBLIC PLACES AND I FOUND OUT ABOUT IT LIKE LESS THAN A WEEK BEFORE.
SO I SPENT LIKE FOUR DAYS JUST TAKING A LONG TIME, A LONG TIME ALONG.
UH, HAD A FRIEND OF MINE PROOFREAD OF COURSE FOR GRAMMAR, WHATNOT, BUT DIDN'T REALLY HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO, YOU KNOW, FI ASK SOMEONE, HEY, BE OBJECTIVE.
LOOK AT MY, LOOK AT WHAT I'M SAYING AND TELL ME WHAT SOUNDS GOOD, WHAT DOES SOUND GOOD BASED ON WHAT THE APPLICATION IS.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT'S MISSING A LOT OF THE TIMES
[01:15:01]
IS A LOT OF ARTISTS GOT REALLY GOOD IDEAS OF WHAT THEY WANT TO DO AND WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THEY THINK'S GONNA BE REALLY GOOD.BUT UNLESS YOU HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO REALLY GO THROUGH THAT APPLICATION, YOU KNOW, THINK BACK AND LOOK AT IT AGAIN A COUPLE OF TIMES AND PASS IT AROUND A COUPLE OF TIMES, THEN YOU'RE REALLY NOT ALLOWING PEOPLE ENOUGH TIME.
'CAUSE WE DON'T, NOT EVERYBODY FINDS OUT ABOUT, OH, APPLICATION'S DUE TOMORROW OR DOESN'T FIND THAT.
'CAUSE LIKE SHE SAID, IT'S NOT EVEN UP THAT THERE'S SOMETHING TO DO ON JANUARY 28TH THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN UP THERE A MONTH AGO.
UH, BUT GIVE US ENOUGH TIME SO WE CAN COMMUNICATE WITH OUR PUBLIC SO WE CAN SET UP MEETINGS.
SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE TWO MONTHS BEFORE SPACE IS OPEN FOR FREE 'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE MONEY TO PAY FOR THAT KINDA STUFF OR TO OPEN UP WITH OUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS OR WHATNOT.
UH, GIVE US TIME, GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF TIME SO WE CAN WORK WITH OUR PUBLIC.
OUR PUBLIC'S THERE, THEY WANNA WORK, THEY WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CITY, BUT THEY ALSO NEED ENOUGH TIME.
YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYBODY HAS A PROFESSIONAL GRANT WRITER ON STAFF.
UH, SOME OF US JUST DO THE BEST WE CAN.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? COMMISSIONERS? WONDERFUL.
IF THAT'S NOT COMING ACROSS AS THE FIRST AND FOREMOST THING THAT WE WANT TO COMMUNICATE TO Y'ALL, SECONDLY BEING WE KIND OF FEEL LIKE SITTING DUCKS UP HERE, PLEASE USE US, PLEASE INCORPORATE US MORE IN THIS PROCESS AS IT LEADS UP TO LAUNCH.
BEING TREATED LIKE THE PUBLIC IS SOMETHING THAT HAS COME UP BEFORE IN PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS AND IT'S HARD TO DEBATE THAT, UH, IN TERMS OF FEELING REALLY DISCONNECTED FROM THE PROCESS.
SO, UM, ANY WAYS THAT WE CAN BE PRIORITIZED AS THE COMMISSION IN TERMS OF, UM, HEY, HOW DO YOU THINK THIS IS GONNA LAND? YOU KNOW, LIKE WE ARE YOUR BETA.
UM, AND SO AGAIN, I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS THE WAY THINGS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING FOR THE LAST FEW ROUNDS OF PROGRAMMING.
THERE'S NO REASON WHY WE CAN'T CHANGE THAT.
UM, AND WE WILL HAVE AN ONSLAUGHT OF COMMUNITY FEEDBACK COMING FROM OUR WORKING GROUP, UM, WHICH I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO HEARING.
ON THAT NOTE, IS THERE ANY UPDATE ON THE MEASURE REPORT? I BELIEVE THEY'LL BE HERE IN JANUARY.
YEAH, I BELIEVE THEY'LL BE HERE IN JANUARY.
THEY WERE, UM, THEY FINALIZED A DRAFT OF THE REPORT AND THEN WE HAD A FEW MEETINGS, UM, WITH OUR EQUITY TEAM AND WITH OUR INTERNAL STAFF TO KIND OF GIVE SOME FEEDBACK AND THEY SHOULD BE GETTING IT FINALIZED SOMETIME THIS MONTH AND THEN THEY'LL BE PREPARED TO PRESENT IN JANUARY.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM MORGAN OR JESUS? OKAY, THANK YOU.
I WANTED TO SAY THANKS FOR ALL THE COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK.
THERE WAS A LOT OVER THE LAST LIKE 10 MINUTES OR SO, SO WE'LL BE SURE TO GO BACK AND REVIEW.
UM, BUT I DID WANNA SAY TWO THINGS.
ONE, I APPRECIATE YOU, UM, COMMISSIONER USMAN ADDRESSING SOME LIMITATIONS WE HAVE WITH OUR DIGITAL SOFTWARE.
THERE SHOULD BE MORE, IT COULD BE BETTER.
UH, WE ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO THE REVAMP OF THE WEBSITE AND APPRECIATE, UM, THAT BEING SPEARHEADED BY LOTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS AND HOPEFULLY OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS WE WILL SEE IMPROVEMENTS THERE.
AND THE OTHER THING IS, UM, FOR PEOPLE TO BE AWARE OF, OPPORTUNITIES DON'T DISAGREE.
UM, MORE MARKETING, MORE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, OUR RESOURCES ARE ALWAYS DRAFTED, BUT WE ARE ALWAYS SEEKING TO DO BETTER.
AND SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT AND EXPLORE HOW WE CAN GET THAT DONE.
BUT WE REALLY WANNA JUST REMIND FOLKS, PLEASE OPT INTO OUR NEWSLETTER.
WE ARE LEGALLY NOT ALLOWED TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU VIA EMAIL THROUGH OUR MASS COMMUNICATION SOFTWARE WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT.
SO IF YOU QUIT RECEIVING THOSE FOR SOME REASON, IF THEY'RE GOING TO YOUR JUNK MAIL, UM, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO INVESTIGATE THAT SO THAT WE CAN GET THAT RIGHT.
AND IF YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP FOR A NEWSLETTER, PLEASE DO SO.
UM, AND ADDITIONALLY, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS, UM, CULTURAL ARTS HAS THEIR OWN PAGES, SO WE KNOW THAT THAT IS NOT ENOUGH.
BUT THOSE ARE REALLY GOOD STARTING PLACES TO JUST BE INFORMED OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
AND AGAIN, I THINK INSTAGRAM AS SORT OF THE, THE PURVEYOR OF A LOT OF COMMUNICATION, IT ALSO LENDS ITSELF TO BE SHARED VERY READILY, MUCH MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN I THINK A NEWSLETTER OR A SCREENSHOT.
UM, AND SO I THINK, UM, JUST, I KNOW JUST AN EMPHASIS THERE.
THE EASIER YOU CAN MAKE IT FOR PEOPLE TO SPREAD INFORMATION, THE BETTER, BUT SMASH THAT LIKE BUTTON, LIKE, AND SUBSCRIBE ALL THE THINGS.
AND WE WILL DO OUR JOB AS COMMISSIONERS AND CONTINUE TO AMPLIFY THAT THE INFORMATION.
[8. Action: Approve Artist Selection Recommendations for Elisabet Ney Museum Grounds Art in Public Places Project – Tamara Johnson Recommended Artist, and Erin Cunningham Recommended Alternate Artist]
AND ACTION ITEMS. UM, UH, ITEM EIGHT, APPROVE ARTIST SELECTION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE ELIZABETH NAME, MUSEUM GROUNDS ART AND PUBLIC PLACES PROJECT.TAMARA JOHNSON, RECOMMENDED ARTIST AND AARON CUNNINGHAM, RECOMMENDED ALTERNATE ARTIST WHY.
HI, ME CASTILLO, PROGRAM MANAGER FOR ART IN PUBLIC PLACES, DARK HAIR GOATEE WITH THE GRAY HAIR, SNEAKING IN
[01:20:02]
WEARING A BLUE SHIRT.UH, SO WE'RE PRESENTING TONIGHT, UH, THE RECOMMENDED ARTISTS FOR THE ELIZABETH NAY MUSEUM.
UH, THE PROJECT BUDGET WAS A HUNDRED THOUSAND, UH, SPONSORING DEPARTMENT WAS PARKS AND REC.
IT IS LOCATED IN DISTRICT NINE.
UH, THE CALLS WE HAD, WE HAD A BATCH OF CALLS OPEN UP IN SEPTEMBER.
I THOUGHT I WOULD REMEMBER IT, BUT I DIDN'T.
SO I WROTE IT DOWN, UH, OPEN SEPTEMBER 24TH AND CLOSED OCTOBER 22ND.
UM, AND ELIZABETH NA WAS ONE OF THOSE, UH, RF QS THAT WENT OUT.
UH, YOU HAD THIS IN YOUR BACKUP, BUT I WANTED TO POINT OUT A COUPLE OF THINGS ON THIS SLIDE.
UH, THE SELECTION CRITERIA, UH, WHERE DID IT GO? YEAH, ABILITY AND ENTHUSIASM TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY IN WHICH THE ARTWORK WILL BE INSTALLED.
AND THEN ALSO WANTED TO POINT OUT THE ARTWORK GOALS, SPECIFICALLY, UH, TWO AND THREE HONORS ELIZABETH NA'S, ART HISTORY AND LEGACY.
AND THAT IT CONCEPTUALIZES A STRONG OVERALL ARTWORK DESIGN APPROACH THAT INTEGRATES WITH THE SITE AND SURROUNDING BUILT AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS.
AND SO WITH THESE CRITERIA AND ARTWORK GOALS, UH, WE FORMED A, A SELECTION PANEL, OR ACTUALLY WE RECEIVED 43 APPLICATIONS.
UH, WE DETERMINED THAT 29 WERE ELIGIBLE FOR REVIEW.
UH, WE FORMED THE SELECTION PANEL OF, OF THESE, THESE ME VOTING MEMBERS HERE AS WELL AS ADVISORS.
AND IN NOVEMBER, UH, THE SELECTION PANEL REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS AND DETERMINE THAT, UH, THE RECOMMENDED ARTIST WAS, UH, TAMARA JOHNSON.
TAMARA TAMARA, I FORGET HOW SHE PRONOUNCE HIS, HER NAME.
AND THEN ALTERNATE AARON CUNNINGHAM, UH, FOR THIS COMMISSION.
UH, HERE'S SOME EXAMPLES OF, OF THE, UH, ARTIST'S PORTFOLIO, UH, EXTERIOR.
AND THIS ONE'S IN INTERIOR ARTWORK.
IT'S ANOTHER EXTERIOR, UM, PUBLIC ARTWORK.
AND THEN, UH, I'M FORGETTING WHICH ONE WAS MY FAVORITE HERE.
