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
Provide Direction on Leadership Manhattan Beach’s (LMB) Proposed 2021-2022 Class Project (Parks and Recreation Director Leyman).
DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss and provide direction on Leadership Manhattan Beach’s (LMB) Proposed 2021-2022 class project.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
All costs will be covered by Leadership Manhattan Beach. However, based on the project selected, there may be ongoing maintenance costs absorbed by the City.
BACKGROUND:
Leadership Manhattan Beach (LMB) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop community leaders. Since 1992, over the course of its nine-month program each class has developed a project that benefits the community.
LMB proposes to host a Manhattan Beach Community-Building Event, contributing a large-scale mural to the Manhattan Beach Art Center (MBAC). The mural will be designed by a professional artist and painted by community members over one weekend. The mural will serve to beautify the Art Center, provide an identifying landmark for the site, and offer an opportunity for our community to unite in a common cause.
LMB wishes to encourage community awareness of and involvement with MBAC. LMB determined that the community is generally unaware of the Art Center, or its location. This project is seen as an opportunity to develop community awareness and pride while serving as a catalyst for further community building activities.
The 2020 Parks Master Plan determined there is a need for more community-building events to create a sense of community. Additionally, in 2020 the City Council approved the Manhattan Beach Art Center (MBAC) Revitalization Plan as part of the Cultural Arts Commission Work Plan. Phase 2.3 of the plan identifies the need for murals in strategic places. The chosen mural will be painted on the 11th Street parking lot wall, which is approximately 137.5 feet in length. The height fluctuates between three and five feet. This measurement includes 10 feet of landscaping.
This project is designed to include community participation. The chosen artist will design the mural and facilitate the painting of the mural by residents of Manhattan Beach. The concept is similar to a paint-by-number canvas. The goal is to complete the basic mural over one weekend with extra detail and touch-ups made by the artist. LMB requested that designs submitted by applying artists complement the John Van Hamersveld frieze mural on the Art Center; artists were asked to refrain from using bold colors in their color palette; nature-themed designs were requested. The mural will be located in a quiet residential neighborhood and serve to upgrade the area.
DISCUSSION:
The 2021-2022 LMB class is proposing a project for City Council consideration.
Option 1 (LMB preferred):
Paint a mural on the south wall of the parking lot of MBAC and Manhattan Heights Community Center, facing the residential homes on 11th Street.
The mural will incorporate elements of nature and be congruent with the look and feel of MBAC, taking into account its iconic John Van Hamersveld frieze mural. The mural will be on the upper parking lot wall only, not the nearby retaining wall (photo attached). The mural will be designed and laid out by an artist selected by LMB and painted by community members, with artist’s direction. Up to 100 volunteers are expected to participate in the painting process. Volunteers will be organized by LMB and will each paint a section of the mural in increments of one hour per person, 20 people working at the same time. The south-most row of the parking lot will be blocked off for the duration of the painting event to accommodate supplies and small refreshments for the volunteers. The painting is anticipated to take up to two days, beginning in late April or early May.
This mural is intended to beautify the quiet residential neighborhood of 11th Street. LMB intends to conduct a neighborhood campaign to gather input on the proposed design. LMB will survey, canvas, and send postcards throughout the neighborhood. Results of this canvas will be presented to City Council in March.
The “Community Paint-A-Thon” will be either Saturday, April 30, or Saturday, May 7, 2022. LMB is requesting one to two MBAC staff for site support. LMB requests the use of the south-most row of parking spaces in the MBAC parking lot to be used for staging the event.
LMB will present the mural to the city at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in May.
Option 2:
Select an alternate location for the same mural, on highly visible private property. The alternate location has not been identified and will be sought out should Option 1 not be selected by City Council.
Process/Timeline:
If City Council approves the Mural Project concept and location, the following process will follow:
Community outreach and input January 17 through January 28, 2022
Cultural Arts Commission Review February 7, 2022
City Council Final Review March 1, 2022
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
If the City Council approves the Mural project, all residents within 1,000 feet of the project will be notified for public input. LMB has committed to undertaking a door-to-door outreach campaign to ensure public approval of the project, taking particular care to notice neighbors on 11th Street, from whose residences the mural will be visible directly.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney will provide an Artist Agreement for the donation of the mural, if needed.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. MBAC/MH Retaining Wall #1
2. MBAC/MH Retaining Wall #2
3. PowerPoint Presentation (Leadership Manhattan Beach)