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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 Bray Commons-Public Art ~ OF DpB ti 82 AGENDA STATEMENT HERITAGE AND CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION MEETING DATE: August 14, 2008 SUBJECT: Bray Commons - Public Art Report by John Hartnett, Heritage & Cultural Arts Manager ATTACHMENTS: 1) Photo of "Wind, Light, Shade = Tranquility" RECOMMENDATION: Receive Report FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None DESCRIPTION: In September of 1993 the City Council gave conceptual approval to the Dublin Fine Arts Foundation's proposed "Art in the Parks" program. The goal of the "Art in the Parks" program is to enhance City parks through the placement of artworks appropriate to each park's history, location, size and use. The most recent Art in the Parks project was to design and install a sculpture at Bray Commons Park. In September 2006, the City Council approved the recommended artwork, "Wind, Light, Shade = Tranquility" by artist Bill Gould, for Bray Commons Park. Over the next year, the artwork was fabricated and installed at Bray Commons and on December 4, 2007, the City Council accepted the artwork. On April 19, 2008, the Dublin Fine Arts Foundation and the City conducted a dedication ceremony for the Bray Commons artwork. The artwork is a steel sculpture depicting a tree with several thousand leaves on five tree limbs as shown in Attachment 1. In the past few months, Staff has received a small number of complaints from local residents of the Dublin Ranch Tenaces regarding the level of noise created by the sculpture. In response to the citizen concerns, City Staff conducted two sound tests as described below: The first test was conducted on June 4`h at 1:00 pm. The winds were quite gusty, approximately 15 miles per hour. The test was conducted by the City's Senior Code Enforcement Officer, directly across the street from the artwork in front of the Dublin Ranch Tenaces. The average decibel level (dB) was between 50 dB and 53 dB. Normally acceptable levels in the City's General Plan are 60 dB or less during the hours of 7:00 am to7:00 pm. The second test was conducted on June 19`h at 10:30 pm. The winds were calmer, approximately 5-10 miles per hour. The test was conducted by the City's Code Enforcement Officer, again directly across the street from the artwork in front of the Dublin Ranch Terraces. The average decibel level (dB) was COPIES TO: Dublin Fine Arts Foundation (DFAF) ITEM NO.: 8.1 G:UIERITAGE COMMISSIONWGENDA_STMTS\2008\8-14-08 Bray Commons PA.doc between 44 dB and 47 dB. Normally acceptable levels in the City's General Plan are 50 dB or less during the hours of 10:00 pm to7:00 am. Based on the two tests, the sound from the artwork is within the normally acceptable levels of the General Plan. In July, Staff inet with the artist, Bill Gould, to discuss possible options to reduce the sound level, if deemed necessary. It was the artist's assessment that he would have to remove a significant amount of leaves to create any noticeable difference in sound, and that doing so wouldn't necessarily guarantee a significant reduction in noise. The artist also felt that this action would dramatically change the artistic character of the artwork. Additionally, removing many leaves would also create numerous spaces for many leaves to get tangled in the wire mesh. Another option presented by the artist would be to remove all the leaves and re-hang them by a different method which may create less noise but which would also change the look of the piece (4 or 5 leaves would be strung on wire cables throughout). The cost for this service would be $3,500. It should be noted that there are no funds available for re-hanging the artwork. Staff has also received a few complaints regarding leaves occasionally falling off the wire mesh. The artist has agreed to inspect the cunent condition of all the leaves and fortify any that appear loose or in need of repair. The artist has indicated that he will also continue to inspect the leaves on an agreed upon schedule with the City. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission receive the report. If the Commission is in favor of pursuing either of the options to potentially reduce the sound level from the leaves, City Council approval will be required in order to authorize a budget change. 2of2 i i H ~ r I~i u ~ W T. _ ~ E-i k . ~ ,~r• -S 5 i - a?j r . ~ , r~ y ~ +r .•l'..:'~; i I w~,~.S . i^ . ~ _ - T tT ~ ' .t"•~~~ ~ `~'~!`Ynf~ , ~ ~ ~ . • :.~twe, _ F- ~~,y~.~ 4 ^ ``a S . .r - • f ei . . ~ ri ~r . •14 ~ a I~ i¦ p . R i ~ ~ . . . i r 'ij _ y ( ! ~ ' r nn *V + •.~,.,J~t~_r