BUT, UH, INNOVATIVE AND COMPELLING WORK WITH SENSITIVITY TO SITE AND CONTEXT DEMONSTRATED ABILITY TO COMPLETE SUCCESSFUL OUTDOOR PUBLIC SCULPTURE IN A SCULPTURE IN A VARIETY OF MEDIA BRINGS CURIOSITY AND VERSATILITY TO THE PROJECT THAT SUPPORTS THE GOALS OF ADVANCING CONTEMPORARY ART IN AUSTIN, WHILE ALSO SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL THAT EVIDENCES KNOWLEDGE, RESPECT, AND DEDICATION TO ART, HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL PRECEDENTS.
AND, UH, SOME PORTFOLIO SELECTIONS FROM THE ALTERNATE ARTISTS, AARON CUNNINGHAM, SOME ARTWORK OR EXTERIOR ARTWORK AND AARON'S PORTFOLIO.
WHILE MORE PREDICTABLE THAN SOME OF THE OTHER APPLICANTS, TAKING A MORE CLASSICAL APPROACH TO SCULPTURE WOULD RELATE TO AND COMPLIMENT THE WORK OF ELIZABETH NAY.
THE MATERIAL SHE USES IN HER PRACTICE WOULD SITUATE BEAUTIFULLY ON THE GROUNDS AT THE MUSEUM AND WOULD APPROPRIATE OUT AND WOULD BE APPROPRIATE OUTDOOR MATERIALS WITH A LONG LIFESPAN, I BELIEVE IN HER ABILITY TO CREATE A WORK THAT WOULD INCORPORATE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND INTRIGUE VISITORS.
AND THAT'S THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
UH, I BELIEVE, UH, WE'VE GOT PARD STAFF IN THE, IN THE LOBBY IN CASE, UH, THEY WANTED TO PROVIDE ANY, ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS.
BUT, UH, YEAH, THIS IS UP FOR RECOMMENDATION.
I MOVE TO APPROVE THIRD WILL YOU, YOU HEARD THAT? UM, SO MOVED BY COMMISSIONER GRAY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GARZA AND THIRDED BY SHAMA
THIRDED IS NOT A WORD I WANNA SAY AGAIN.
UM, ANY, WE'RE GONNA VOTE, OBVIOUSLY.
BUT DOES ANYBODY WANNA SAY ANYTHING IN REGARD OR ANY QUESTIONS TO THE PROCESS? I'M VERY EXCITED.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVAL OF THE ARTIST FOR THE ELIZABETH NAY.
CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT TO GET INSTALLED.
[9. Action: Approve Recommendations of the Special Meeting of the Art In Public Places Deaccession Review ]
HAVE, UM, APPROVED RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SPECIAL MEETING AT, OF THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES DE ASCENSION REVIEW.AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION BY THE WONDERFUL JAIME CASTILLO.
JAIME CASTILLO, PROGRAM MANAGER FOR ART AND PUBLIC PLACES, UH, PRESENTING THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE DEES REVIEW JURY.
AS A REMINDER, WE HAVE A DEES POLICY THAT, UH, THAT GUIDED US IN THIS WORK FROM OUR POLICY.
THE DEES IS AN INTEGRAL AND NECESSARY PART OF RESPONSIBLE COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT.
AND IT'S INTENDED, IT'S INTENDED TO BE A CAREFUL AND DELIBERATE PROCEDURE.
[01:25:01]
SO WHEN REVIEWING EACH OF THE ARTWORKS UP FOR CONSIDERATION FOR DSES, THEY, THEY NEEDED TO MEET, UM, SOME OF THE 12, UH, POINTS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR D SESSION POLICY.THESE SIX WERE THE ONES THAT APPLIED THE MOST FOR, FOR ALL EIGHT.
UM, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT, UH, REASONING NUMBER TWO IS, IS STRUCK THROUGH.
UM, BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH WE DO GIVE THE ARTISTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO BUY BACK THE ARTWORK THAT, UM, IT IS REALLY DEPENDENT ON THE ARTIST'S CONTRACT THAT THEY SIGNED AT THE TIME OF COMMISSIONING.
AND SO, AND THERE WAS TWO, TWO VERSIONS OF THE CONTRACT THAT WERE AT PLAY, UH, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER ARTWORKS.
AND WE'LL GET MORE INTO THAT, UH, SOON.
UM, BUT ALL THE ARTWORKS DID MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS FOR, FOR CONSIDERATION FOR DSES.
WE'RE STARTING WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER.
UM, THIS IS WALL CREEK SHELVES, UM, BY DAMIEN PREOR AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.
UH, OR YEAH, 1996, UH, RIFFS AND RHYTHMS BY JOHN YANCY.
ALSO COMMISSIONED IN 1996 AT THE CONVENTION CENTER INDEX FOR CONTEMPLATION BY MARGO SAWYER.
COMMISSIONED IN 2002, MACRO MICRO BY
THIS IS LOCATED AT TRINITY AND WEST SECOND STREET ON THE SIDEWALK LOCATED AT BRAZOS.
AND SECOND STREET IS AQUIFER BY LAMA VENTURES.
THAT'S PHILLIP LAMB AND SUSAN MALOW, UH, COMMISSIONED IN 2014.
AND THEN FURTHER AWAY FROM THE CONVENTION CENTER UP IN, IN DISTRICT FOUR, THE YMCA NORTH AUSTIN COMMUNITY GARDEN, UH, WHICH IS THE TITLE OF THE WORK BY THOUGHT BARN COMMISSION IN 2014.
AND THEN OVER AT THE AIRPORT, UH, THE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES, UH, TRANSITION BY JAMES TALBOT COMMISSIONED IN 2006.
AND SO I WANTED TO PROVIDE YOU, UM, THIS IS A, A LATE EDITION.
SO THIS IS A, A UPDATED VERSION OF THE, OF THE BACKUP.
BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAD THIS TIMELINE.
SO THIS WILL BE, UH, AVAILABLE TO YOU.
UM, BUT IN MARCH OF 2024, UH, A IPP MET WITH OZAN CONVENTION CENTER TO DISCUSS THE PROJECT SCHEDULE, THE SCOPE AND THE REQUIREMENTS, UH, REGARDING THE CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION AND WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THE ARTWORKS THAT WERE LOCATED AT THE CONVENTION CENTER, BOTH A IPP COMMISSIONS AND THE CONVENTION CENTER'S OWN ART COLLECTION.
UH, CAME UP WITH A PLAN FOR, UH, CONVENTION CENTER STAFF TO CONDUCT AN AN EVALUATION ARTWORK EVALUATION PROCESS.
AND AT THE CONCLUSION, UM, OF THAT PROCESS, WE FORMULATED A PLAN, UH, WORKING WITH A MARCH, 2012, 2025 REMOVAL DATE.
AND SO OUT OF THAT, UH, MOST OF THE ARTWORKS WERE IDENTIFIED TO, TO PACK AND STORE.
UM, AND THEN A COUPLE OF A IPP COMMISSIONS ARTWORKS THAT WERE IN THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTERS ART COLLECTION, SO NOT A IPP.
UM, AND THEN THROUGH THAT PROCESS, A IPP ARTWORKS WERE IDENTIFIED THAT NEEDED TO BE DEACCESSION.
THOSE WERE THE FOUR THAT WERE, UM, REVIEWED BY THE SESION JURY.
SO IN JULY, UH, A IPP STAFF COMMUNICATED WITH THE EIGHT ARTISTS THAT THEIR ARTWORKS WERE UP FOR CONSIDERATION OF DEACCESSION.
AND WE, UM, START MADE SURE WE GATHERED ALL THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS AROUND DIA SESSION, INCLUDING LEGAL OPINIONS, UH, USER DEPARTMENT LETTERS AND, AND OTHER RECORDS.
THEN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER WE, UH, FACILITATED THE BIDDING FOR THE ART HANDLING OF THE WORKS TO BE RETAINED AND, AND REUSED BY THE CONVENTION CENTER.
AGAIN, MOSTLY THEIR OWN COLLECTION.
AND WE PRESENTED THE PROCESS TO THE A IPP PANEL AND AS WELL AS, AS USED THE ARTS COMMISSION THAT WE WOULD REQUIRE, UM, SOME ACTIVITY REGARDING THE DSES.
AND IN OCTOBER, WE FORMALLY REQUESTED THE FORMATION OF THE D SESION JURY REVIEW JURY, UM, WHERE YOU APPROVED.
AND, AND WE THEN RECRUIT, RECRUITED TWO OTHER ARTS PROFESSIONALS TO JOIN, UH, COMMISSIONER GRAY AND A IPP PANEL MEMBER, UM, SHEER IN NOVEMBER THAT DEES REVIEWED, JURY MET, THEY REVIEWED THE, UH, DEES PROPOSAL, UM, ALL THE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS, AND THEY APPROVED THE RECOMMENDATION OF DEES FOR ALL OF THE ARTWORKS, UM, FOR THE ARTWORKS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.
THEY CAME ALONG WITH ADDITIONAL
[01:30:01]
RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH YOU HAVE, UH, WAS PROVIDED IN BACKUP.AND AS PART OF THAT CONVERSATION AT THE DSS JURY, UH, STAFF, UM, IN ORDER TO CLARIFY THE POTENTIAL COST OF THE ARTIST FOR DE-INSTALL AT THE CONVENTION CENTER, WE, THE A IPP STAFF AND CONVENTION CENTER REQUESTED BIDS FOR THE REMOVAL OF THOSE FOUR ARTWORKS TO BE SESION.
AND SO WE ARE HERE TONIGHT PRESENTING THE SESION REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS TO YOU AND WITH AN EXPECTATION THAT IT'S GONNA MOVE TO CITY COUNCIL REVIEW IN JANUARY.
AND WE ANTICIPATE THE CONVENTION CENTER TO BEGIN DEMOLITION IN APRIL OF 2025.
AND JUST SO FOR A QUICK OVERVIEW, UM, THESE ARE THE VALLEYS OF, OF THE ARTWORKS AS THEY WERE COMMISSIONED, AS THEY WERE ORIGINALLY COMMISSIONED.
SO AT THE CONVENTION CENTER THAT TOTALED, UH, ALMOST 244,000, UH, THE ARTWORKS OUT ON SECOND STREET, 111,000, AND THEN THE ARTWORK UP IN NORTH AUSTIN AND AT THE AIRPORT WAS 134,000.
AND SO WE HAVE, UH, A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE DSES REVIEW JURY FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TONIGHT.
COMMISSIONERS, COULD YOU JUST QUICKLY CLARIFY, JAIME, THAT THE, THE RATIONALE FOR THE DSES OF THE FOUR PIECES IS BECAUSE OF THE DEMOLITION OF THE CONVENTION CENTER? CORRECT.
'CAUSE THEY'RE, THAT, THAT'S WHY THEY NEED TO BE DEES IS BECAUSE THE BUILDING'S GETTING TORN DOWN.
THOSE FOUR ARTWORKS ARE ARCHITECTURALLY INTEGRATED.
