Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources Department
Cultural Arts Committee

Minutes

February 14, 2006, 7:00PM

Jordan Hall Arts Center

908 North Harrison Avenue, Cary, NC 27511

www.townofcary.org

ATTENDANCE:

Committee Members: Dennis Hoadley, Chair; Gyan Gupta; Rob Rusczak; Michael Salim; Kay Struffolino; Ginny Trautman; Bob Myers

Absent: Mamta Bisarya; Katie Crain; Cynthia Mollenkopf; Andrew Shears, Teen Representative

Staff: Lyman Collins; Vicki Hayes; Denise Dickens, Public Art Coordinator; Connie Belton, Center Supervisor

Guest: David Lindquist and Toby Kennedy

A. Call to Order
Denny Hoadley called the meeting to order. He explained he had attended his first Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Advisory Board meeting and was pleased to learn of all the happenings in the department. One item that was discussed at the meeting was a presentation by Scott Fogleman, Budget Director for the Town.

Mr. Fogleman explained the month of February has been dedicated to getting the word out to Cary citizens about the FY2007 budget. Citizens are encouraged to share their priorities for the Town of Cary’s Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Budget, which will identify services and infrastructure projects to be undertaken by the Town from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007. Citizens can register their budget priorities at their convenience via email at budgetinput@townofcary.org or via voicemail at (919) 462-3858. They can also speak directly to the Cary Town Council at either of two special budget public hearings to be held as part of the Thursday, February 9 and February 23 regular Town Council meetings, which begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers at 316 N. Academy Street. Additionally, Town Budget staff will attend the February meeting of each of the Town’s nine citizen advisory boards and commissions to receive budget priorities from the members as well as any citizens attending those meetings. All comments must be received by February 28, 2006 in order to be evaluated and considered for incorporation into the Town Manager’s Recommended Budget, which the Cary Town Council is expected to begin considering this spring. Citizens can review the current year’s Budget at www.townofcary.org or in hard copy at the Cary Library in downtown Cary.

B. Minutes

Lyman Collins explained the January minutes will be included in the consultant report.

C. Staff Report – Connie Belton, Center Supervisor

Connie Belton thanked the committee for coming. She distributed a handout with graphs showing the following from FY03 – estimated FY06 on class revenue, average fee per class, total revenue, wait list, enrollment, classes that reached at least minimum enrollment, average enrollment per class and cancellation rate. She explained that the cancellation rate is classes not being offered because of low enrollment.

Denise Dickens, Public Art Coordinator

Denny Hoadley welcomed Denise Dickens to the meeting. He explained that Denise comes to us from Raleigh where she worked as their public art coordinator. Denise explained to committee that she had been with the Town for about a month and was still learning, but she wanted to share a few projects with the committee.

US1/64 Bridge:

Denise explained this will be a pedestrian bridge that will cross US 1/64 and connect McDonald Woods Park and Kids Together Park as part of the Town’s greenways. She showed the committee examples of other applied art on bridges. The deadline for submission on this project is February 27, 2006. The Public Art Master Plan will guide the process for this public art project. Specific goals for this public art project, as considered by the Public Art Advisory Board and adopted by Town Council, include the following:

Cary Dog Park:

The Town of Cary has recently opened its first dedicated Dog Park. The Town wishes to have an artist utilize surplus fire hydrants to create public art for the Dog Park. There are 25 hydrants available for an artist or artist’s team to utilize in making public art for the Dog Park. The deadline for submission on this project is March 8, 2006.

Walnut Street Park:

Denise explained this project is in the master planning phase and staff is proposing that an artist be included as part of the design team at the beginning. Having an artist at the beginning of the process has never happened, but would be a great asset for the entire project.

Exhibition:

Denise explained Markham, Canada is one of the Town’s Sister Cities. Denise is working on sending an art exhibition of the highest quality artwork from Cary in a cultural exchange with Markham. A Call to Artist will be ready by the end of the month. The title of the show will be “The Spirit of Cary”.

