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FINAL CASE Committee Meeting Minutes 3.20.25CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2025 IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 20 MARCH 2025 PAGE 1 | 5 1. ROLL CALL CASE Committee: Committee Chair Justin Chesney, Committee Vice-Chair Pedro Campos, Committee Members Kristen Dudding, Chuq Yang, Alejandro Cerda, Thomas Walsh, Kerri Thelen, Ian Grask, and Amy Lewis, Council Member Ruth Stanley Staff: Chief Cultural Officer Danita Dempsey and Special Event Coordinator Emily Dennis Public: Art Guild at Avon Executive Director Russell Frederickson and Vail Valley Art Guild Board Member Chris Sena The meeting was called to order at 12:30 p.m. Committee Chair Chesney invited all CASE Committee members to provide an introduction of themselves and their background. 2. MINUTES Committee Member Lewis mentioned that there was a name misspelled in the previous CASE Committee minutes from February. Committee Chair Chesney made a motion to accept the February 20, 2025, meeting minutes as amended. The motion was seconded by Committee Vice Chair Campos, and it passed unanimously. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT Chris Cena stated that as members of the Vail Valley Art Guild, we would like to thank you for inviting us. We want to keep informed about what is happening in Avon. Russell Frederickson seconded Chris’ statement. 4. STAFF UPDATE Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey asked the group if they had any questions about Resolution 25-06 that was passed by the Avon Town Council. She overviewed the premise of the resolution and clarified the term limits of the new committee members. The Committee inquired/commented: A. Is this the resolution that expanded the number of members on the CASE Committee? Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey notified the committee that she did not receive notification from any other members to be nominated as Committee Chair or as Committee Vice Chair. She explained that Committee Chair Chesney and Committee Vice Chair Campos were the only nominees for their respective positions. She then asked the group to vote by show of hands for each of the positions. Committee members voted unanimously in favor of Justin Chesney for Committee Chair. The Committee also voted unanimously in favor of Pedro Campos for Committee Vice Chair. 2. CURRENT ACTIVITY / PLANNING CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2025 IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 20 MARCH 2025 PAGE 2 | 5 Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey mentioned that the T-Mobile grant application is still being tweaked but should be ready for submission by Monday next week. She stated that they received five letters of support, including one from the Vail Valley Art Guild, that will be incredibly supportive of the application. She also noted that the submission period closes on Tuesday, March 25th and we will be notified within 60 days if the grant funding is awarded, explaining that this is a quarterly grant opportunity, and you have 12 months to implement and use the funds. The Committee commented/inquired: A. To confirm, our project would need to be completed by May 31, 2026. B. Is this the first year we are applying for this grant? Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey provided an update to the group about the Avon Egg Hunt, Salute to the USA talent, the AvonLIVE! booking process, mentioning that the lineup should be ready for release the week of April 14th. She also mentioned that SunsetLIVE! booking has been completed, and the lineup will be released soon. She stated that the committee will receive a more robust event update during May’s meeting. Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey updated the group about the Art Around Avon application and jury process, mentioning that the applications have closed, and the jurying process is now active. She noted that we received 31 applications for the program and that the first round of jurying will include a “yes”, “no”, or “maybe” from the jurors with first jury panel taking place on March 25th. The Committee commented/inquired: A. How many spots are available? Can you give us an example of something that “doesn’t fit”? B. Are we redoing the sidewalk art? For example, there is one across from The Westin. Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey explained that there are 22 available locations for the Art Around Avon program and that the second round of scoring from the jurors will help to narrow down which pieces will be accepted and make decisions on the appropriate location for each of those pieces. She also mentioned that the storm drain art falls under the Sustainability Coordinator’s purview. Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey updated the group on the large format mural, noting that when the call was released, there was feedback from artists regarding the stipend amount. She explained that the direction given to departments this year was to stay below the 2024 budget, but after hearing from multiple artists that reached out, we were able to use cost savings from the Fireworks in Avon budget to increase the mural stipend. She stated that artists have been thankful that Avon is listening and willing to adjust where possible. She mentioned that the budget amendment will go before the Town Council during the April budget amendment meeting. She also told the group that there are currently 11 applications for the mural from highly qualified artists, mentioning that this year we are jurying based on the artists’ portfolio rather than a specific design. The Committee commented/inquired: A. Is the funding increase for the mural still happening regardless of the grant? B. What are the artists saying? Is the stipend amount based on the scale of the work? C. Are there any applications from artists that have done previous murals for us? CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2025 IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 20 MARCH 2025 PAGE 3 | 5 D. I noticed that you can apply for up to $50,000 from the T-Mobile grant. Is there an opportunity to raise the funding ask before the application is submitted? E. Do we have a list of potential future mural locations? Or do the locations come up after a mural has been completed and the community is more receptive to another project? F. The theme of this mural is a little general. I’m not sure what the theme is. Are we trying to connect all the murals? G. The City of Delta bills themselves as the “city of murals” and they deliberately connect the murals with an agrarian theme which is interesting. H. If you apply for the grant and get more funding to increase the stipend, the artists that did not originally apply are completely missing out on the opportunity. The group I reached out to wouldn’t even promote it to their artists because the stipend was so low. Do you only offer more money to the people that applied? I. Have we notified artists that there is a potential for an increased stipend? Chief Cultural Dempsey stated that the mural stipend is based on cost per square foot, mentioning that some budgets may allocate up to $50.00 per hour for an artist’s work, however this is not a budget that Avon can afford. She mentioned that some of the artists have been very open in conversation about what the compensation has been from other municipal governments and that Avon is within that range, although on the lower side. She also mentioned that there is no formal list of potential mural locations for the future and that each mural we currently have is unique to its location so there is not a plan to connect the projects. She also mentioned that Jeremy Valesquez, the 2024 muralist, has reapplied for this year. Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey then explained that there have been more guidelines put in place regarding the theme of the design than in previous years and that we are envisioning a mural that honors our agricultural heritage and Latino culture, noting that the RFP contains more in-depth language. She mentioned that we will work with the selected artist to sketch a concept and design for the mural. She also stated that we have sent out communications to artists about the original increase in the stipend amount, but not about the potential for an increase based on awarded grant funding since awardees will not be announced until after the mural application period has closed. Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey reminded the group that all private rentals and non-funded special event permits have been placed on hold for 2025 due to the impacts of the East Nottingham Park Improvement project. She mentioned that this information was in previous CASE packet materials but would like to remind the group now that the new committee members have joined. The Committee commented/inquired: A. Are all the existing events set in stone? B. Are the new members aware of what’s happening and what this project entails? C. Are the smaller events, like high school graduations, considered as private rentals? Has there been outreach to those events about the impacts? D. Kudos to you and the special events team for all the work you’ve done on this. Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey mentioned that CASE staff are sitting in on status update calls with the construction and engineering teams, noting that it will be a tricky year for our events and the vendor load-in logistics are still a bit cloudy, noting that ingress and egress may change frequently throughout the summer. She mentioned that we do not know what the back parking lot will look like and there will be some changes to the south recreation path based on the work of CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2025 IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 20 MARCH 2025 PAGE 4 | 5 irrigation, power, fiber optics, and more. She noted that Pride in Park may be considerably impacted since there are 75+ vendors participating in the event. She stated that we are working very closely with our engineering team to work through all the logistics. She also mentioned that we have communicated with all the entities that have inquired about private rentals and non-funded special event permits, noting that everyone has been very understanding, and we certainly welcome them back to enjoy our upgraded facilities next year. Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey updated the group on peer community tours, welcoming new members to review earlier meeting materials for additional information. She mentioned that she sent out an invitation to the group to join us in Breckenridge on May 9th, noting that it will be a great opportunity for everyone and that it falls just after the Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) summit. The Committee commented/inquired: A. I don’t think I’ll be there. Does everyone know what CCI is? Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey provided an overview of the CCI summit, mentioning that it happens in May each year and is hosted by Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEDIT) and is an opportunity for everyone in the creative sector to come together and learn from one another. She noted that the Governor comes for the Governor’s Lunch and the summit includes an award ceremony, updates on potential funding opportunities, on site exhibitors, and an auction. She also stated that the summit offers tours to visit makerspaces and other relevant arts and culture highlights of the host community. The Committee commented/inquired: A. The year we went was excellent, especially since we were doing research on the Old Fire Station. It was great hearing from people who have done a project like that before and having the opportunity to meet people from other communities made it a really fun time. B. Where is this year’s summit? C. Can we still go if we are not part of the CASE group? Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey mentioned that our peer community tour on May 9th in Breckenridge will also be a great opportunity to meet people from a similar community who have been doing arts and cultural work for a very long time. She also confirmed for the group that this year’s CCI summit is in Grand Junction and that anyone is welcome to participate in the summit as an individual if they are not part of the CASE group. Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey asked the group to review the Example Strategic Plan language and documents linked in the packet materials. She noted that if we are awarded the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant funding, then that work will begin very soon. She mentioned that we should know before the end of April if we received the funding. She encouraged the group to review the plans and add their comments for review, noting that if we do not receive the grant this year, we will reevaluate which could mean reapplying when the application reopens or potentially going to Council. The Committee commented/inquired: A. Is there any opportunity with Colorado OEDIT to apply for other art grants or strategic funding? CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2025 IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 20 MARCH 2025 PAGE 5 | 5 Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey mentioned that we are always open to new funding opportunities and that we work closely with Sustainable Strategies DC to support our grant writing. She noted that the Deputy Town Manager plays a large role in overseeing our grants and determines which ones should be considered a priority. She asked Committee Chair Chesney if he could overview the brand ambassador responsibilities of the CASE Committee members. Committee Chair Chesney stated that being a brand ambassador really spells out what we are here to do within the Town of Avon and how we can provide feedback on the events. He encouraged the committee members to go out and be as involved as possible in the events and take notes to bring back for discussion. He stated that being an ambassador means being friendly and approachable and helping spread important information to our fellow community members about events and opportunities in Avon. Committee Chair Chesney stated that committee members continue to express passion for their community by showing up at events and being present at the meetings, mentioning that it is okay to miss them because life happens and if you are actively trying to attend as many events and meetings as possible, that is what matters. He asked returning committee members to provide additional input if they would like. The Committee commented/inquired: A. I think you nailed it. It’s helpful to see events through a different lens and we can be very helpful with that. B. Be ready for any calls to action if Danita seeks support at Town Council meetings. C. It was particularly helpful when we showed up at the Town Council meeting for the Lot 351 discussion. Chief Cultural Officer Dempsey thanked committee members for their input, stating that they are champions of the work CASE is doing. She proceeded to provide a brief update to the committee on current planning to bring XTERRA back to our community. She mentioned that she has been working closely with Beaver Creek event staff and the XTERRA producers to negotiate the best format for the event so that it will succeed in our community. She noted that there is great support to bring the event back and they are targeting the second week in August in perpetuity. She also mentioned to the group that there will be additional discussions in May or June about potentially bringing a bluegrass festival to Avon and that our venue offers an opportunity for the event to grow. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 1:17 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Emily Dennis Special Events Coordinator