AND SO IT VERY DIFFICULT TO JUST, UH, MOVE THEM.
THEY CAN'T JUST BE TAKEN OFF THE WALL.
ARE YOU GONNA, WE DO HAVE A LETTER FROM ONE OF THE ARTISTS OF RIFFS AND RHYTHMS, JOHN YANCY, THAT I DID WANT TO READ.
UM, BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT BE PRESENT TONIGHT DUE TO HEALTH REASONS.
UM, I BELIEVE IT CAME TO ALL THE COMMISSIONERS.
UM, SO YEAH, SO I'M GONNA READ JUST A PORTION OF HIS EMAIL.
UM, UH, THE COST AND METHOD, UH, TO REMIND EVERYBODY, THIS IS A MOSAIC THAT IS, WAS COMMISSIONED AS A PERMANENT PIECE.
SO IT IS A MOSAIC PERMANENTLY AFFIXED TO THE WALL IN THE CONVENTION CENTER.
UM, THE C COST AND METHODS REQUIRED TO REMOVE RIFS AND RHYTHMS LEADS ME TO PROPOSE THAT THE DEIN SOLUTION OF THIS WORK BE RECLASSIFIED AS A CONTINGENCY COST OF THE DEMOLITION PROCESS.
ALL CITY PROJECTS REQUIRE A MINIMUM OF FIVE TO 10% CONTINGENCY BUDGET WITH THE CONSTRUCTION BUDGET FOR THE CONVENTION CENTER SET.
AT $1.6 BILLION, THERE IS A MINIMUM OF 80 MILLION TO $160 MILLION SET ASIDE FOR CONTINGENCY EXPENSES SUCH AS SAVING A SIGNIFICANT CULTURAL ASSET AND THE WORK OF PUBLIC ART FROM, AND THE WORK PUBLIC ART FROM DESTRUCTION.
IF THE COST OF SAVING RIFTS AND RHYTHMS IS $70,000, FOR INSTANCE, $70,000 FROM 80 OR $160 MILLION STILL LEAVES PRETTY MUCH 80 OR $160 MILLION.
THE IMPACT ON THE CONTINGENCY BUDGET WOULD BE NEGLIGIBLE AND IT WOULD AVERT A TRAGIC DESTRUCTION OF A MAJOR WORK OF PUBLIC ART THAT HAS BEEN VALUED IN THE CITY'S COLLECTION FOR 30 YEARS.
UM, WHICH I THINK IS A VERY VALID POINT JUST TO CONSIDER.
UM, AND THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE GROUP, UM, COMMISSIONER GRAY, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THE RECOMMENDATION SINCE YOU WERE PART OF THAT GROUP.
WELL, ACTUALLY WE DID, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION AS FAR AS THE AGENDA IS, IS TO DESES ALL THE, ALL THE PIECES.
AND, UM, I MAY, UH, SPEAKING OF THOSE REASONS ARE, ARE PRETTY CLEAR, BUT IT JUST, YOU'RE AT YOUR ADDITION TO THE, TO THE, UH, EXTRA MONEY IS A GOOD POINT.
BUT IT DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH OUR MEETING.
AND YOU ALSO MADE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE YEAH.
WHAT WE APPROVED, HOLD ON A SECOND.
WE APPROVED THAT A FEW MINUTES AGO.
STAFF, CAN YOU EMAIL US FOR SOME REASON IN THE BACKUP, IT'S NOT ALLOWING US TO DOWNLOAD A PREVIEW, ALTHOUGH I WAS ABLE TO VIEW IT EARLIER, SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S GOING ON.
BUT IT COULD, THAT COULD BE RESENT OUT TO THE COMMISSION, OR AT LEAST MY COMPUTER'S NOT ALLOWING US TO DO THAT.
UM, THERE IS THIS QUESTION IN, UH, THE COMMISSIONER SCHMUCK AND GRAY, AND I GOT IT.
YOU NEED ME TO READ IT? SO, UM, THERE WAS A MOTION BY THE JURY TO APPROVE THE DEES FOR THE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, UH, WITH REGARD TO THE, THE MAIN ONES AT THE, UH, ALL OF THEM WERE DE SESSIONED WITH THE MEETING, BUT WITH REGARD TO THE CONVENTION CENTER ITEM 6, 7, 8, 9,
[01:35:02]
UH, WHAT I MAY HAS BEEN SPEAKING OF WITH THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS, DOCUMENTATION OF ARTWORK TO INVOLVE VIDEO WRITING AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES, INCLUDING INTERVIEWS WITH COMMUNITY AND THE CONVENTION CENTER, PAY A PORTION OF THE AMOUNT OF REMOVAL OF THE ARTWORK TO PRESERVE THE HISTORY AND COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN ARTISTS.SO THAT IS PART OF THE, THE DOCUMENT WE APPROVED.
UM, JAIME, CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE DECEMBER 30TH DEADLINE THAT YOU MENTIONED IN OUR CONVERSATION AS WELL? BECAUSE I THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND HERE.
SO PART OF THE CONVERSATION DURING THE DEES REVIEW JURY WAS THAT, UM, GOING OVER THE TIMELINE AND, UH, UH, REA REASSURING THE, THE DEES JURY THAT WE HAD COMMUNICATED WITH THE ARTISTS EXPLAINING THE, THE TIMELINE IN TERMS OF THE DEMOLITION.
AND WHEN WE WOULD NEED TO KNOW IF THEY WERE INTERESTED IN RETRIEVING THEIR ARTWORK IN DE-INSTALL THEIR ARTWORK THEMSELVES.
WE WOULD NEED TO KNOW THAT THEY WERE INTERESTED AND THAT THEY HAD A PLAN TO DO SO.
UM, AS WE DISCUSSED IN THE DEES JURY THAT BOTH CONTRACTS STIPULATE THAT IT MUST BE DONE AT THE ARTIST'S EXPENSE TO REMOVE THE ARTWORKS.
AND SO AT THE, AT THE BEGINNING OF THAT CONVERSATION, OUR UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT WE NEEDED THAT DE-INSTALL PLAN THE NEXT DAY SO THAT WE COULD PREPARE BACKUP DOCUMENTS FOR YOU TONIGHT.
UM, I STEPPED IN AND OFFERED AN EXTENSION.
I ASKED, I GAVE THEM SOME LEEWAY IN TERMS OF LIKE, AS LONG AS WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION FOR OUR PRESENT, OUR BACKUP DOCUMENTATION FOR THE CITY COUNCIL, THAT, THAT WE GIVE THEM A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME.
SO GAVE THEM APPROXIMATELY, UH, THREE, THREE MORE WEEKS.
UM, BUT THAT'S WHERE THAT, THAT DEADLINE CAME FROM WAS LIKE, I, I TOLD THEM DURING THE MEETING I WAS LIKE, I NEED TO CONFIRM, BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S GONNA BE A TIME BETWEEN COMMISSION AND COUNSEL.
UH, MY ORIGINAL ESTIMATION OF DECEMBER 31ST WAS BASED OFF OF, UH, THE 24 MEETING CITY COUNCIL MEETING CALENDAR.
UM, THE 2025 CALENDAR WAS UPDATED AND IT WAS IDENTIFIED THAT, UH, DECEMBER 30TH WAS NOON AT DECEMBER 30TH IS, IS MY DEADLINE TO PROVIDE BACKUP MATERIAL FOR, FOR THE JANUARY 30TH CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
SO ARTISTS HAVE BEEN MADE AWARE OF THAT DEADLINE, AND WE HAVE RECEIVED TWO DE-INSTALL PLANS THUS FAR.
CAN I ADD SOME COMMISSIONER GRAY? UM, I WILL ADD THAT.
A IPP, THE ARTIST DIDN'T JUST HEAR ABOUT THIS IN OUR DE SESSION MEETING.
IT WAS WEEKS AND WEEKS BEFORE THAT, THAT THEY KNEW THAT THIS WAS THE PLAN AND THAT, YOU KNOW, A IPP DID THEIR BEST TO TRY TO, TO GET THE INFORMATION THEY NEEDED.
IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN GOING ON A LONG TIME.
UM, WELL FIRST, I MEAN, YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE BEEN SUPER THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THIS PROCESS, SO THANK YOU FOR DOING ALL THIS DUE DILIGENCE.
THIS SUCKS, PARDON MY LANGUAGE, BUT LIKE, THIS IS A REAL, THIS REALLY SUCKS.
UM, AND I DON'T REALLY KNOW, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE HERE BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY FROM A IPP PERSPECTIVE, LIKE IT HAS TO BE DSES 'CAUSE IT'S GOT THE BUILDING'S GETTING GONE.
SO I DON'T REALLY SEE HOW WE HAVE OPTIONS ON THE DS SESSIONING PART, BUT I, I FEEL PRETTY STRONGLY THAT THIS BODY SHOULD MAKE A REQUEST TO COUNSEL AND TO ANYBODY WHO'S LISTENING THAT IT DOES NOT SEEM, TO YOUR POINT EARLIER, UM, IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT.
LIKE WE DON'T JUST DESTROY WORKS OF ART FOR DEVELOPER EXPEDIENCY.
IT IS, IT IS DIFFICULT TO REMOVE IT, BUT IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
MURALS, INTERIOR MURALS OF LARGER SCALE THAN THAT ARE PRESERVED.
SO I DON'T THINK THAT WE HAVE AN OPTION ON THE DEACCESSION A IPP SIDE, BUT I THINK ALONG WITH THAT, WE SHOULD DO WHATEVER.
I'D LOVE CLARITY ON LIKE, WHO KNOWS IF ANYBODY LISTENS TO US, BUT I DO FEEL STRONGLY THAT WE SHOULD MAKE, WELL, I, I GUESS WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON'T APPROVE IT
I'M NOT SUGGESTING WE DO THAT.
THE BUILDING WILL BE DEMOLISHED REGARDLESS WITH, REGARDLESS.
WE'RE NOT STOPPING THE DEMOLITION OF THE CONVENTION CENTER.
BUT I DO THINK ALONG WITH APPROVING THIS VERY THOUGHTFUL RECOMMENDATION THAT'S BEEN MADE FROM RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION IS, I THINK, UM, MR. YANCY'S POINT IS VERY VALID.
AND I DON'T THAT THAT WORK OF ART IN PARTICULAR, I I'M SAYING THIS FOR ALL OF THE ONES IN CONSIDERATION, BUT THERE ARE, THE INTERIOR WORKS ARE IN GOOD CONDITION OTHERWISE, OTHER THAN ABOUT TO BE TORN DOWN.
SO THAT'S JUST AN, I DON'T THINK WE,
[01:40:01]
I I CANNOT STAND BY LIKE THE IDEA OF A, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING, IT'S LIKE WE'RE JUST FORGETTING OUR HISTORY.LIKE, IT'S JUST NOT, THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT.