D. Updates and Discussion

Festivals Committee Report – Kay Struffolino

January 17, 2006 Meeting

The minutes from December were approved and a handout was provided with the current financial status of Spring Daze. The date of Spring Daze was also confirmed…April 29^th… making it the 5^th Saturday of the month.

Invitations are being mailed for the 2005 Grants Reception to be held at the Page Walker Arts and History Center on Friday, January 27^th at 7:00 pm. It was confirmed that Mayor McAlister will be taking part in this event. This will be the first of what is hoped to become an annual event as a means of making the public as well as potential festival sponsors aware of how the profits from our festivals are put back into the community through the arts organizations.

Staff was still compiling the data from the consultant into the Festival Report so it was not ready to be presented for discussion at this meeting…this will happen at the February meeting.

There was discussion on sponsorships…what businesses would be good candidates to approach as possible festival sponsors. The goal is one main sponsor with several tiers of sponsorship available. Some suggestions under consideration are: Cary developers, banks, Target Stores, real estate companies, car dealerships or a supermarket.

The ‘work teams’ all have plans to meet within the coming weeks to put in motion decisions and a plan of action for their particular component of Spring Daze.

The next regular meeting of the Festival Committee will be Tuesday, February 21^st.

Amphitheatre Advisory Committee Report

No report at this time.

Town Center Civic and Cultural Arts District Study

Lyman Collins explained this committee hosted the January meeting with the consultant and the cultural organizations to prepare for the final report. The final report will be presented to Council on March 7^th at 4:30 pm in the Council Chambers at a Council work session. At this time there are refinements to the business plan, operations and guidelines. This committee will help staff in determining the priorities of resident vs. non-resident groups as well as other aspects to the facility. Staff will keep this committee posted on the upcoming meeting.

Liaison Appointments

Denny Hoadley explained there will be two positions on this committee that will be opened.

1. Katie Crain’s position will be open because she is no longer a Cary resident.

2. Denny Hoadley’s position will need to be filled because he is now the Chair of the committee.

Also, we have a couple of position that will need to be filled by a committee person.

1. Amphitheatre Advisory Committee – replacing Toby Kennedy

Meets 3^rd Monday at 6:00 pm at Regency

2. Festival Committee – replacing Katie Crain

Meets 3^rd Tuesday at 8:00 am at Cindi’s House Café

3. Vice-Chair for this committee – new position

If anyone is interested in the above positions, please contact Denny. Denny would like the positions to be filled by the next meeting. Gyan Gupta is interested in the Amphitheatre Committee and Kay Struffolino said she would take the Festival Committee if no one else is interested.

Update on Public Art

Lyman Collins reported that the glass bridge by Catherine Widgery that had been planned as part of the Town Hall expansion would not take place. Lyman explained that the cost for the public art had not changed through out the project, but other construction and timing factors had and the project was cancelled. The Town is working with Catherine Widgery to compensate her for her time. Lyman will keep the committee posted on any updates.

E. Upcoming Events

See Program Update

F. New Business

Toby Kennedy thanked the committee for their hard work and dedication to the arts. Lyman Collins thanked Toby for his six years of continued service to the committee.

Cultural Arts Organizations Funding Request will take place at the March meeting. Please review the two handouts on criteria and policy statement. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Lyman. Once staff has received the requests from the organizations we will send to the committee for review before the March meeting.

Kay Struffolino made a motion to accept the criteria for funding FY07. Gyan Gupta seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

G. Adjourn

The Town of Cary is committed to providing all citizens with the opportunity to participate fully in the public meeting process. Any person with a disability who needs an auxiliary aid or service in order to participate in any meeting may contact the Town Clerk at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. The e-mail address is sue.rowland@townofcary.org; the phone number is (919) 469-4011; the TDD number is (919) 469-4012.

Please contact the Vicki Hayes with any questions about this agenda. The e-mail address is vicki.hayes@townofcary.org, and the phone number is (919) 319-4560.