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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-10-2007 Approved HCAC Minutes CITY OFDUBLIN HERITAGE AND CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION .. MINU 'ESOF: NIAY 10 20(17 The May 10, 2007 meeting of the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission was called to order at 7:30 p.m. at the Dublin Civic Center,Dublin, California,by Chairperson Mack. Pledge of AlleRiance Chairperson Mack led the Pledge of Allegiance.. Roll Call Commissioners Present: Acuff, Can,Halket, Lussie,Mack,Vonheeder-Leopold and Swalwell. Commissioners Absent: None Oral Communications-None Approval of Minutes Cm. Acuff advised that there was a typographical error on page 2,paragraph 4 "whom"should be corrected to read "who". ON A MOTION BY CM. ACUFF, SECONDED BY CM. LUSSIE AND BY VOTE, THE COMMISSION APPROVED THE MINUTES OF APRIL 12, 2007 AS AMENDED. CM. VONHEEDER-LEOPOLD ABSTAINED. Written Communications-None Public Hearing-None Unfinished Business 7.1 Dublin Fine Arts Foundation Art Takes Place John Hartnett, Heritage & Cultural Arts Supervisor, advised that in March 2006, the City Council approved a request from the Dublin Fine Arts Foundation(DFAF) for$30,000 to provide implementation funds for the "In the Tri-Valley: Art Takes Place"proposal. Art Takes Place is a public art project for the Tri-Valley area, centered in Dublin, Pleasanton, and Livermore, promoting public awareness and participation in the arts. The cities of Livermore and Pleasanton have also approved a$30,000 commitment each, for the Art Takes Place project. In November, 2006, a Steering Committee was formed to assist with various aspects of the project, led by Lynne Baer, Consulting Director for DFAF. The Committee is comprised of DFAF members, City Staff from all three cities and Arts Commissioners and art representatives from Dublin,Pleasanton and Livermore.Heritage &Cultural Arts Commissioners Georgean Vonheeder-Leopold and Connie Mack have been serving on the Steering Committee. Art Takes Place will consist of site-specific commissioned art project, art workshops in the three cities, and an art project in collaboration with the local Continuation High Schools, and associated public programs and events. Hartnett introduced Lynne Baer, DFAF's Consulting Director to answer any questions posed by the Commissioners. Baer reviewed the specifics of the project and asked the Commission if they had any questions regarding the Art Takes Place project. Commission Comments Cm. Acuff asked for Cm. Vonheeder-Leopold's comments on this project since she works on the Steering Committee for the Art Takes Place project. Minutes—May 10,2007 Page 2 of 5 Cm. Vonheeder-Leopold advised that the Steering Committee is working well together. The Committee has some specific ideas for each city's project but they are still having trouble obtaining a bus and driver for the "Camera Obscura" project. She stated that she is glad this project is three weeks long, not an entire year as they had last time, which was much more work when planning for an entire year of events. Cm. Vonheeder-Leopold advised that the Steering Committee felt it was critical to cover all areas of marketing including TV and Radio ads,posters, flyers and a website, in order for this program to be.a success. She advised they will be interviewing a marketing professional, who has already done some work for the City of Pleasanton, to possibly assist them in marketing this project. The Commissioners provided Baer with some ideas on securing a bus and driver for the Camera Obscura project. Ideas included contacting retirement homes, the Dreyer's Ice Cream bus, or contacting a manufacturer of school buses in Hayward. The Commissioners also suggested bringing on a private sponsor like Pepsi or Oracle. Baer advised that there are some fees available for the bus/driver but not enough to rent it on a daily basis at $600.00 per day. Harnett advised that the Art Takes Place project will be going to City Council for review in June 2007. 7.2 Museum Assessment Program-Update Hartnett introduced Heritage Center Director Elizabeth Isles and explained that Isles would be providing an update on the Museum Assessment Program to the Commission tonight. Isles stated that one of the 2005-2006 Goals & Objectives adopted by the City Council was to `Investigate the possibility of obtaining accreditation for the Heritage Center through the American Association of Museums (MAP)". Isles advised that the Institute for Museum and Library Services defines the MAP process as follows: "The Museum Assessment Program (MAP) is a confidential, consultative process, designed to help museums understand how they compare to standards and best practices in the field. MAP helps museums understand how other institutions deal with similar challenges. MAP provides suggestions for improvement and is designed for museums, historic houses, botanic gardens and arboretums, zoos, nature centers and art galleries. There are three stages to the two-year long assessment: Self-Study, Peer Review and Implementation." The Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission received the results of the Phase I MAP report at the December 14, 2006 meeting indicating that many recommendations had been accomplished or were in the process of being addressed in the future. Isles reviewed the recommendations contained in the Staff Report with the Commission. She advised that in February 2007, Staff met with DHPA representatives to review the MAP recommendations. Following a discussion, DHPA identified goals that they would be willing to undertake in the next year, which include: 1. Review the DHPA Mission Statement. 2. Produce a Newsletter of their own or collaborate with Heritage Center Staff on a joint Newsletter. 3. Host a mixer with the Chamber of Commerce, the Tri-Valley History Council or other community organization. 