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Home My WebLink About02-08-2022 MinutesCity of Auburn Arts Commission, and Parks & Recreation Board Combined Meeting Tuesday, February 8, 2022 Meeting Minutes Present: Arts Commission: Tammy Dwight, John Harris, Trisenda Mayfield*, Ann Marie Natali*, Tori Olsen, Dinah Rau*, Kent Sprague. *attended virtually through Zoom. Excused: Kristine De Leon, Eydie Leighty, Ana Kear Unexcused: Kenneth Greg Watson. Parks & Recreation Board: Michael Hassen, Wayne Osborne, Peter Di Turi, Lisa Russell, Katie Helton*. *attended virtually through Zoom. Guests: Chris Olds, community member; Tony Russell, community member Staff: Parks & Recreation Director, Daryl Faber; Parks Admin Assistant, Julie Mehl; Arts & Events Manager, Julie Krueger; Arts Assistant, Mary Ellen Bowers I. Call to Order a. Call to Order – Vice Chair of the Arts Commission, Ann Marie Natali called the meeting to order at 4:36 PM. b. Approval of Arts Commission minutes – Vice Chair Natali briefly welcomed Commissioners to the meeting, and asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the November 2, 2021 Arts Commission meeting. Commissioner Dwight moved that the minutes be accepted as written. Commissioner Sprague seconded the motion. Vice Chair Natali called for a vote, and the motion passed unanimously. II. Call to Order Parks Board a. Call to Order - Chair of the Parks Board, Michael Hassen called the meeting to order. b. Approval of Parks Board minutes – the Parks Board approved the minutes of the December 2021 meeting. III. Tour of Auburn Arts & Culture Center a. Parks and Recreation Director, Daryl Faber welcomed the combined Arts Commission and Parks Board to the Auburn Arts & Culture Center. Faber noted that this was a combined meeting with members attending both in person, and virtually through a Zoom connection. b. Introductions – Staff, Arts Commissioners, Parks Board members, and guests briefly introduced themselves and their affiliations. c. Director Faber gave an overview of the Arts & Culture Center project, covering the history, acquisition, funding and transformation of the building. Faber noted that the transformation is taking place in two phases. Phase One, the upstairs remodel, is expected to be completed by August 2022. Faber walked through the space indicating the use and finishes planned for each area of the project. Arts & Events Manager Krueger toured the space using the webcam on her tablet so those attending the meeting via Zoom were able to see the progress on the first floor. She discussed the different programming intended for each space. Plans for Phase 2 were also discussed and Krueger noted that staff are currently preparing an application for Washington State Heritage Capital Funding for Phase 2, the downstairs portion of the transformation. IV. News and Updates a. Auburn Avenue Theater Status Update – Director Faber gave an update on the theater which is currently closed due to unsafe conditions caused by the fire and subsequent demolition of the Max House Apartment building on Main Street. Manager Krueger explained that events scheduled at the Ave Theater have been either moved to alternate venues in Auburn, or cancelled if no alternative could be found. Krueger noted that the Arts Department will continue to have a rich performing arts program with performances taking place at the Auburn Performing Arts Center, the gym at Les Gove Park, the event room at Bogey’s at the Auburn Golf Course, live performances at outdoor City events, and summer camps. Krueger noted that the community has always shown great support for performing arts in Auburn. b. Parks, Recreation & Open Space (PROS) Planning Efforts – Director Faber gave an overview of the PROS Plan currently under development. Every 6 years the plan is reviewed. The current review will include a deferred maintenance plan, a review of all parks and open spaces and will provide options for citizens to participate in the process through a survey. c. Plaza Park Redesign – Director Faber went over the plan for redesigning Plaza Park in front of the Legacy Plaza Senior Living Apartments in cooperation with the property developer Berger Partnership. Features of the park will enable citizens to enjoy a break in downtown Auburn with ample seating, active areas and attractive, visual design components including two poured concrete plinths to be used for installation of sculptures from Auburn’s Downtown Sculpture Gallery program. d. Upcoming Jury opportunity – Manager Krueger announced that Lucile Chich, project manager with the Sound Transit Art Program will attend the Arts Commission meeting on March 1, 2022 Chich will explain the process for selecting public art for the new Sounder Station Garage in Auburn. e. Sculpture Gallery Program – Krueger announced that the final sculpture from the 2021-2022 Outdoor Sculpture Gallery will be installed on Thursday, February 10th. The plinth on Main Street that had been inside the construction fencing where the Max House Apartment building was demolished will now display “Athena” a sculpture by Jenny Ellsworth made from recycled semi-truck gears. Arts Assistant Bowers noted that the Call to Artists for the 2022-2023 is currently underway and already has 34 submissions. The Arts Commission was informed that the jury period for this gallery will take place in early April. Bowers handed out brochures of the City’s current Sculpture Gallery. V. Adjourn Arts Commission - There being no further business, Arts Commissioner Sprague moved to adjourn the meeting, Commissioner Dwight seconded the motion, Vice Chair Natali called the vote, the motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 5:23 PM. VI. Adjourn Parks Board - There being no further business, Michael Hassen, Parks Board Chair, adjourned the meeting at 5:26 PM. Respectfully submitted, Mary Ellen Bowers Approved the _____ day of _________, _______. __________________________________ ___________________________________ (Chair Arts Commission ) (Staff) __________________________________ ___________________________________ (Chair Parks & Recreation Board) (Staff)