SO WHATEVER WE DO, I THINK IT SHOULD COME ALONG WITH A STRONG RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL AND I GUESS TO THE CON WHOEVER'S LISTENING AT THE CONVENTION CENTER THAT LIKE, YOU GOT A BIG OLD BUDGET FOR THIS AND IT SHOULD BE PART OF IT TO FIND A WAY TO PRESERVE THESE PIECES.
I I'LL ADD FOR A LITTLE CONTEXT, UM, THAT A REMINDER THAT THE CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION IS FUNDED THROUGH HOT HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
SO THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS AS TO HOW THEY CAN SPEND THOSE MONIES.
UM, AND THERE IS, THERE IS, YES.
WE, WE, WE ALL RECEIVED, UH, MR. YANCY'S EMAIL AND THERE YEAH, WE ARE AWARE OF, OF THE REQUEST, BUT THERE ARE LIMITS TO WHERE THE MONEY CAN COME FROM.
SO WHO ARE THE TWO ARTISTS THAT HAVE COMMUNICATED THAT THEY HAVE A PLAN FOR RETRIEVING THEIR ARTWORK? PUT ME TO THE TEST.
I CAN, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I KNOW MARGO SAWYER HAS SUBMITTED THEIR, THEIR PLAN.
THE TWO THAT ARE EASIER, THE TWO, THE TWO THAT ARE EASIER.
MICHAEL AND MARGO, PERHAPS MICHAEL PRIER PRIOR.
OH NO, IT'S DAMIEN PIER'S WORK AND HIS SON JJ PRIER.
UM, AND ACTUALLY CORRECTION, IT'S STILL ONLY ONE.
UM, IT'S CONVERSATIONS WITH, WITH JJ PRIER.
SO, AND, AND JUST IN TERMS OF HOW THAT MECHANISM ACTUALLY ROLLS OUT.
SO MARGO WILL SHOULDER THE EXPENSE OF DE-INSTALL AND THEN SHE WILL THEN OWN THE ARTWORK AGAIN.
BECAUSE IT'S NOT OWNED BY THE CITY.
SHE WILL OWN THE COMPONENTS THAT WERE USED IN THE ARTWORK.
THE ARTWORK AT THE CONVENTION CENTER IS AN ARCHITECTURALLY INTEGRATED INSTALLATION.
SO AT THAT PIECE WILL NO LONGER EXIST.
BUT THE COMPONENTS THAT MADE THAT UP ARE BACK IN HER POSSESSION, WILL GO BACK TO THE ARTIST'S POSSESSION.
COMMISSIONER GARZA REAL QUICK.
UH, HAVING WORKED AROUND PUBLIC ARTS AND MET NUMEROUS PUBLIC ARTISTS OVER THE MANY, MANY YEARS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ALWAYS GETS YOU DIFFERENT ARTISTS IS THAT WHEN YOU DO PUBLIC ART, YOU'RE REALLY NOT DOING PERMANENT ART.
UH, THE ENVIRONMENT, THE COMMUNITY IN WHICH THAT ARTWORK WAS CREATED 30, 40 10 YEARS AGO CAN CHANGE QUITE RAPIDLY.
AND SO, AS SUCH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE ALL ACCEPT EVERY NOW AND THEN IS THAT WE'RE GONNA LOSE OUR ARTWORK.
THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT THAT.
BUILDINGS GET TORN DOWN, SOMEONE BUYS A NEW BUILDING, DOESN'T LIKE IT UP THERE, IT HAPPENS.
UH, AND AS MUCH AS I WISH WE COULD HOLD ONTO OUR PUBLIC ARTWORKS, THERE'S JUST SOMETIMES, LIKE YOU SAID, THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT.
YOU CAN REMOVE COMPONENTS OFF THE BUILDING, BUT WHEN YOU DESIGN THAT ARTWORK TO CRI GO SPECIFICALLY IN THAT LITTLE CORNER OF THAT BUILDING, ONCE IT'S DOWN, IT'S NO LONGER WHAT IT WAS MEANT TO BE.
UM, JUST WANNA SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, I WISH WE COULD SAVE THE ARTWORK, BUT I UNDERSTAND FULLY WHEN IT DOES HAPPEN.
AND I THINK A LOT OF THE ARTISTS WHO GO INTO PUBLIC ART UNDERSTAND THAT WE DO PUBLIC ART, BUT NOT NECESSARILY JUST, JUST THE WAY NATURE IS.
UNLESS YOU'RE, UH, DIGGING INTO GRANITE UP AT, UH, MOUNT RUSHMORE, A LOT OF STUFF IS GONNA GO AWAY.
UH, I REALLY WISH IT DIDN'T GO AWAY, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT.
ANY OTHER, IF I MAY COMMENTS? YES, PLEASE.
UH, I APPRECIATE THOSE COMMENTS.
UH, COMMISSIONER GARZA, UH, I DID WANNA POINT OUT THAT THE RECOMMENDATION TO DOCUMENT AND PROVIDE EDUCATION MATERIALS, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THAT STAFF HAD STARTED INVESTIGATIVE INVESTIGATING EVEN BEFORE THE DEES JURY MET.
SO WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS ON THAT.
WE HAVE OUR PARTNERS IN, IN, WITH, WITH CITY, OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT WE ARE ALREADY TRYING TO DRAFT UP A SCHEDULE OF WHEN WE CAN VIDEO RECORD, UM, AND PHOTOGRAPH THE ARTWORKS AND START PLANNING FOR INTERVIEWS.
I WILL SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, THE ODDS ARE KIND OF STACKED AGAINST US HERE.
UM, WE HAVE SIGNATURES ON A CONTRACT FROM ARTISTS WHEN THEY WERE COMMISSIONED FOR THESE PERMANENT WORKS IN 1996, THEY WERE LABELED AS PERMANENT INSTALLATIONS.
WE HAVE FUNDS THAT ARE BEHOLDEN TO CERTAIN SPENDING SILOS THAT'S NOT IN OUR FAVOR.
AND FRANKLY, WE HAVE A COUNCIL, UM,
[01:45:01]
THAT ISN'T, WE DON'T HAVE QUITE A CHAMPION YET.YOU KNOW, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE CANNOT FIGHT
AND THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE CANNOT MAKE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AS A BODY OF PROFESSIONALS IN THIS SPACE.
AND I THINK IT IS OUR OBLIGATION TO BE AND REMAIN THE ADVOCATES FOR PRESERVATION OF ARTWORKS FOR PRESERVATION OF HISTORY ON BEHALF OF ARTISTS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, SYSTEMICALLY DISENFRANCHISED, UM, AND EXCLUDED FROM THIS PROCESS.
I DO THINK IT'S A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE THAT, THAT DEMOLITION IS EVEN AN OPTION.
UM, AS, UH, TO COMMISSIONER SCH SMALL BLACK'S POINT PRESERVATION OF PIECES LIKE THIS HAPPEN ALL THE TIME.
AND I DON'T, I THINK ROLLING OVER AND NOT MAKING AN EFFORT AT MINIMUM TO CONSERVE SOME OF THE WORKS AND TO HAVE, FRANKLY THE, THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT PRESERVATION PARTICIPATE IN CONSERVING THOSE WORKS.
LIKE I, I DO THINK WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOBBY OUR, OUR TRUE RECOMMENDATION, YOU KNOW, WHILE ALSO APPROVING THE DE SESSION OF THE WORK.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YEAH, SAY SOMETHING.
THERE'S REALLY NOT MUCH WE CAN DO IF THAT THAT WALL IS GOING TO BE REMOVED.
UM, THAT THAT WALL IS PART OF THE ART.
THE ARTIST THINKS THAT IT, LIKE THE ARTIST IS IN FAVOR IN, IN THE CASE OF, UH, MR. YANCY'S.
RIGHT? LIKE, 'CAUSE WE HAVE LETTERS FROM HIM LIKE SO YES.
CONCEPTUALLY IT'S NEVER THE SAME, BUT HE IS IN FAVOR OF IT BEING PRESERVED, MEANING TAKEN DOWN THE WALL, CUT OUT THE WALL CUT OUT, YEAH.
AND THEN MOVE, NOT ALL THE TIME, BUT OFTEN HAVE HE IDENTIFY AREA THAT HE CAN INSTALL THAT WALL.
I DON'T KNOW THE QUESTION ON THE NEXT, THE NEXT STEP, I DON'T THINK THAT NOBODY'S GONE, THAT NOBODY'S GONE THAT FAR BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT IF IT CAN BE TAKEN DOWN YET.
BECAUSE THAT, THAT, UM, THE SECOND BEST, I GUESS, IS TO HAVE THE DOCUMENTARY OF HOW THIS ART WAS CREATED, WHERE IT WAS, UH, IN STORE, AND HOW THIS PIECE OF ART HAVE CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY IN THIS JOURNEY.
UM, I THINK ALL OF THIS IS INVALUABLE.
UM, YEAH, IT IS GOING TO BE A HUGE PROJECT.
YOU KNOW, I, YOU KNOW, THE WALL IS PRETTY BIG.
WHERE ARE WE GOING TO PUT IT? UM, AND THE CAUSE OF IT, AND ALL OF IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT, YOU KNOW, BUT I, I THINK THE SECOND BEST WILL BE JUST A DOCUMENTARY, YOU KNOW, AND MAYBE HAVE SOME INTERVIEW ABOUT HOW PEOPLE, HOW, HOW THIS PIECE OF ART HAVE MADE PEOPLE FEEL DURING ALL THESE YEARS.
YOU KNOW? UM, I THINK THAT'S INVALUABLE.
THERE'S, THERE'S THE AUSTIN HISTORY CENTER.
MAYBE WE COULD PARTNER WITH 'EM TO PRESERVE, YOU KNOW, THE HISTORY AND, AND THE MAKING OF THAT ARTWORK.
I KNOW THEY PRESERVE A LOT OF STORIES THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, AND I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE STORIES THAT NEEDS TO BE PRESERVED.
NOT ONLY WHETHER WE SAVE IT OR DON'T SAVE IT, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY DON'T HAVE AN OPTION THERE.
BUT I THINK WE SHOULD BE WORKING WITH AUSTIN HISTORY CENTER ANYTIME WE, WE GET RID OF AN ART PUBLIC ARTWORK, LET'S MAKE SURE IT'S PRESERVED SOMEWHERE OR ANOTHER.
MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S A HISTORY.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD, SINCE I DID SHARE THE DIA SESSION JURY, UM, IT WAS A LONG AND VERY DIFFICULT MEETING.
AND ALL THE EMOTIONS THAT YOU'RE FEELING NOW.
AND, UM, THE THING THAT KEPT COMING BACK NOW THAT I'M REMINDED IS THAT IT REALLY IS, AS FAR AS THE MONEY THAT COULD BE SPENT TO HELP DO SOMETHING WITH ARTWORK, IS NOT REALLY THERE AT ALL.
THERE'S NO MONEY THERE TO HELP.
BUT THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR ARTISTS AND THE COMMUNITY TO, TO HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN WAS THERE, BUT IT'S A VERY SHORT WINDOW.
BUT AGAIN, THE ARTISTS DID KNOW THOSE WINDOWS WERE THERE.