4. Revise and update the DHPA membership list. Isles indicated that she would continue to work with DHPA to assist in the accomplishment of these goals and will provide a progress report to the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission as items are addressed Commission Comments • Cm. Acuff asked who will be working on the newsletter. • Minutes—May 10,2007 Page 3 of 5 Isles advised that there currently isn't a budget for the newsletter. Once a budget is in place,Isles would work with DHPA on producing the newsletter together. New Business 8.1 Winter Concert Series 2006/2007 Hartnett advised that Staff is interested in receiving input from the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission on the recently completed Winter Concert Series. This was the third year that the City offered this type of program, and Staff welcomes Commission input and potential new ideas as we head into the forth year of programming. He presented a re-cap of the history of the Winter Concert Series as contained in the Staff Report. Hartnett stated that this past winter, the Concert Series experienced a significant drop in attendance from the previous year and shared the following observations with the Commission: • This past year, Staff offered for the first time, 2 events on a Sunday afternoon. • Two events (Nov. 11, Jan. 13) fell on a three-day holiday weekend, and the October event fell on the weekend before Halloween. • For the second year in a row, Staff targeted a youth audience, without success. • The mix of entertainment seems consistent with previous years with the exception of no theatrical production in 2006-2007. • Staff did some target mailings for the final concert,which experienced better participation. Hartnett presented some preliminary ideas or suggestions for the 2007-08 Winter Concert Series including: • Avoid events on three-day weekends.Avoid events targeted to teenagers. • Go back to only offering 4 events per year (October's event typically runs into the Halloween weekend with families committed to other activities). • Target market an audience for each event with direct mailings to previous participants of the Winter and Summer Concert Series. • Develop individual flyers for each event rather than just a postcard that promotes the entire season. • Conduct an event or two at the Dublin Library Community Room and/or the Senior Center (the Library has a newly donated Grand Piano that could be used for a concert pianist). Commission Comments Cm. Acuff and Cm. Lussie felt the concert schedule did not coordinate well with their personal schedule Both Commissioners felt the Bells Concert held a few years ago was so much fun and the crowd really loved the performance too. Cm. Halket would like to see more theatrical productions to mix up the series a little. Hartnett advised that a theatrical production would be hard to pull off but Staff could look into a smaller production — possibly a one person show. Cm.Lussie asked if there is a target audience with which to market this series. Hartnett advised we really advertise and market this program to everyone as a family. , Cm. Lussie asked if surveys have been taken regarding this series. Hartnett advised that surveys were taken and feedback was very positive. Hartnett advised that Staff is keeping track of email addresses which will be used to market the series each month. Chairperson Mack suggested having the concert match with the "theme" of the month so that in November the ` concert had a Thanksgiving theme and in December, a holiday theme and so on. Chairperson Mack also suggested reminding customers to bring a friend too. Minutes—May 10, 2007 Page 4 of 5 Cm. Halket liked a monthly flyer idea and thought we could maybe even put a sound byte on the -email or the City's website to promote the series further. This kind of exposure would be a wonderful addition to the marketing tools we use to market this series. The Commission suggested having the concert series rotate to different city locations in accordance with the attendance size we are expecting for each respective concert. • Cm. Can asked if Hartnett had considered"season passes"at a discounted price. Hartnett indicated that he would explore this suggestion further. The Commission agreed with Hartnett that we should reduce the series to four concerts instead of five, skipping October this year. The Commissioners suggested contacting the SF or Livermore Symphony or the Livermore Valley Opera. The Commissioner's also suggested having sing-a-long or interactive type of events, which are a big draw in this area. The public and their families love it. Other Business Brief INFORMATIONAL ONLY Reports from Heritage and Cultural Arts Commissioners and/or Staff Cm. Can advised that she hosted the Women's Club Student Art Reception Winners on April 22, 2007. The event was well attended with about 150 in attendance. The Mayor of San Ramon and Cm. Can handed out the $555 in awards to the winners in the (1St — 12th Grade) art or photography categories. The awards were donated by the Women's Club. Cm. Can advised that 13 students won on a local level and 22 at the district level. Six submissions from Dublin students were forwarded to the State competition level for consideration. Four of the six students placed(1sti2nd/3rd and Honorable Mention) and one local student won 1st place at the State level. Cm. Acuff thought it would be a great idea to display the winning art at the Civic Center and publish the winner's names in the school newspapers for additional recognition for these participants. Cm. Vonheeder-Leopold asked if the City had starting planning for the July 2007 Dog Park opening. Hartnett advised that staff has met regarding this event and is coming up with some preliminary ideas. Cm. Vonheeder-Leopold suggested that for DFAF's fundraising efforts, obtaining donations from local veterinarian offices in our area. Anyone donating over$500 would get their name on a plaque. The plaques would honor animals and could be shaped like a dog or cat or fish or dog bone or paw prints. The sales from the plaques could offset the costs to include prizes for a few easy contests like a "fetch" contest or cutest dog contest or costume contest. Cm.Acuff suggested a pet parade which is a lot of fun and is a good way to involve the community. Cm. Swalwell suggested a "doggie walk of fame" which everyone felt was also a great idea. Cm. Can suggested soliciting sponsors to buy benches for the park. Isles advised that she will be hosting a Blue Grass concert for children on the 20th of May and should be a lot of fun. Minutes—May 10, 2007 Page 5 of 5 Adjournment Being no further business,the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM. Respectfully submitted, Christie Marks Senior Office Assistant APPROVED: • 60,7x2ei Chairperson •