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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025.03.20 CPAA CULTURAL AND PUBLIC ART COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA 6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 20, 2025 BROOKLYN CENTER CITY HALL, COUNCIL COMMISSION ROOM Members: Nahid Khan, Chair; Michelle Thayer, Vice Chair; Gail Ebert, Sabra Love, Kari Kelly, and Marie Martin. (One vacancy.) Members at Large / Affiliates: Denise Butler, CieJay Hanson and Cyd Haynes. (One vacancy.) City Staff: Liaison Raquel Diaz Goutierez and Director LaToya Turk. Council Liaison: Mayor April Graves. 1. CALL TO ORDER by Chair Khan. (3 minutes) 2. ROLL CALL conducted by Liaison Goutierez. (5 minutes) 3. COUNCIL LIAISON REMARKS by Mayor Graves (2 minutes) 4. BREATHING EXERCISE led by Liaison Goutierez. (5 minutes) 5. MEMBER INTRODUCTIONS led by Chair Khan. (3 minutes) 6. STAFF PRESENTATION: “The Opportunity Site as Opportunity for Aesthetic Considerations”, by Ian Alexander, Manager, Economic Development Division, Community Development Department. (15 minutes for presentation + 10 minutes for discussion) 7. ADOPTION OF AGENDA led by Chair Khan. (2 minutes) 8. APPROVAL OF MINUTES of January 23, 2025 meeting, led by Chair Khan. (2-5 minutes) 9. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS conducted by Liaison Goutierez. (2 minutes) 10. OLD BUSINESS: Conducted by Chair Khan. a. Update on filling vacant positions, application form, Commissioner member term lengths and expiration dates, by Liaison Goutierez. (2 minutes) b. Updates regarding Commission Work Plan. (5 minutes) c. Definitions of Beautification and Public Art. (5 minutes) d. Grant writing subcommittee volunteers. (5 minutes) e. Review of draft of Commission Bylaws and next steps. (5 minutes) 11. NEW BUSINESS: Conducted by Chair Khan. a. Commissioner Report. (5 minutes) b. Staff Liaison, Director and Council Liaison Updates. (5-10 minutes) c. Staff / other City Commission Presentations: Upcoming. (5 minutes) d. Commission Members’ Comments, Questions and Additional Topics. (5 minutes) 12. OPEN FORUM: Conducted by Chair Khan. (5 minutes) Opportunity for residents and members of the public to address the Commission. 13. ADJOURNMENT. 1 BROOKLYN CENTER CULTURAL AND PUBLIC ART COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 6:30 p.m., Thursday, January 23, 2025 BROOKLYN CENTER CITY HALL Members: Nahid Khan, Chair; Gail Ebert, Kari Kelly, Sabra Love, Marie Martin, Michelle Thayer. Members at Large / Affiliates: Cyd Haynes, CieJay Hanson and Denise Butler. City Staff: Liaison Raquel Diaz Goutierez and Director LaToya Turk. Council Liaison: Mayor April Graves. 1. CALL TO ORDER at 6:30 p.m. by Chair Khan, followed by Land Acknowledgement. 2. ROLL CALL and Quorum, conducted by Liaison Goutierez. Members: All present except Commissioner Ebert (excused absence). Jaclyn Frost has resigned from the Commission. Quorum of four Commissioners was met. Members at Large: Cyd Haynes was present, CieJay Hanson was not present (unexcused absence), Denise Butler arrived late (marked present upon arrival). 3. COUNCIL LIAISON INTRODUCTION: Mayor Graves made remarks about importance of the Commission and the work of the Commissioners. 4. BREATHING EXERCISE was led by Liaison Goutierez. 5. MEMBER INTRODUCTIONS: conducted by Chair Khan. Each Member and Member at Large introduced themselves along with Liaison Goutierez, Director Turk and Council Liaison / Mayor Graves. 6. ELECTION OF OFFICERS for 2025, conducted by Liaison Goutierez who explained procedures. Member Love and Member Martin motioned to nominate Member Khan to continue as Chair and Member Thayer seconded the motion. Members unanimously re- elected Member Khan as Chair. After discussion by Commissioners, Chair Khan selected Commissioner Thayer as Vice Chair. 7. ADOPTION OF AGENDA conducted by Chair Khan. Member Love moved to adopt Agenda and Member Kelly seconded it. Motion unanimously adopted by Members. 8. APPROVAL OF MINUTES of the November 21, 2024, meeting, conducted by Chair Khan. Member Love moved to adopt the minutes and Member Kelly seconded it. Motion unanimously adopted by Members. 9. GUIDELINES AND MEETING PROCEDURES, reviewed by Liaison Goutierez. City Calendar and overall City web site was introduced. 2 Continued onboarding work, including review of relevant documents: Establishing Resolution for the Commission, Respectful Workplace Policy, City Business Ethics Policy, and Council Meeting Decorum Guidelines. Commissioners reminded to keep all Commission documents organized and handy for review, and to bring them to meetings. 10. 2025 MEETING CALENDAR: led by Chair Khan. Proposal to shift to 3rd Thursdays of the month and to meet every two months (March, May, July, September, November, and then in January 2026) was discussed. Chair or Liaison may call special meetings. Vice Chair Thayer motioned to approve the schedule and Member Kelly seconded the motion. Members unanimously adopted the motion. 11. OLD BUSINESS: Conducted by Chair Khan. a. Commission Term Lengths and Commissioner Term Expiration Dates. After discussion with City Clerk Barb Suciu, Director Turk and Liaison Goutierez, the action item was that there will be a follow up meeting(s) among staff to address: (i) discrepancies regarding Commission term lengths (2 years in Resolution and Member information page; 3 years on Commission page), as well as discussion about extending this Commission term of office to 3 years from current 2 years, (ii) readjustment of dates of Commissioner terms of office, because of 3 original Member resignations and 2 new appointees, plus 2 vacancies still to be filled, while addressing need to stagger dates, and (iii) procedures for reappointment of Commissioners at end of their terms vs. opening positions again to consider new applicants. b. Update on Filling Vacant Positions and Application Form. Liaison Goutierez explained City publicity and outreach to recruit new applicants to this Commission and Director Turk reminded Commissioners to help with sharing information about all City Commissions to contacts, and encourage them to apply. City Clerk Suciu gave an update about the Application Form and upcoming work to improve all City Commission procedures and processes to standardize them. c. Development of a Commission Work Plan and work on Commission Bylaws. Liaison Goutierez has created documents for use by Chair, Vice Chair and Liaison to manage tasks and work flow, including roles and responsibilities, timeline of tasks and deadlines. Liaison Goutierez will be working on Commission Bylaws. City Clerk Suciu will provide template for Commission Bylaws. When a draft is ready, there will be opportunity for Commissioner review to add specific items concerning this Commission. Once a draft is ready, it will be reviewed by other City Staff, the City Attorney, and then will go to the City Council for approval. 