TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Mark Leyman, Director of Parks and Recreation
Eilen Stewart, Cultural Arts Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Awarding an Agreement to RLA Conservation, LLC for Comprehensive Public Art Assessment Not-to-Exceed $25,000 (Parks and Recreation Director Leyman).
A) ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 23-0105
B) ALLOCATE FUNDS
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution 23-0105:
A. Awarding a contract to RLA Conservation, LLC for Comprehensive Public Art Assessment in an amount not to exceed $45,000;
B. Allocate an additional $25,000 from the Public Art Trust Fund (PATF) to assess the condition of all public art owned by the City of Manhattan Beach; and
C. Authorize the City Manager and/or his designee to execute the agreement.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
On September 19, 2017, City Council approved an allocation of $20,000 from the Public Art Trust Fund (PATF) to hire a part time staff member to develop a Public Art Assessment report. After a recent review of the project parameters in anticipation of launching the Project, it was determined that additional expertise would be required to account for the diversity of artwork within the City’s collection as well as to establish repair and maintenance schedules that best fit industry standards for the different types of artwork the City owns. Staff secured a $40,000 quote for this assessment from RLA Conservation, LLC (RLA), which specializes in art conservation for large collections and has prior experience working with collections held by various municipalities. The proposed agreement for a total not to exceed $45,000 includes the scope of services listed on the quote from RLA and a $5,000 contingency to provide funds in the event there are unforeseen issues or additional artworks needed. If approved, sufficient funds are available to award a contract with an additional allocation of $25,000 from the PATF. The PATF currently has a total balance of about $1.8 million with approximately $963,000 in allocated funds and roughly $845,000 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:
A Public Art Assessment was introduced as a Cultural Arts Commission work plan item on June 5, 2017, and was approved by City Council on July 18, 2017. On September 19, 2017, City Council allocated an amount not to exceed $20,000 from the PATF for completion of this work by an in-house staff person. Staff worked with Human Resources and Finance staff to update a job classification and solicit candidates for this unique position. At the April 3, 2018 City Council meeting, staff anticipated that the assessment work would begin in September of 2018.
A part time staff member was hired in October of 2018 to begin the assessment. It soon became apparent that in order to obtain comprehensive information and recommendations, a professional conservation team was needed to assess a collection of the size and scope of the one owned by the City. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the staff member working on the assessment vacated their position and the project was paused until a new approach for this item could be developed. The staff member working on the conservation project was assisting with several other projects and programs and their salary was therefore not billed against the $20,000 allocation, which remains unused in its entirety and available for this project.
Staff reached out to other municipalities to gather input on how their collections were managed and received highly positive input regarding RLA, who maintains the collections of multiple nearby municipalities and other agencies. Upon further research staff determined that RLA is the most qualified contractor for the necessary work.
DISCUSSION:
The City of Manhattan Beach owns a collection of approximately 75 public art artworks consisting of murals, sculptures, memorials, fountains, and other assets. While steps were taken at various points in the City history to organize and keep track of this collection, few records exist and are inconsistent. As most of these artworks are installed outdoors, the marine environment is causing consistent, and in some cases, severe deterioration. In conducting this assessment, the complete collection will be properly catalogued, documented, and described. In addition, an action plan will be created to correct the immediate damage to artworks in need of repair, as well as establish an ongoing maintenance plan for the entire collection to ensure a safe and extended useful life of these items.
RLA will develop a plan for three categories of artworks: those in need of immediate repair and how to accomplish it; those in stable condition but in need of ongoing maintenance to preserve condition; and those in need of decommissioning based on deteriorated condition or the City’s desire to no longer house the artwork. RLA will prepare cost estimates and comprehensive plans for each of these contingencies, to be performed at a time determined by the City, with the work done by RLA or other conservation professionals.
RLA has extensive experience working with large collections, particularly as they pertain to municipalities and are well positioned to make informed recommendations on best practices in the industry.
Conducting this assessment and implementing the maintenance plan (including restoration and decommission) at this point will help preserve artwork and prevent further deterioration, remove unwanted or damaged artworks from public view, and create a realistic plan for restoration of artworks that the City wishes to preserve.
Staff recommends adopting Resolution No. 23-0105 and allocating an amount not to exceed $25,000 from the PATF (in addition to the $20,000 previously allocated for this work) for completion of this assessment, for a total not to exceed $45,000.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
This item was discussed at the Joint City Council/Commission work plan meetings on June 5, 2017, July 18, 2017, September 19, 2017, April 3, 2018, June 3, 2019, January 6, 2020, and January 4, 2021.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that this action, a public art assessment, is not a project under CEQA, pursuant to Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines, as the action has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 23-0105
2. RLA Assessment Quote
3. RLA Agreement