Agenda

Back to Calendar Return

Agenda Item 34.

City Council Meeting

Meeting Date:	02/07/2017
FROM:	City Manager

Subject:

Centennial Legacy Public Art

RECOMMENDATION

Consider allocating up to $50,000 from the Public Art Trust Fund for the Centennial Legacy Sculpture by artist Carlos Terrés celebrating Brea's rich history and promising future.

BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION

Since January 2016 a Steering Committee made up of community members representing many cross-sections of the City have met monthly to plan celebratory festivities for Brea's Centennial. In addition to a community parade, picnic and birthday celebration, the Committee has long expressed interest in leaving a lasting legacy to live on well past the year 2017. Their desire is to achieve this via a public art sculpture to complement the City's renowned Art in Public Places Program, which now boasts over 165 public sculpture. The Steering Committee has received a commitment from Brea's former Artist in Residence, Carlos Terrés of Brea's Sister City - Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico, to create a unique piece for Brea's Centennial to be installed at Lagos de Moreno park/Laurel Elementary School Playground.

Over the past year staff has remained engaged with representatives from the Brea Olinda Unified School District who are in support of using Laurel School as the location for this legacy piece, recognizing the significance of the artwork residing there. The District is willing to partner on any cooperative measures necessary to address immediate installation, as well as long-term maintenance of the sculpture.

The artist has confirmed that the sculpture alone will cost $66,000 and staff is conservatively estimating that the additional costs, including international shipping, installation, structural footings, etc., could bring the total cost to approximately $100,000. The City has a public art trust account which could be used for a project of this kind, and staff is recommending that up to $50,000 of the available $73,000 be allocated towards this project. In addition, the Centennial Steering Committee will continue to seek sponsorships from those who may be interested in funding a special project like this and any surplus in funds raised would be recommended to be reimbursed back into the City's public art trust account.

COMMISSION/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

At their most recent meetings the Art in Public Places Committee and the Cultural Arts Commission reviewed staff's recommendation and supported the project, with the request that Council would consider reimbursing the public art trust account with any surplus in funds raised by the Centennial Steering Committee.

Staff also provided updates of the project to the Parks, Recreation & Human Services Commission, as well as the Brea-Olinda Unified School District, and both groups gave their support.

FISCAL IMPACT/SUMMARY

Up to $50,000 from the available $73,925 from the public art trust account would be allocated to the Centennial Legacy Public Art project.

This account can be used to fund projects such as installing city-owned public art, maintaining city-owned public art, offering community art engagement programming, art education programming, or technological enhancements of the APP Program.

The goal of the Centennial Steering Committee is to continue raising sponsorship funds for this project, and in accordance with the APP Advisory Committee and Cultural Arts Commission's requests, staff would recommend that if a surplus in funds is raised that the public art trust account be reimbursed.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

William Gallardo, City Manager
Prepared by: Carrie Hernandez, Cultural Arts & Human Services Manager
Concurrence: Chris Emeterio, Assistant City Manager/Community Services Director