TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Mark Leyman, Parks and Recreation Director
Martin Betz, Cultural Arts Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Strand Alcove Bench Policy (Parks and Recreation Director Leyman).
APPROVE AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the Strand Alcove Bench Policy and provide direction on donor recognition plaque wording.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
The Strand Alcove Bench Donation program was part of the Strand Renovation Project in the City Council's 2005-07 Work Plan. The Staff Report for the April 5, 2005 City Council meeting states the program's purpose as follows:
"As City Council is aware, a key design component of the Strand renovation project is the creation of recessed seating areas, i.e., alcoves along the entire length of the Strand (there are a total of 43 alcoves in the Strand design). The thought was that by moving the seating areas and trash containers off the Strand walkway, we will be able to more easily clean and maintain the Strand. The existence of the alcoves also gives us an opportunity to be creative; rather than putting in plain concrete benches, there have been long-standing discussions that this would be a great chance to create unique, public art opportunities. There are three existing benches on the Strand that would be put in alcoves, leaving 40 other openings. Opportunities for art include the bench/seating."
On August 16, 2005, the City Council approved the Strand Alcove Bench Program Donor Guidelines prepared by the staff and the Cultural Arts Commission. Because of concerns for design commercialization and recognition, the guidelines would serve as a reference for the quality and aesthetic level the City is seeking.
The Cultural Arts Commission developed a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the alcove bench design, which was also presented to the City Council on August 16, 2005. The purposes of the RFP are 1) to choose an artist to design the first alcove/bench area, and 2) to create an artist's pool of pre-qualified designs which will be made available to the donors who wish to fund the remaining alcove/bench areas. The budget of the project was $50,000 using the Public Art Trust Fund, and the City established a selection process following the Public Art Master Plan. The sites for the sample alcoves/benches were going to be near the pier in a high visibility area. In addition to the finalist recommendations, the Commission foresaw the necessity to develop a catalogue of pre-approved artists that will streamline the process for the donor. During the meeting, City Council approved the Request for Proposals for the Implementation of the Sample Strand Alcove/Bench Public Art Project, as amended, to include language stating that the designs should be kept simple and not incorporate religious symbols.
On April 1, 2008, City Council approved the Commission's recommendation that the 6 artistic benches be spread out along the length of the Strand. The 6 sites designated for the benches were 11th Street south of Manhattan Beach pier, Shell Street, 39th Street, 32nd Street, Marine Avenue, and 3rd Street. This allocation would place an artistic bench every four to six blocks with the exception of 32nd to Marine. By early 2010, there were a total of nine benches installed on the Strand, which included three donated benches at 19th Street, 24th Street and 30th Street. In addition, there are donors on a waiting list who have reserved an alcove.
The guidelines approved by City Council in 2008 allow donors to place benches along the Strand with "colors of a soft hue." During the discussion for the guidelines on the benches, City Council was concerned that very bright multicolored benches might be offensive to the people living and walking along the Strand. Because the program was just starting and there was a question on the color, staff thought it best to have City Council review the two proposed colors and provide direction. On September 15, 2009, two additional colors (blue and green) proposed by two donors were presented to the City Council for approval. Council approved the two proposed colors as provided in the staff report for the Strand Alcove benches donated at the location of 29th Street and 30th Street.
Since the program's inception in 2007, only one bench design has been developed and approved by the Cultural Arts Commission and City Council ("The Wave" by Stacey Dukes). At that time, staff and potential donors had a difficult time attracting artists and architects to develop more bench designs. The Commission addressed the need for additional designs through an invitational process where three to five architects were asked to submit a minimum of three bench designs. During the May 18, 2010 meeting, the City Council allocated $15,000 for the development of architectural bench designs.
Four well-known local architects were invited to develop bench design proposals: Predock Frane Architects; Christopher Kapeller (CK Architecture); Sparano + Mooney Architecture; and Ball & Nogues Studio. On November 9, 2010, the architects presented their designs to the Cultural Arts Commission. April, 12, 2011, the Cultural Arts Commission identified a plan for the four prototype bench designs.
During the July 10, 2011 meeting, the Commission revisited eight architectural bench designs for the establishment of the Alcove Bench Donation Preapproved Design Catalogue. At this stage, the Commission intended to narrow the selections to three to four designs for the possible creation of prototype benches. The Commission favored the idea of displaying prototype benches for a certain duration prior to the City Council's decision for the official approval.
Currently in 2015, a catalog with five approved designs has been published (see Attachment #2). This catalog also outlines a general process for donating a bench.
DISCUSSION:
Given the level of interest and number of inquiries the City receives for donor benches, development of a policy will help facilitate the selection and placement of these benches and the acceptable plaque wording associated with the donation. As a result, staff developed the attached comprehensive policy governing the Strand Alcove Bench Program.
The policy for Council consideration addresses four specific issues regarding the donation of benches to the City:
1. Guidelines for purchasing a bench and reserving a location
The new policy provides written guidelines for the donor to procure a bench from the artist. In addition, it outlines how a donor can secure a bench location.
2. Terms and renewal for donation
The new policy includes guidelines for the term at which interest in the bench needs to be renewed by family members or heirs. As a bench deteriorates over time a mechanism by which a replacement or removal can be arranged is also addressed in the policy.
3. Selection of bench design
The new policy provides for selection from five approved bench designs. The option to develop and present a custom design is also available to the donor.
4. Plaque Wording Options
The City's current policy provides only one option for plaque wording:
· Wording as follows: Donated by ______ - Artist: _______
Recognition of the artist and donor for each Bench/Alcove area are placed in a discreet location and the size of the plaque is 4 X 5 inches.
The new policy allows for three wording options which, prior to the adoption of the single wording option in 2014, were permissible:
Option 1
· Donated by ____ - Artist: ____
Option 2
· Donated by ____ for ____ - Artist: ____
Option3
· Donated by Friends and Family for ____ - Artist: ____
Staff has received multiple requests for additional plaque wording options beyond those listed above. For example, "Donated by the Friends and Family for Our Inspiration John Doe" is a typical request.
Given the myriad requests by donors for alternate wording options, staff is seeking City Council direction on donor recognition wording which will then be included in the new policy.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the Strand Alcove Bench Policy and provide direction on donor recognition plaque wording.
Attachment: 1. Strand Alcove Bench Policy
2. Strand Alcove Bench Donation Brochure