BUT I THINK IT, UM, IN WHAT YOU HAD SAID, COMMISSIONER MOCK, UM, IT WAS EXCITING TO KNOW THAT THERE WAS WORK AND, AND ACTIVE WORK ALREADY BEING STARTED ON THE HISTORICAL, UH, PRESERVATION OF THE, OF THE PEOPLE, THE COMMUNITY, AND HOW IT HAPPENED.
SO, BUT JUST WANTED TO BE SURE THAT YOU KNEW THAT.
DO WE KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THE PRESERVATION, LIKE THE HYPOTHETICAL REMOVAL OF THE WALL, THAT SOME OF THE, THAT THE ARTWORK IS ON AS PART OF THE DEMOLITION PROCESS IS NOT LEGALLY ALLOWABLE FROM THE CONVENTION CENTERS?
[01:50:01]
DO WE KNOW THAT FOR A FACT? OR, OR ARE WE JUST LIKE, WE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS IN HOW HOT FUNDED THINGS CAN RUN.CAN YOU REPEAT THAT QUESTION? DO ARE YOU SAID, AND IT'S COME UP THAT LIKE THERE THE LIMITATIONS ON THE TYPE OF FUNDING ON THE CONVENTION CENTER SIDE.
IF SOMEONE IN THE CONVENTION CENTER SAID, I WANNA SAVE THIS MURAL, DO WE KNOW THAT THEY HAVE A LEGAL, THAT THERE'S A LEGAL PREVENTION FROM THEM SPENDING THEIR CURRENT DEMOLITION FUNDS TO HELP MAKE THAT HAPPEN? DO WE KNOW THAT FOR A FACT? OR ARE WE JUST GUESSING THAT IT MIGHT BE A PROBLEM? I WOULD NEED TO CONSULT OUR LEGAL TEAM AND ANY OTHER, AND, AND THE CONVENTION CENTER THEMSELVES.
SO I GUESS WE KIND OF NEED TO DO A TEMPERATURE READ WITH COMMISSIONERS.
'CAUSE WE HAVE SOME OF US THAT ARE SAYING THAT WE'LL APPROVE THE DE SESSION, WE'RE APPROVING THE DE SESSION.
BUT I GUESS IN TERMS OF THIS IN TANDEM WITH COMMUNICATION TO COUNSEL REGARDING A REQUEST MM-HMM
ARE, I'M HEARING SORT OF BOTH ENDS WHERE DOCUMENTATION THROUGH A VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHS AND INTERVIEWS WOULD BE ADEQUATE.
AND THEN WE HAVE PERHAPS ANOTHER PORTION OF US THAT SAYS, WELL, WE SHOULD, WHILE THAT MAY BE EMINENT
AND SO WE, IN TERMS OF, UM, HOW TO BEST MOVE FORWARD, I DO THINK A UNIFIED VOICE COMMISSIONER GRAY, JUST TO ADD, I THINK BECAUSE THE ARTWORK'S GOING TO CHANGE ITS PLACE AND IT'S ACTIVE WHERE IT LIVES AS A PIECE OF ART, I THINK THE HISTORICAL PRESERVATION HAPPENS EITHER WAY, WHETHER THE, WHETHER IT CAN GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
SO PERHAPS WE, THAT'S BOTH THINGS GO UP.
I MEAN, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY DEBATE IN TERMS OF THE DOCUMENTATION THAT SORT OF DIGITAL DOCUMENTATION AND RECORDING OF THE PROJECT AND ITS PROCESS AND THE ARTISTS AND, BUT I DO THINK THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.
AND, AND WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM ONE OF THE ARTISTS IS I DON'T WANT MY ARTWORK TO BE DESTROYED.
LIKE, THAT IS A VERY, IT'S, IT'S PHYSICAL.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, PRESERVATION ON PAPER VERSUS PRESERVATION IS VERY DIFFERENT.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE, OR I WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE FLUSHING THIS OUT AS A GROUP.
AND IF THE MAJORITY OF US, YOU KNOW, WHILE THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO VOTE ON, I DO THINK BEING UNITED AS A COMMISSION, IF WE'RE TAKING THIS TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND PETITIONING COUNCIL TO PUSH THE CONVENTION CENTER TO FIND OR MAKE THE MONEY TO DO THIS PRESERVATION COMMISSIONER, UH, MOCK, I JUST DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR ME TO MAKE THAT DECISION ABOUT PRESERVING THE PIECE OF ART.
BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WILL IT BE, WILL IT COST? WHERE WILL IT GO? YOU KNOW, WHERE THAT WALL WILL BE THERE, YOU KNOW, IT, IT JUST, I DON'T KNOW.
MAYBE I'M JUST NOT IN, IN THIS BUSINESS TO HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR ME TO, I KNOW THERE'S SOME EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT.
I WILL BE TOO, YOU KNOW, FROM THE ARTIST'S PERSPECTIVE.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, ADVOCATING FOR THE PUBLIC INTERESTS WHERE WE ARE SITTING, UM, SO IT IS BEYOND THE ARTIST WHERE, YOU KNOW, I AM, YOU KNOW, VERY COMPASSIONATE ABOUT IT.
BUT, UM, BUT THE MONEY AND WHERE, YOU KNOW, ALL THIS LOGISTIC, I JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR ME TO SAY, NO, WE NEED TO GO TO THE COUNCIL AND SAID, NO, WE NEED TO PRESERVE THIS FOR THE, FOR THE ARTISTS.
I JUST DON'T HAVE THAT ENOUGH DATA FOR ME TO MAKE THAT LEAP.
UH, JUST A QUICK NOTE, UM, UH, FROM MY END, I THINK I WOULD SUPPORT BOTH THE ASKS.
I THINK IF WE ARE MAKING A RECOMMENDATION, WE SHOULD JUST, UH, HAVE TWO DIFFERENT, UH, ASKS WITHIN THE RECOMMENDATION.
ARE YOU SAY BOTH AS IN THE DIGITAL DOCUMENTATION AND THE DOCUMENTATION AS AND JUST THE PRESERVATION? YEAH.
WHICH I THINK THE, THE DIGITAL DOCUMENTATION'S HAPPENING, WE DON'T HAVE TO CORRECT.
THAT, THAT THAT'S JUST DUE DILIGENCE OF THE DEPARTMENT.
AS AN ARCHIVE OF, RIGHT? THAT IS CORRECT.
ALTHOUGH THAT WAS PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE DS SESSION REVIEW DURING THAT'S GREAT.
JUST, JUST VERY QUICKLY, SORRY.
AND ALSO, I MEAN, UM, IS THERE ANY CONCERN AROUND, UH, IT BEING, UH, WITHIN THE, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, PARAMETERS OF LEGALITY TO DESTROY ARTWORK THAT WAS CREATED? SO I, I'M JUST CURIOUS IF THAT'S BEEN LOOKED AT.
WITHIN THE, IS IT ILLEGAL TO DESTROY ARTWORK THAT'S
[01:55:01]
BEEN CREATED? IS THERE ANYTHING THAT PROTECTS ARTISTS, UH, IN ANY WAY? I DON'T KNOW.UH, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW CONTRACTS MM-HMM
THE CONTRACT STATES THAT ONCE THE TITLE WAS HANDED OVER TO THE CITY, THE CITY OF AUSTIN BECOMES THE OWNER AND CAN DO WHAT IT WISHES TO DO WITH THE ARTWORK.
IS THIS SOMETHING WITH A NEW CONVENTION CENTER THAT WE COULD RECOGNIZE IT'S NOW AN ISSUE THAT WHILE 2025 IS A VERY CONTEMPORARY LIKE THAT IN ANOTHER 30 YEARS, ARTWORKS THAT ARE COMMISSIONED CAN BE DESTROYED? LIKE, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALTER WITHIN THE CONTRACTS MOVING FORWARD? ALL OF THE NEW WORK IS GONNA BE ARCHITECTURALLY INTEGRATED, RIGHT? THAT IS CORRECT.
UM, I AM HYPER AWARE OF THE ISSUE, UM, BUT I, WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN TO THE POINT OF DISTINGUISHING THAT WITHIN THE CONTRACT.
UM, BUT THAT WILL TAKE MORE CONVERSATION WITH, WITH MY LEADERSHIP AND, AND THE CONVENTION CENTER COMMISSIONER GARZA.
OH, ONCE AGAIN, HERE WE'RE WITH A LITTLE BIT TOO LITTLE TOO LATE.
UH, THERE'S REALLY NOT MUCH WE CAN DO ABOUT THIS AT THIS CURRENT MOMENT, BUT ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN IS IN SOME CITIES, THE CITY COUNCIL, THE MAYOR, UH, WILL VOTE TO PRESERVE CERTAIN PUBLIC ARTWORKS AND CALL 'EM HISTORICAL.
WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT HERE IN AUSTIN.
I DON'T THINK IT'S EVER BEEN PROPOSED.
AND IT'S LONG OVERDUE, UH, THAT WAY.
I KNOW THERE'S A WORK, UH, WAS, I BELIEVE WAS IN, I CAN'T REALLY SAY.
I KNOW IT WAS IN CALIFORNIA SOMEWHERE AND IT WAS THIS BEAUTIFUL MURAL AND IT WAS GONNA BE DESTROYED BECAUSE CONSTRUCTION WAS GONNA TAKE PLACE WHILE IT HAD BEEN DESIGNATED HISTORICAL.
SO NOW IT WAS CREATED INTO MOSAIC TILE WORK AND MOVE TO A COLLEGE CAMPUS WHERE IT'LL PRESERVE BE BETTER FOR A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
BUT THEN OF COURSE, LIKE I SAID, NOTHING IS EVER PERMANENT, BUT WE CAN TAKE STEPS TO PRESERVE ARTWORKS BECAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE LIBRARIES.
THERE'S GONNA BE OTHER PUBLIC PLACES THAT HAVE PUBLIC ARTWORKS ALL OVER THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AND EVERY SINGLE TIME WE NEED TO UPGRADE THIS STATION OR THIS WAREHOUSE OR WHATEVER, AND WE'RE JUST GONNA TEAR DOWN THE ARTWORK, THEN WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE MISSING A LOT OF OUR HISTORY.
I THINK ONE OF THE LITTLE COMPONENTS THAT IS MISSING FROM THIS WHOLE THING IS THE POLICE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASKED, UH, THE COMMISSION SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASKED, HEY, HERE'S SOME ARTWORK WE'RE GONNA PROBABLY DESTROY IN A COUPLE OF YEARS, BECAUSE THESE PLANS TAKE SEVERAL YEARS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? YOU KNOW, UH, ASK US, YOU KNOW, WELL IN ADVANCE.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, BUILDINGS DON'T JUST GO UP IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
THEY TAKE SEVERAL YEARS OF PLANNING AND WHATNOT, AND WE'RE LEFT OUTTA THAT PLAN.
AND I THINK WE'RE MISSING A LOT OF PUBLIC ARTWORK.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF PUBLIC ARTWORK.
