TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Mark Leyman, Parks and Recreation Director
Eilen Stewart, Cultural Arts Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of the Cultural Arts Commission Recommendations for Mural Artwork at the Manhattan Beach Art Center and Police/Fire Locations and Costs, Selection of Final Artwork Design at Manhattan Heights Complex and Disbursement of up to $105,000 from the Public Art Trust Fund (Parks and Recreation Director Leyman).
(Estimated Time: 30 Mins.)
A) APPROVE ARTISTS, LOCATIONS, AND COST
B) DISBURSE FUNDS
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss the Cultural Arts Commission (CAC) recommendations for mural artwork at the Manhattan Beach Art Center and Police/Fire locations and costs, selection of final artwork design at Manhattan Heights Complex and disburse up to $105,000 from the Public Art Trust Fund (PATF).
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
If approved, the total cost for murals at the Manhattan Beach Art Center and Police/Fire locations will be $105,000. This would be in addition to the $210,000 ($96,049.34 remainder from Phase I allocation plus additional $113,950.66 allocated for five locations in Phase II) previously allocated for the five previously approved locations. The PATF currently has a total balance of $1,759,477 with approximately $1.1 million in allocated funds and $670,000 in unallocated funds. The use of PATF funds for this project is congruent with the purpose of the PATF as detailed in the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code Section 10.90.050.
BACKGROUND:
At the March 7, 2023 meeting, City Council directed the Cultural Arts Commission to develop a work plan of several items including Phase II of the Mural Program. Launched in 2018, Phase I of the Mural Project installed five artworks by four artists from California. The locations and installation methodology for several of the murals presented challenges that were incorporated into the Request for Proposals (RFP) for this Phase II of the Mural Project.
Staff worked with the Cultural Arts Commission to develop an RFP for seven locations of murals around the City, including locations in north and east Manhattan Beach where there are fewer opportunities for Public Art.
Staff received over 115 applications from artists of varying ages, skill levels, and disciplines and narrowed this pool down to 100 complete applications eligible for review by the CAC. The CAC reviewed all eligible applications, selected 27 artworks, and assigned them to seven locations with several options identified per site.
City Council reviewed the 27 proposals and selected artwork for five of the locations, asking that artist Armelle Vervialle Ngo develop a more precise rendering for Location 1, Manhattan Heights Complex. City Council asked that staff work with the Cultural Arts Commission to select new submissions from the existing pool of applications to be considered for the Manhattan Beach Art Center (Location 2) and the Police/Fire station (Location 6). Any artist who had submitted a proposal for either Location 2 or Location 6, but whose submission had not been reviewed by City Council at the September 19, 2023 meeting was invited to make amendments or adjustments to their proposal.
At the October 17, 2023 meeting, City Council directed staff to bring back the shark proposal by artist Eric Snyder in addition to other submissions to be considered for Location 6.
DISCUSSION:
The Cultural Arts Commission reviewed all eligible proposals and recommended five options, not including Eric Snyder’s shark, for the Police/Fire location and four options for the Manhattan Beach Art Center location for review by City Council.
Staff worked with artist Armelle Vervialle Ngo to develop two options of her artwork approved for the Manhattan Heights Complex location at the September 19, 2023 City Council meeting.
Staff recommends City Council review the recommended proposals and costs for each of the seven possible sites and approve the sites, budgets, and artwork.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
This item was reviewed by the Cultural Arts Commission (CAC) at the March 20, June 19, and August 21 meetings. The CAC voted unanimously to approve the proposed candidates and locations and recommend to City Council for review.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed mural project for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment; therefore, pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (the “common sense” exemption) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the agreement is exempt from CEQA. Additionally, the project qualifies for a categorical exemption pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) of the State CEQA Guidelines, given that the project consists of minor alterations of existing private or public structures, with negligible or no expansion of use. Furthermore, there are no features that distinguish this project from others in the exempt class; therefore, there are no unusual circumstances.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has prepared the agreement template.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Artist Agreement
2. PowerPoint Presentation