Staff recommends Council rescind and repeal Resolution No. 04-18101 establishing a public art policy and ad hoc committee.

On March 22, 2004, Council passed and approved Resolution No. 04-18101. This resolution creates an ad hoc committee to review art that is donated or loaned to the City for public display and make a recommendation to Council about appropriateness and placement. This resolution also requires a transfer of ownership for any art donated to the City. 

For unknown reasons, the policy set forth in this resolution has not been used for many years and the City's current staff were unaware of it. City staff had established alternative procedures for public placement of art. For example, the Library board established a formal policy and a standing art committee in 2013 for art placed in the Library (attached). For art placed in City parks, the Parks Board considers and determines where art will be displayed. The Airport also has a formal policy to determine when art will be displayed at the Airport (attached). It may make sense to have separate, specialized policies for these departments because the art is generally donated to these specific departments. They need to have the ability to determine what fits in their space and, for the airport, in order to generate required revenue to support operations and capital requirements. Whether there is one policy for all city departments is something to be considered when developing a new policy for Council’s consideration.

There were several public art projects currently in various stages of development in August 2023 when staff discovered the 2004 Resolution. Staff set out to implement the policy and convene a committee but discovered the policy to be cumbersome and impractical. City code requires all boards, committees (including ad hoc), and commissions to comply with the requirements of BMCC 2-500 (attached). This article of city code requires these committees follow the formal rules of procedure in section 2-507(8) which includes the same decorum and meeting protocol as regular City Council meetings. Additionally, all meetings must be open to the public with a public comment period, must have an agenda, minutes must be kept, etc.

The appointment process is not efficient or practical for an ad hoc committee that is only convened when necessary. Two committee members must be appointed by the Mayor, one member appointed by the Parks Board, and two members with an interest in the project are appointed, but the resolution does not specify who makes those appointments. In order for the mayor to make an appointment to a committee, Council must give its consent and therefore the appointments must be included on a regular agenda. Before that can occur, a 30-day notice to the public must be provided to solicit interest in the appointment. This process is not efficient for a committee that may need to be convened once, twice, or several times a year, depending on the number of art pieces/projects that are presented to the City. The policy also requires the committee to forward its recommendation to the City Administrator in order to be presented to Council for consideration. The committee's recommendation would then be included on a regular meeting agenda accompanied by a staff memo.

After realizing the time and processes required to implement the policy, City staff endeavored to follow the spirit of the policy as much as practical under the time and logistical constraints. Staff consulted with the Mayor and Administration to assemble and convene an ad hoc public art committee and has forwarded its recommendation to Council for consideration at this September 11 meeting. While staff is asking the Council to repeal the policy prior to considering the committee's recommendation, staff followed the intent of the 2004 Resolution as much as possible and believes the objective of the policy was accomplished.

One of the goals of the Mobilize the MAGIC City project is to conduct a feasibility study for a public art committee that would develop a clear and straightforward process for review of art to be displayed on City property. The new public art committee and process work is expected to be complete in early 2024 and will be shared with Council. It is expected that this study will result in a functional policy the City can implement to replace the current policy that has not been used for many years.

City Council may:

• Approve; or,
• Not Approve

Staff requests Council repeal Resolution No. 04-18101 to allow staff to present a new policy regarding the public display of art on city property for Council consideration. This would also allow the current art pieces/projects to be considered by Council without a delay.