IF THIS IS THE CRITERIA FOR DESTROYING PUBLIC ARTWORK, A LOT OF IT'S GONNA COME DOWN, UH, LITTLE BY LITTLE, OF COURSE.
BUT, UH, AS RELUCTANT I'M AS I AM, I DON'T KNOW.
IF WE DON'T APPROVE THIS, IT'S STILL GONNA GO THROUGH.
RIGHT? IS THAT WHAT I'M HEARING? WE JUST MAKE, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE BUILDING IS STILL SCHEDULED TO BE DEMO.
MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW HOW SOON WE, HOW MUCH TIME WE'VE GOT.
MAYBE WE CAN ASK, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY TRY TO REMOVE IT, SEE IF IT'S FEASIBLE, SEE IF IT'S ARCHITECTURALLY FEASIBLE AND WHATNOT.
UH, BUT, UH, I KNOW THAT HAPPENED AT UT UH, THEY HAD THAT BEAUTIFUL BUREAU BY, UH, LES AT THE ELEMENTARY, AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL.
IT'S REALLY HARD TO PRESERVE A PUBLIC ARTWORK.
AND WHERE ARE YOU GONNA PUT IT? YOU'VE GOT A MURAL THAT RUNS FROM HERE TO THE END OF THAT WALL.
WHERE IS THAT GONNA GO? YOU KNOW? AND, UH, HOW ARE WE GONNA PRESERVE IT? IN THE MEANTIME? WE'RE GONNA WAREHOUSE IT.
THERE'S A LOT OF COSTS INVOLVED.
LIKE I SAID, UH, I, I RELUCTANTLY I MOVED TO, TO ACCEPT THIS RECOMMENDATION.
YEAH, WE CAN VOTE IT DOWN AND BE GLAD TO DO THAT.
YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T MEAN I'M VOTING FOR IT, BUT, UH, ARE YOU MAKING A MOTION? I'M MAKING A MOTION TO, TO APPROVE.
UM, I WILL SAY WE KNOW YOUR HEART'S IN THIS AND SEEING ART DESTROYED IS NEVER SOMETHING YOU'RE ADVOCATING FOR.
AND I KNOW YOU'VE GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND TO WORK WITH THE ARTISTS TO FIND AND WORK OUT SOLUTIONS AND TO BE ABLE TO BE VISIBLE TO US THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
I THINK WE HAVE AN ADVANTAGE WITH SUE LAMB ON THE CONVENTION CENTER'S SIDE AND BEING THAT NOT ONLY DOES SHE HAVE THE HISTORY OF RUNNING THE A IP PROGRAM FROM OUR SIDE, SHE IS AN ADVOCATE OF ART AND PUBLIC ART.
AND SO I, I WOULD LIKE TO, AND THIS WILL, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE TALK ABOUT THIS IN FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE SUE AND POTENTIALLY ANY OTHER NECESSARY PARTIES TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION THAT THIS SADLY IS THE WAY WE'RE SORT OF LEARNING ABOUT THESE POLICIES AND HOW DO WE PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING IN THE FUTURE.
'CAUSE IT IS QUITE PROBLEMATIC AS WE'RE FINDING AND HANDS ARE TIED.
I, IT'S JUST HARD TO SWALLOW THAT A $1.6 BILLION PROJECT CAN'T SCRAPE TOGETHER A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY TO PRESERVE SOME.
I HEAR EVERYTHING THAT EVERYBODY'S SAYING, BUT PRINCIPALLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE THE KINDS OF THINGS WE SPEND MONEY ON WITHOUT BLINKING,
[02:00:02]
YOU KNOW, FROM THE PUBLIC STANDPOINT, I DON'T, THIS FEELS WORTHY OF AT LEAST DOING WHAT WE CAN TO SAY WE DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS RIGHT.WHETHER IT'S LEGAL, WHETHER IT'S THE POLICY, WHETHER IT'S THE CONTRACT IS SORT OF LIKE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE VALUE.
VALUE IS DIFFERENT FROM COSTS.
AND THAT NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT.
UM, AND YES, WE PROBABLY WON'T WIN.
AND YES, WE PROBABLY LIKE, YOU KNOW, WELL THIS WILL PROB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO PUT IT ON THE CONVENTION CENTER LEADERSHIP TO TELL US TO, TO SAY TO US AND THE PUBLIC, LIKE, HERE'S WHY WE'RE NOT DOING THIS.
NOT FOR US TO DECIDE PREEMPTIVELY THAT THEY'RE GONNA SAY NO.
SO WE'RE NOT GONNA TRY COMMISSIONER MALDEN HAD HER HAND UP, BUT I DO HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
UH, WHEN YOU BROUGHT UP SUE AND, 'CAUSE I JUST HAVE A FEELING THIS IS GONNA COME UP EVENTUALLY, IS, UM, THE ARTISTS WHO ARE HAVING THEIR ART DEMOLISHED THROUGH THIS PROCESS, I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR THE ART OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE GONNA HAPPEN WITH THE RENOVATION AND EXPANSION OF THE CONVENTION CENTER.
AND I KNOW WE DON'T PROBABLY HAVE THAT ANSWER NOW, BUT I DO THINK WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT.
THE STUFF, THE STUFF THAT'S BEING DESTROYED, SPECIFICALLY.
COMMISSIONERS GRAY IS SAYING, UM, THAT IT WAS PART OF THE DISCUSSION AND THERE ARE SOME ARTWORKS THAT ARE ABLE TO EASILY BE DEINSTALLED AND THEY'RE NOT BEING DEES, BUT THESE PARTICULAR PIECES ARE SITE SPECIFIC AND WOULD REQUIRE A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT.
UM, AND I'M VERY GRATEFUL TO SEAN FROM A IPP TO HAVE THE FORESIGHT TO GET THOSE BIDS IN ADVANCE.
AND IT SHOWS LIKE A VERY WIDE SPECTRUM OF WHAT THOSE EXPENSES COULD BE.
I THINK IT DOES PROPOSE A, A SPEC, A VERY, A PARTICULAR DIFFICULTY, UM, THAT THERE IS NO DIRECT DOLLAR AMOUNT AFFILIATED WITH, UM, RHYTHMS AND RIFS, WHICH IS THE PIECE IN PARTICULAR THAT SEEMS THE MOST CHALLENGING TO DE-INSTALL.
UM, BUT AGAIN, TO COMMISSIONER SCH SMALL'S POINT, I, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE NEED TO ADVOCATE FOR, UM, WITH WHAT WE CAN AND POINTING TO IT AS A WARNING FOR THE FUTURE.
UM, WITH THAT, WE HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GARZA AND A SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MOCK TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE DS SESSION JURY.
UM, I THINK THE MOVE THAT I WOULD ASK TO YES.
AND RIGHT IN THE SAME, I THINK IT'S THE SAME THING AND NOT A SEPARATE THING TO, WITH A, WITH A CAVEAT THAT WE ARE GOING TO WRITE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL TO SAY LIKE, THIS REALLY SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR PRE, LIKE THE, THE OPTIONS FOR PRESERVATION SHOULD BE RUN DOWN WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER.
SO THERE'S THE A IP AND MAYBE THAT NEEDS TO BE SEPARATED 'CAUSE IT'S LIKE A IPP DEES.
AND IT WOULD BE TAKING THIS ACTION IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS APPROVAL.
ADVOCACY, I THINK THE LANGUAGE STAFF, I THINK THE LANGUAGE IN THE AGENDA READS THAT WAY ALREADY.
IT LEAVES AN OPEN WINDOW FOR MORE TO, FOR DETAILS IN THAT CONVENTION CENTER OPPORTUNITY.
ONE IS LIKE SOMETHING WE TECHNICALLY APPROVE.
THE OTHER THING IS A RECOMMENDATION, RIGHT? THAT IS JUST OUR, WE'RE TAKING THAT SAYING, AS YOU KNOW, ADVOCATES FOR PUBLIC ART AND THE ARTS COMMUNITY, WE ARE ASKING FOR CONSIDERATION BY COUNCIL TO DO WHAT THEY CAN DO TO INFLUENCE THE CONVENTION CENTER.
I THINK THOSE ARE TWO SEPARATE THINGS, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
I ONLY DABBLE IN ROBERT'S RULES,
I SEE, I SEE STAFF'S HEADS DOWN.
I WILL SAY, WHILE WE'RE GETTING AN ANSWER, WAITING FOR AN ANSWER ON THAT, UM, AND I WOULD, I'LL WRITE IT IF THAT'S, YEAH, THANK YOU.
I WOULD, I WOULD REC PUT THAT AN EMAIL TO AN INBOX THAT IS INUNDATED WITH LOTS OF OTHER COMMENTS IS NOT GONNA BE THE THING WE NEED TO SHOW UP TO THIS MEETING AND SPEAK TO THIS RECOMMENDATION SPECIFICALLY IN JANUARY WHEN THE DS SESSION IS BEING PRESENTED BY A IPP.
SO IT DOES NOT, THE BOOK DOES NOT END WITH AN EMAIL.
IT NEEDS TO, FOR THE, FOR THE ADVOCATES, FOR HISTORY PRESERVATION, FOR THE ADVOCATES, FOR A IPP, FOR THE ARTISTS THEMSELVES WHOSE WORK IS AT RISK OF BEING DEMOLISHED.
THIS NEEDS TO BE A COMMUNITY EFFORT.
SO I'M JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE.
YES, COMMISSIONER, UH, SINCE WE ARE ON THE TOPIC, I MEAN, UM, WE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO WRITE THE ADDITIONAL VERBIAGE ON THE RECOMMENDATION RIGHT.
AS WE SIT HERE AND, UH, YEAH, WELL THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT.
AND AS LONG AS WE ACTIVELY WRITE THE WHOLE THING TODAY, AT TODAY, UH, AND, AND EVERYONE VOTES ON IT, I THINK IT SHOULD BE OKAY TO DO THAT.
BUT I THINK THE QUESTION THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS DO THEY NEED TO, DOES THE ACTION NEED TO BE SEPARATED OR DO WE, CAN WE JUST SAY WE'RE APPROVING IT AND INCLUDING A RECOMME AND THEN THE LANGUAGE OF THE RECOMMENDATION WE CAN WORK OUT.
BUT IN TERMS OF PROTOCOL FOR APPROVAL OF THE D SESSION, THAT'S WHAT, THERE'S
[02:05:01]
DELIBERATION HAPPENING.WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR AN ANSWER, MAYBE WE COULD DRAFT THIS LANGUAGE.
I I CAN HEAR WHAT THEY'RE SAYING.
I WOULD RECOMMEND IT TWO SEPARATE ITEMS. OKAY.
SO, AND I WOULD RECOMMEND TAKE THE SEC SECOND ACTION, THE ONE THAT'S NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA.
'CAUSE ONCE YOU TAKE ACTION ON WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA, IT CLOSES OUT THE ITEM.
