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CASE Committee Meeting Minutes 1-21-21-FINALCASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 VIRTUAL ZOOM MEETING CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 21 JANUARY 2021 PAGE 1 | 4 1. ROLL CALL Present- Committee Members: Pedro Campos, Chris Cofelice, Jason Denhart, Timothy Haley, Lisa Mattis and Kathy Ryan Town Council: Amy Phillips and Lindsay Hardy Town Staff: Cultural, Arts and Special Events Manager Danita Dempsey, Town Manager Eric Heil, General Government Manager Ineke de Jong and General Government Intern Emily Myler Absent- Committee Members: Ruth Stanley General Government Manager Ineke de Jong asked the record to reflect the meeting was called to order at 12:01 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Committee member Chris Cofelice made a motion to approve the minutes from 11/12/20, Committee member Kathy Ryan seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of six to zero 3. PUBLIC COMMENT Kathleen Walsh attempted to make a public comment but couldn’t unmute herself on the Zoom platform. Committee Chair Lisa Mattis suggested moving the public comment item to later on the agenda. 4. STAFF UPDATE Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey discussed the CASE Committee Packet Materials (available on www.avon.org/packets). She directed the Committee to the Overview of the Avon Recreation Center Mural Project on pages 3 and 4 of the Packet. The Committee commented/inquired: A. The location of the murals is key to deciding what art the Committee selects as it is highly visible for pedestrians walking between the Main Street Mall and Nottingham Park and can be used to add continuity to the area as well as serve as a landmark. B. Will the mural walls stay up for ever or will they be destroyed when the Recreation Center is expanded? C. How strict are these submission requirements? D. Denver has murals which are very urban in theme which is not appropriate for Avon. E. Language regarding non-urban themes and images of non-urban murals from Denver should be added as a reference to artists. F. Will Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey will be able to guide artists personally while they create their submissions. G. It should be clear that artists should speak with Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey before submitting their work. H. Artists can be trusted to filter and interpret the guardrails on the call for entry. Art should challenge expectations and be provocative, within reason. I. The committee might be “jumping the gun” on starting the project without first establishing an overall vision for art in Avon to tie it to. CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 VIRTUAL ZOOM MEETING CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 21 JANUARY 2021 PAGE 2 | 4 Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey said the call for entry sets guardrails for artists understand what the Town is looking for and give them four theme options to choose from. Any artist can contact her through the online platform where the call for entry is posted. Then later during the jury process, jurors can visit with artists while they deliberate and then will likely be able to select from multiple renditions submitted by each artist. She pointed The Committee to the Town of Avon Capital Improvement Plan for information on the Town’s overarching vision. Town Manager Heil responded the East side of the Recreation Center on Mikaela Lane is likely to remain as-is for the foreseeable future. There is little risk of the art being destroyed before becoming outdated or deteriorated. There is a vision for the Main Street Mall art including the bronze sculptures and Lettuce Shed Lane mural. Overall, he concluded that with existing plans for the Park and the Mall, the guardrails in the call for entry set enough of a boundary for artists. The Committee commented/inquired: A. Town Council has already requested the Strategic Plan be more visionary. The CASE Committee can provide some input on vision relating to arts and culture. B. It would be ideal if submissions are outside what we imagine, to support creativity and artistic integrity. If submissions aren’t to the Committee’s standards, they don’t have to select one. C. The mural project is an incremental step in the overall program of art in Avon. It doesn’t have a large budget and can be easily changed so it doesn’t require as much planning and analysis. D. Experts have recommended against being too prescriptive with the call for entry and allowing artists to be creative, the Committee can always choose not to install any of the submitted artwork. E. Recreation should be included in the allowed themes. F. The Committee can use Bang the Table to gauge the public’s reaction to the mural before it is installed. G. The Committee should be more conservative when selecting art that “starts conversation.” H. Deciding on a mural might help the Committee establish their vision and would be better than over-analyzing Town Manager Heil said that Bang the Table may complicate the process, but the Recreation Center is a public building and allowing the public to be involved in the murals could inspire a feeling of ownership over the building. H e is comfortable with giving the artists more freedom if the guardrails are clear and Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey is available to council them during the submission and selection process. Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey added the Committee can start small with one wall or can cancel the project if anything goes awry. Town Manager Heil called to continue dialogue around vision in a later meeting. Committee Member Campos left the meeting at 12:56 p.m. Committee Member Haley left the meeting at 12:58 p.m. HOWARD ALLEN EVENTS Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey returned to page 2 of the Packet and introduced the organization Howard Allen Events, which has produced the Beaver Creek Arts Festival for 29 years and is looking to grow the event by moving to Avon’s Nottingham Park. The Committee commented/inquired: CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 VIRTUAL ZOOM MEETING CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 21 JANUARY 2021 PAGE 3 | 4 A. Will Howard Allen would be keeping the name “Beaver Creek Art Festival”? B. Is it bad to move the festival but keep the name? C. Is Beaver Creek aware of the move to Nottingham Park and will they allow Avon to use the name? D. The decision to use the name should be based on what is “right,” not the “ego” of the town. Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey responded that the name would be initially changed to “Avon Festival of the Arts (formerly Beaver Creek Art Festival)” to benefit from the brand equity of the well-established title, updated with the Avon name to avoid confusion. It is her understanding that Howard Allen Events has been working with Beaver Creek. Town Manager Heil said that keeping the “Formerly Beaver Creek Arts Festival” part of the title makes sense for the first few years until the event becomes established in Avon. Then the name can change to “Avon Festiva l of the Arts” to adhere to the Town’s branding. The Committee commented/inquired: A. Limited space in Beaver Creek has prevented the event from growing for about 10 years. Moving the event to Nottingham Park is a “win for everyone” but it is important not to cause friction between Avon and Beaver Creek Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey responded that she would make sure to work with Beaver Creek to avoid conflict. Town Manager Heil said that the Avon and Beaver Creek have grown closer and are working to collaborate more. He suggested that the Festival could be split between the two communities to benefit both. ART IN AVON GOOGLE EARTH MAP Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey brought up a Google Earth map which shows sites where art is located or planned in Avon to increase awareness of the Town’s art programs. She added that she is working with the Public Works Department to landscape and maintain the locations where art will be placed as well. Art locations on the map includes: a. Avon Recreation Center Mural project phases 1-3 (details on Packet page 3) b. Art Around Avon program sites (details on Packet page 4) c. Storm Drain Educational Art installations (details Packet page 5) d. Painted benches (details on Packet page 5) e. Musical instruments f. Historical markers g. River access spots h. Painted electrical boxes to be added The Committee commented/inquired: A. Most visitors enter Nottingham Park from the Main Street Mall and the mural walls of the Recreation Center is clearly visible from that path, so it is important to have an image on the map of the mural from the perspective of a pedestrian on the Main Street Mall. CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 VIRTUAL ZOOM MEETING CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 21 JANUARY 2021 PAGE 4 | 4 B. Council Member Phillips asked Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey to go into more detail on the Art Around Avon program budget and model. Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey detailed the Art Around Avon program on page 4 of the Packet. 5. PUBLIC COMMENT Committee Chair Mattis asked to come back to Public Comments and asked if Kathleen Walsh could unmute and provide her public comment. Ms. Walsh was still unable to unmute herself and left the meeting. 6. CLOSING STATEMENTS Committee Chair Mattis inquired about COVID-19’s impact on the summer event timeline and budget. Town Manager Heil responded that the Town is staying flexible for the time being . He said that the Town should try hard to host the events that were cancelled last summer and if the health orders block their attempts the Town will apply for variances . However, large, ticketed events will likely still not be allowed this summer and others are up in the air. Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey said Colorado Events Alliance is predicting quarter 3 of 2021 will be when larger events can resume. Council Member Phillips asked about the schedule for the Recreation Center Mural project selection process. Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey responded that the tentative deadline for submissions is Feb. 22 and the selected artist(s) will be notified on March 22 with the jury process between those dates. Any Committee members who want to sit on the jury should let her know. Town Manager Heil asked if the entire CASE Committee should sit on the mural selection jury. Committee Chair Mattis suggested the Committee form a Subcommittee to sit on the jury and then supplement it with experts in visual art. Town Manager Heil responded that Bang the Table can be used to engage both the public and experts in the decision. Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey presented the Town staff and others she would like to include on the jury. 7. FUTURE MEETING SCHEDULE Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey asked if the committee wanted to meet again in February The Committee commented/inquired: A. Committee Chair Mattis suggested Arts and Special Events Manager Dempsey send the Committee a written update in February and the Committee will plan to meet in March. B. Town Manager Heil suggested the Committee continue dialogue on Avon’s overall vision in the March meeting and suggested staff put together ideas to present beforehand for feedback. 8. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 1:41 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Emily Myler General Government Intern