3 d. Update on Beautification and Public Art Definition. After receiving suggestions from some of the Commissioners, Liaison Goutierez is developing short summary versions of keywords and will share at next Commission meeting. Vice Chair Thayer asked about extra time for Commissioners to send further suggestions, and the deadline for this was set for Mon. Feb. 3. e. Update on Funding Opportunities and Funding Agencies. Liaison Goutierez is working on a system to track grant applications, application deadlines and requirements. Several grant opportunities have been identified, and Member-at-Large Cyd Haynes has provided us information for three more grant opportunities through Old National Bank, the Joyce Foundation and the State Parks Board. 12. NEW BUSINESS: Conducted by Chair Khan. a. Commissioner Report was postponed because of extensive meeting time spent on Commissioner, Staff and Council Liaison introductions. b. Staff Liaison and Director Updates. Liaison Goutierez shared work as City Artist-in-Residence on mural with students at Early College Academy in BC. Director Turk updated Commissioners on City’s Cultural Awareness Months programming, particularly upcoming Black History Month. She also shared work with the Prevention Academy at the Strong Cities organization, and working out how to apply it in BC, and this Commission can play a role. There will be Shingle Creek Cleanups as well as health-related Awareness Months programming, and this Commission will be invited to take part in the Parks and Recreation Department Halloween Party. All Commissioners are welcome to join the planning teams for these events, and to let Director Turk (and Liaison Goutierez) know. Liaison Goutierez said she would make sure to give Armando Oster, Community Engagement staff member, all the Commissioner emails for direct updates from the City. c. Staff and other City Commission Presentations: In March, there will be presentation on the Opportunity site by one of the Economic Development Division staff members; the planning for it will include provisions for public art. Another upcoming presentation is from the Parks and Recreation Department and Commission. They’re dealing with cross contamination of recycling with trash in our city parks and need to redesign containers in some way to reduce cross contamination. They would like to partner with us to get feedback on designs of containers and also decals. The plan for the year is to have City departments talk to us about what they're doing that could have a cultural and public art dimension for us to provide feedback. 4 Council Liaison / Mayor Graves shared insights from a conference by the Mayors Institute of Design that emphasized placemaking, which could be applied to the Opportunity Site and elsewhere in the City. We “need to do a better job highlighting the natural assets that we have as a city, which of course are the people, the cultures, the art, but also our parks, our trails, our natural environment, our Shingle Creek. Even just the high water-table, which can sometimes be a difficulty with development, can also be an asset if you find ways to daylight it. Hearing that they're coming to talk to you about it is really exciting.” She was pleased to hear about our possible partnership with the Parks and Recreation Commission and Department. d. Additional items. None were suggested from the floor. 13. OPEN FORUM: Conducted by Chair Khan. The chair of the BC Planning Commission, Alexander Koening, was in attendance, and shared some reflections about the mission, vision, purpose and goals of the Cultural and Public Arts Commission. Chair Khan reminded everyone of the Master Plan for Beautification and Public Art for the City of Brooklyn Center. 14. ADJOURNMENT. Vice Chair Thayer motion to adjourn meeting and Member Martin seconded the motion at 8:40 p.m. Members unanimously adopted the motion. Public Art Definition Brooklyn Center's public art showcases original works that are accessible to all, reflecting the city's diverse community values. It aims to evoke meaning, promote well-being and inspire connections, by bridging cultural gaps and fostering deeper understanding. Public art represents a tangible expression of our shared humanity, enriching the community's aesthetic and cultural landscape. It fosters pride, unity and a sense of belonging, by celebrating creativity, enhancing local stories that strengthen the city's identity and creating a distinct visual presence for residents, businesses, and visitors alike. Public Art can be permanent or temporary, visual or performance-based, installations, events or social engagement activities, artist-designed infrastructure, architectural elements, functional amenities, or wayfinding markers. Beautification Beautification improves the appearance and aesthetic quality of public spaces, buildings, and environments. It typically involves cleaning up neglected areas, creating landscaping, adding decorative elements, and improving urban design. It makes places more visually appealing, welcoming, and pleasant to live and work in or visit while enriching the community through cultural exchange, shared experiences, and the celebration of the city's diverse heritage. Beautified areas can enhance the overall quality of life, and attract more residents, visitors and businesses, by inviting safety and spurring local economic growth. Combining these elements can boost the tourism appeal of a culturally vibrant city, making it a place that draws people in while deepening connections among its residents.