AND, AND SORRY, JUST, JUST, AND THERE IS, THERE'S A STILL, I ASKED THE QUESTION, THERE'S A VISUAL ARTS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT EXACTLY IT'S CALLED, BUT THERE'S A LAW THAT PROTECTS VISUAL ARTISTS.
AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO FIND OUT, UH, JUST EVEN IF IT'S INFORMATIONAL, IF THEY SIGNED A WAIVER, UH, YOU KNOW, WAIVING THOSE RIGHTS, UH, I WOULD BE CURIOUS ON HOW THOSE CONTRACTS WERE WRITTEN.
I MEAN, THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT THAT THEY SIGNED IN 1996, OR THE YEAR THAT THE WORK WAS PURCHASED, THEY, THEY'RE, WELL, I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT IT HAVING AGREED TO, I THINK IT CALLED VARA OR SOMETHING.
AND THAT CAN BE A PART OF OUR, WHEN WE PRESENT AN AND LOBBY COUNSEL, AND, AND IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT JUST, IT'S NOT EVEN A ONE-SIDED QUESTION.
IT'S, IT'S ESSENTIALLY DOES THIS, I MEAN, CREATE FURTHER ISSUES? RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY COULD, COULD SUE THE CITY ON THIS, OR, OR THE BUILDER OR, YOU KNOW.
HOW DOES THIS WORK? ARE WE, UM, I'M NOT THE EXPERT, BUT I'M DEFINITELY CURIOUS ABOUT IT ON HOW TO HAPPY DO HOMEWORK AND, AND FIND THE, THAT DOCUMENTATION.
BUT MY CURRENT UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE CONTRACT CLEARLY SAYS YOU HAVE TRANSFERRED OWNERSHIP TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND YOU CANNOT MAKE A CLAIM.
AND THAT'S COMING FROM CITY LEGAL.
ALL OUR CONTRACTS FROM 1996, SO AGREED.
NOT, NOT, AND AGAIN, CONTRACT, THE CONTRACT ITSELF.
AGAIN, MY CURRENT UNDERSTANDING, IT'S THE OPINION ON, THE OPINION ON, UH, ON TAKING, YOU KNOW, ON, ON DESTROYING THE ART.
IS THAT, THAT THAT IS ALREADY COVERED AS PART OF THE CONTRACT? IS THAT COMING FROM CITY LEGAL? THAT'S WHAT I WOULD BE CURIOUS.
WHAT IS THE CURRENT OPINION ON WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW? I UNDERSTAND THAT THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT WOULD HAVE, OBVIOUSLY HAVE HAD THEIR PURVIEW.
UH, HA AGAIN, HAPPY TO GO BACK AND HAVE CONVERSATIONS, BUT I KNOW THAT MY TEAM SPOKE WITH OUR LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THIS PROCESS, SO, OKAY.
WE ARE, WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
WELL, YES, BUT I THINK ALSO TO NAGA BALI'S POINT, WHICH IS VERY HELPFUL, IS TO AGREE ON WHAT THAT RECOMMENDATION SHOULD INCLUDE.
NOT SAY VERBATIM, BUT INCLUDE, SO WE'RE SAYING, UH, THE PRESERVATION OF THE WORK AND THAT THAT FEE SHOULD COME FROM THE CONVENTION CENTER, AND I'M SURE WE'LL INCLUDE BACKUP RESOURCES IN TERMS OF HOW THAT PRESERVATION HAPPENS IN OTHER INSTANCES.
ANY OTHER POINTS THAT WANT TO, THAT WE WANT TO INCLUDE COMMISSION YEAH.
UH, SO, SO I MEAN, DO WE NEED TO SUGGEST WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM? I MEAN, I THINK, IS THAT NECESSARY? I THINK IT, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL BECAUSE WHAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED, WE, IN THE PAST WHEN WE'VE SAID WE NEED MONEY, THEY GO LIKE THIS WHERE, SO I THINK USING AS AN EXAMPLE, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM, BUT POINTING TO, UH, MR. YANCY'S EXAMPLE OF HOW FUNDS COULD BE RE-DESIGNATED OR AT LEAST YOU KNOW, WHERE IT COULD COME FROM.
UM, ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT THIS RECOMMENDATION SHOULD INCLUDE? PROBABLY THE TIMELINE TO PUT SOME FIRE UNDER IT.
I MEAN, THEY MAY NOT, I MEAN, IT MAY BE VERY OBVIOUS, BUT RIGHT.
THERE'S NOT A LOT OF TIME, WHEREAS MM-HMM
UM, SO WITH THAT, I NEED A MOTION TO MAKE THE RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL, TO PRESERVE, TO OWN, BE A, WE HAVE THE D SESSION.
NO, WE HAVE TO DO THE OTHER ONE FIRST.
OH, WE'RE DOING REVERSE ORDER FIRST.
SO RECOMMENDATION NEEDS TO COME FIRST, AND THEN WE WILL APPROVE THE D SESSION.
ALL IN FAVOR OF A RECOMMENDATION GOING TO COUNSEL.
SO DRAFTED BY COMMISSIONER SCHACH ON THE PRESERVATION OF THE PIECES SLATED FOR DESES AND DEMOLITION WITHOUT INTERVENTION.
ALL IN FAVOR? IN FAVOR, UNANIMOUS.
NOW WE HAVE HAD A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER GARZA AND A SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MOCK.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE RECOMMENDATION BY THE DS SESSION JURY.
[02:10:02]
BEGRUDGINGLY BY COMMISSIONER.COMMISSIONER MALDONADO, ARE YOU IN FAVOR? OKAY.
COMMISSIONER GARZA, YOU ARE NOT IN.
THE WATER SUCKS, BUT IT'S FINE.
THANK YOU, JAIME, FOR TAKING THE TIME TO WALK US THROUGH THIS PROCESS SO THAT WE HAVE DEEP COMPREHENSION.
WE WANT TO FEEL LIKE WE'RE DOING, UM, OUR PART TO ADVOCATE FOR THE ARTISTS.
AND I THINK THAT THIS, THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE SUPER NECESSARY AS FOREWARNING FOR OUR FUTURE.
UM, ART AND PUBLIC PLACES OWN, UH, AND CITY OWNED PIECES AS WELL.
SO I WILL SAY FUTURE AGENDA ITEM.
I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH SUE AS THE MAIN CONSULTANT FOR THE ART GOING INTO THE CONVENTION CENTER, THAT THERE BE SOME SORT OF PROTECTION FOR THE ARTIST SO THAT THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.
BECKY HAVE, SAY AGAIN? I THINK WE HAVE ALL FOR SUPPORT.
DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? I DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE WITH YOU INVITING ART CONSULTANT TO COME SPEAK, BUT I AM THE PROGRAM MANAGER FOR ART AND PUBLIC PLACES.
WELL, YOU'RE GONNA BE HERE ANYWAY.
JUST WANTED YOU TO REMIND YOU.
I'LL PUT YOUR NAME ON THE AGENDA.
SO AGAIN, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR ART AND PUBLIC PLACES LIAISON, UM, LET'S KEEP THIS SORT OF ON THE FRONT BURNER.
UM, THAT'S IT, THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
[10. Update from joint Arts/Music Commission Working Group on Urban Core Issues with Commissioners Gray, Maldonado, and Schmalbach (chair).]
UPDATES FROM THE JOINT ARTS AND MUSIC COMMISSION WORKING GROUP ON URBAN COURT ISSUES WITH COMMISSIONERS.ALDO AND CHAIR, READY TO GO? WE ARE GETTING A MEETING SCHEDULED WITH A BUNCH OF STEP ON IT, PARTICULARLY LOOKING AHEAD TOWARDS THE 2026 BOND.
FANTASTIC UPDATE FROM THE COMMUNITY
[11. Update from the Community Feedback on most recent release of the Cultural Funding Programs Working Group with Commissioner’s Kracheni, Maldonado, Gray, Houston, Medicharla (chair) ]
FEEDBACK ON MOST RECENT RELEASE OF THE CULTURAL FUNDING PROGRAMS, WORKING GROUP WITH COMMISSIONERS, CNI, MALDONADO, GRAY HOUSTON, AND CHARLA CHAIR.UM, I THINK, YEAH, I THINK WE CAN REWORD THAT A BIT TO LIKE THE ARTS GRANTS OR CAN GRANTS WORKING GROUP.
UM, BUT, UM, YEAH, WE HAVE HAD TWO PRELIMINARY MEETINGS, UH, AND JUST, UH, WITH THE ARTS COMMISSIONER SO FAR, AND WE ARE LOOKING TO HAVE, UH, WEEKLY MEETINGS, UH, POTENTIALLY STARTING FROM THE SECOND WEEK OF JANUARY, UH, TILL, UM, SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE A GOOD UPDATE IN IN THE FEBRUARY MEETING.
UM, IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY A, IT'S A COMPLEX PROBLEM STATEMENT, RIGHT? UH, WE ARE LOOKING, IF WE START LOOKING AT THE OVERALL PROGRAM, THRIVE, ELEVATE, AND NEXUS.
AND SO WHAT BECAME VERY IMPORTANT IS TO FIRST DEFINE THE SCOPE OF WHAT IS THIS WORKING GROUP GOING TO DO, RIGHT? AND, AND MY REQUEST, UH, UH, TO THE GROUP WAS TO MAYBE TIER IT AND WHICH WAS VERY GRACIOUSLY ACCEPTED,
AND, UH, SO THAT'S HOW WE ARE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD IS LOOK AT WHAT IS ROLLING OUT FIRST THING NEXT YEAR.
NOW, OF COURSE, WE LEARNED THAT NEXUS IS AS EARLY AS JANUARY.
UM, IT ADDS A CERTAIN LAYER, UH, TO, TO WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, UH, BUT THEN MAINLY ELEVATE AND NEXUS, RIGHT? AND, UH, AND THEN COMES THE QUESTION, ARE WE TRYING TO ADDRESS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF WHAT ALREADY EXISTS AND TRYING TO SUGGEST IMPROVEMENTS AND SPECIFICS, UM, AS THE DIRECTOR HAD ALSO ASKED, UM, OR ARE WE TALKING EVEN, YOU KNOW, ONE LAYER UP, YOU KNOW, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT STRUCTURAL STUFF, RIGHT? I MEAN, IS, IS, IS IS THE SET OF RECIPIENTS, YOU KNOW, UH, IS IT, SHOULD IT STAY THAT WAY? DO WE NEED TO CHANGE THAT, UM, DOLLAR AMOUNTS? I MEAN, IT COULD BE, THIS CAN BE PRETTY LAYERED IN HOW WE APPROACH IT, RIGHT? SO WHAT WE'VE DECIDED FOR NOW IS TO FIRST FOCUS ON NEXUS AND ELEVATE AND PROVIDE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN THAT THAT CAN BE ROLLED OUT IN THE NEXT YEAR.
AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ELSE COULD BE DONE, IF NOT NEXT YEAR, IN THE FUTURE? THE NEXT LAYER TO THAT IS ALSO, UM, NOW THAT WE HAVE TWO YEARS OF THESE ROLLOUTS, UM, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF HISTORY FROM PAST PROGRAMS, UH, FROM A COUPLE OF DECADES NOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT KIND OF MORE MACRO STRUCTURAL CHANGES, UH, DO WE WANT TO RECOMMEND BASED ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAS WORKED WELL IN THESE PROGRAMS? OF COURSE, RELYING, UH, DATA ON DATA AS WELL THAT STAFF HAS BEEN PROVIDING, AS WELL AS COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND ALSO WHAT HAS WORKED IN THE PROGRAMS IN THE PAST, BECAUSE NOW WE KIND OF HAVE A BIT OF A COMPARISON GOING ON AS WELL.
[02:15:01]
I THINK WHAT YOU WILL COLLECTIVELY SEE IS, IS, IS, IS KIND OF THIS TIERED RECOMMENDATIONS OR, OR RECOMMENDATIONS COMING TO THE COMMISSION FIRST TO, YOU KNOW, TAKE A VOTE ON HERE, UH, AND, AND WE'LL MOVE FORWARD FROM THERE.UM, I HAD REQUESTED, UM, COMMISSIONERS TO SEND IN, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND, UH, WE HAVE SEVERAL RIGHT NOW, SO I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING WE'LL FIGURE OUT A TIME IN, IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS OR, YOU KNOW, BEFORE, UM, THE SECOND WEEK OF JANUARY.
AND WE'LL SHORTLIST THAT TO ADD ANOTHER FIVE OR SIX COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, OUT OF THE LIST THAT WE HAVE IN HAND.
SO, UH, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT.
JUST, SORRY, JUST VERY QUICKLY AND, AND COMMISSIONER GRAY, COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, MALDONA, IF YOU NEED TO ADD ANYTHING, PLEASE, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
BUT YEAH, I WAS JUST GONNA ASK HOW, LIKE, WE'VE OBVIOUSLY TALKED A LOT ON THE DAIS ABOUT RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE PROCESS, BUT I'M WONDERING HOW UH, THE COMMISSIONERS WHO ARE NOT ON THE WORKING GROUP SHOULD GO, SHOULD GET THEIR DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE WORKING GROUP.
UM, WOULD STAFF SUGGEST ANY SPECIFIC WAY? UM, IS THERE, UM, OR, OR I THINK HOW MANY, WHICH WILL LARGELY BE A SUMMARY OF THINGS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SAID PROTOCOL HERE, JUST FOR SIMPLICITY, LIKE GETTING IT IN ONE PLACE.
I GUESS THE QUESTION IS, SHOULD IT COME DIRECTLY TO YOU OR SHOULD WE FILTER IT THROUGH THE SEND SEND IT TO ME DIRECTLY AND I'LL FORWARD IT TO THE YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE RIGHT, JUST GO ABOUT IT.
BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE LET ME KNOW.
WILL YOU COME ON THE RECORD AND SAY
HI, THIS IS FOR STAFF LIAISON, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, SO YEAH, IF ANYTHING LIKE THAT YOU NEED TO FORWARD TO THE WORKING GROUP FOR CONSIDERATION, JUST FORWARD IT TO ME DIRECTLY LETTING ME KNOW IT'S TO BE FORWARDED AND I'LL MAKE SURE IT GETS TO THEIR HANDS.
YEAH, I THINK, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE WORKING GROUP? OH, YOU GUYS ARE ON THE WORKING GROUPS.
UM, YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHO SHOULD BE ON THAT WORKING GROUP IN TERMS OF THE COMMUNITY AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT AMBASSADORS FROM ALL THE INDUSTRIES.
SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT COLLECTION OF, OF INFORMATION AND, AND SEEING IT BROKEN DOWN IN TERMS OF PROCESS VERSUS APPLICATION OR DEPLOYMENT OF FUNDS AND ALL THE INFORMATION'S GONNA BE GREAT AND WE WILL HAVE A, A PORTAL FOR FEEDBACK AS WELL.
SO I GUESS, UM, IT'LL BE ON STAFF TO SORT OF COMPARE AND CONTRAST, RIGHT? LIKE WHERE THINGS ARE OVERLAPPING FROM THE WORKING GROUP'S INPUT AND THEN WHAT FEEDBACK YOU'RE, YOU'RE GETTING FROM THE PUBLIC DIRECTLY FROM THAT PORTAL.
AND DEFINITELY WE'LL BE ENGAGING WITH STAFF AS WELL.
UH, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I'M IN, UH, END OF THE DAY, YOU ARE THE ONES WHO KNOW ALL THE DETAILS IN DEPTH, SO, UH, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT EVEN AS WE KIND OF COME, COME UP WITH SOMETHING, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, COMPREHENSIVE, THEN, THEN DEFINITELY WOULD WANNA BOUNCE IT OFF YOU AND, AND, AND GET SOME FEEDBACK BEFORE WE MAYBE EVEN BRING, UH, SOMETHING HERE, UH, TO ACTUALLY, UH, RECOMMEND.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATE.
UM, FINAL QUESTIONS FOR COMMISSIONER CHARLA.
[12. Update from the Art in Public Places Deacession Jury with Commissioner Gray ]
LAST ITEM HERE IS UPDATE FROM THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES DE ASCENSION JURY WITH COMMISSIONER GRAPE, BUT I THINK WE'VE HAD, I THINK WE COVERED IT, THIS VERY THOROUGH CONVERSATION.I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'D BE ANYTHING LEFT TO ADD.
SO YOU GET A PASS, UM, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS,
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
AGAIN, INVITING BOTH SUE AND JAIME TO COME SPEAK TO US ABOUT THE CURRENT POLICY AND ADJUSTMENTS THAT COULD BE MADE TO FURTHER PROTECT ARTISTS AND THEIR ARTWORK.UM, ALSO AN INVITATION TO DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE ON THEIR PROJECTS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA AND HOW WE CAN BE VERY HELPFUL IN ASSERTING OURSELF AND OUR THOUGHTS IN THAT PROCESS.
AND THEN THERE MAY BE A SECOND OR THIRD DEPENDING ON WHO IS ACTUALLY, UM, FACILITATING OR WHO THE APPROPRIATE POINT OF CONTACT WOULD BE FOR THE OTHER TWO.
UM, DOWNTOWN, I'M GONNA CALL THEM BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS, ARTS AND CULTURE INCORPORATION INTO THE DOWNTOWN LANDSCAPE.
UM, I WENT AHEAD AND SENT THAT TO, UH, THE BACKUP FOR THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION TO JESUS.
IT HAS ALREADY BEEN EMAILED OUT TO US AS COMMISSIONERS.
SO ALL OF US HAVE THOSE PRESENTATIONS IN OUR INBOX.
PLEASE TAKE SOME TIME TO REVIEW THEM IN ADVANCE OF OUR NEXT MEETING.
UM, SO THAT WE MIGHT BE PREPARED WITH QUESTIONS.
SHOULD WE GET AN ACCEPTANCE OF AN INVITATION FROM THOSE PARTIES? CAN WE PUT ON THE AGENDA BECAUSE I'M, THEY SAID THAT THEY, THEY THINK MEASURE WILL BE READY TO PRESENT NEXT MONTH.
[02:20:01]
MEASURE'S NOT READY TO PRESENT NEXT MONTH, WE NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT MEASURE, BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR, I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THEY SELECTED THE PEOPLE.UM, AND THIS WAS THE SUMMER THAT THIS HAPPENED LONG TIME AGO.
LET'S PUT THAT UNDER DISCUSSION AND ACTION.
AND I THINK, UM, WE CAN DRAFT SOME SPECIFIC QUESTIONS SO THAT IF IT IS DELAYED AND THEY AREN'T COMING IN JANUARY, WE CAN SEND THEM A LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR THEM TO RESPOND TO IN FEBRUARY.
DOES THAT WORK? SO DISCUSSION AND ACTION FOR, UM, A MEASURE CONVERSATION.
AND LET'S JUST PUT THAT ON THE AGENDA SO THAT IT'S THERE AND THEN IF THEY PRESENT THEN, AND THEN IF THEY PRESENT, THEN IT'S UNNECESSARY.
BUT I DO THINK WE, YEAH, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS FURTHER CONVERSATIONS THAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN AND FURTHER CLARIFICATION, UM, IN REGARDS TO WHAT STAFF WAS GOING TO ACCEPT AS A REPORT.
BUT TO THE POINT THAT WE'VE ALL BEEN MAKING, THESE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS ON CULTURAL FUNDING PROGRAMS. IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT JANUARY 28TH AS A ROLLOUT FOR NEXUS, HOW VIABLE ARE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS COMING FROM MEASURE AT THIS POINT? SO IN TERMS OF VIABILITY OF THIS CONTENT, UM, THERE'S QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? OKAY.
UM, WE DON'T DO IT ANYMORE ON THE AGENDA, BUT I'M CURIOUS, IS THERE ITEMS FOR INFORMATION? OH, OH YES, THAT'S RIGHT.
UM, WE'LL TAKE THIS TIME TO RECOGNIZE THE AMAZING AND HEARTFELT WORK OF, UH, OUR DIRECTOR AND FEARLESS LEADER, SYLVIA HOLT.
WE'RE EXCITED THAT YOU'RE RETIRING.
NO, SHE DOESN'T, SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO.
I GOT TO, UM, SEE HER BE AWARDED A VERY SPECIAL AWARD FOR ALL OF HER TIME AND WORK HERE.
AND SHE HAS BEEN A, UM, UH, UH, APPENDAGE FOR US.
AND VERY, UM, IMPORTANT AND SIGNIFICANT PART OF THIS PROCESS.
AND WE ARE ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF THE WORK AND TIME AND ENERGY YOU'VE GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND TO SERVE US, YOUR COMMISSION, YOUR STAFF, AND THIS COMMUNITY.
AND HOW WILL WE EVER FARE THE WEATHER WITHOUT YOU.
YEAH, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE HOW APPROACHABLE YOU ARE AND HOW YOU, UH, COME TO OUR MEETING SO OFTEN AND, YOU KNOW, OFFER YOUR, YOUR WISDOM AND YOUR, YOUR CALM
BUT YOU, YOU, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.
YOU ARE SO CALM AND SO KNOWLEDGEABLE, YOU KNOW, SO, UH, WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORK WITH THE, YOUR SUCCESSOR.
HE'S GOT SOME BIG HEELS TO FEEL.
AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR, UM, MAKING YOURSELF AVAILABLE TO US.
SO NOVIA, I'M GONNA STAND, I'M GONNA STAND SAY THANK YOU.
UH, SELENA, CAN I ADD JUST A LITTLE PLEASE.
I JUST WANNA QUOTE ANOVIA NOVIA TO REMIND US AS A BODY WHEN RELATING TO ANY CHANGES OR SUGGESTIONS TO THE GRANT PROCESS OR THE PROCESS ITSELF TO BE SPECIFIC.
ANY OTHER? THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH WITH THAT HAPPY HOLIDAY.
WISH EVERYBODY A SAFE AND AND WARM HOLIDAY.