The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About08/21/1990, C-10 - REQUEST TO APPROVE THE PUBLIC ART SELECTION FOR THE PALM STREET PARKING STRUCTURE LOCATED AT 842 PA 0111111P N,1111$ city of San IDIS o6Ispo TNG DATE: COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MW NUMBE e�D FROM: Ken Hampian, Assistant City Administrative Office Prepared By: Deb Hossli, Administrative AnalystiM SUBJECT: Request to approve the public art selection for the Palm Street Parking Structure located at 842 Palm Street. CAO RECOMMENDATION: Confirm the selection of copper palm tree sculptures created by Robin Smith and Randy Augsburger for the Palm Street Parking Structure and authorize the City Administrative Officer to enter into a contract with the artists not to exceed $9,000. DISCUSSION: Background As part of the design process for the. Palm Street Parking Structure, the southwest end wall of the Parking Structure was purposely left blank so that some form of visual art could be incorporated into the project at a future time (see attachment two and three) . As with the Marsh Street Parking Structure, it was the City Council's intention to sponsor a public art competition to select a design for the southwest end of the Parking Structure. $10,000 set was aside within the Parking Structure's budget to provide funding for the competition. Selection Process With the assistance of the Arts Council, a "Request for Proposal" (RFP) was prepared and made available to artists in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Monterey Counties for the Parking Structure Public Art Project. The RFP emphasized the Council's direction that elements of City's history be incorporated into the artwork (e.g. , the Spanish, Chinese, and Indian heritages) . As a result of these efforts, the City received eleven proposals from local artists. A committee composed of the project's architect, Andrew Merriam, the former City Project Coordinator, Candace Havens and three individuals involved in the local art community, Linnaea Phillips, Ruth Fash, and Mary LaPorte, was subsequently convened to review the art proposals submitted by each artist. At the conclusion of this review, four artists were selected to develop formal art proposals for the Committee's consideration. The Committee reconvened once the formal proposals were received and narrowed the field to two artists. The Committee held interviews with both artists to discuss their proposals and obtain additional information regarding installation techniques, long term maintenance and vandalism concerns. At the conclusion of the interviews, the Committee felt their concerns had been satisfied and unanimously selected the artwork submitted by Robin Smith and Randy Au sbur er. Ms. Smith's and Mr. Au sbur er's designs consist of copper palm tree sculptures with painted shadows. The palm V_�Q �d�li��lll city of san tuts oaispo COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT o Agenda Report Page Two trees will be affixed to the building, protrude two to three inches and extend from three feet above the base of the Parking Structure to the top. A model of Ms. Smith's and Mr. Augsburger's artwork will be available in the City Clerk's Office prior to the meeting date. In making their selection, the Committee was fully aware of the constraints associated with incorporating public art into the Palm Street Parking Structure. The existing grillwork and elevations of the building made it difficult to develop a design concept that worked architecturally and incorporated the elements of history associated with the site. In the context of reviewing all of the proposals, however, the Committee felt that the simplicity of the palm tree proposal best complemented the building even though the proposal lacked historical perspective. The Committee also felt that the palm tree proposal would be easily accepted and understood by the community (e.g. , palm trees, Palm Street Parking Structure, located on Palm Street etc. ) Architectural Review Commission Approval The copper palm tree sculptures were presented to the Architectural Review Commission (ARC) for formal approval during their July 30, 1990 meeting. The ARC unanimously approved the sculptures and requested the artists to consider night lighting of the artwork. City Council Approval As a final step in the process, the City Council is requested to confirm the selection of Ms. Smith's and Mr. Augsburger's copper palm tree sculptures. Should the Council approve the selection, staff is requesting authorization to enter into a contract with the artists, subject to the approval of the Administrative Officer, for an amount not to exceed $9,000. With respect to timing, it is anticipated that the artwork would be completed by December of this year. FISCAL IMPACT: $10,000 is available in the Parking Fund to finance the art project. To date, approximately $1,000 has been spent on creating the models to illustrate the artwork for the Selection Committee's review. Should the Council approve the copper palm tree sculptures, staff would use the remaining monies to contract with the artists for the artwork. 1111111,M11$ city of san Luis osispo ON COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Agenda Report Page Three CONCURRENCES: Both the Public Works Director and Finance Director have reviewed and approved this report. ALTBRNATIVBB: Alternative One - Reconvene the Selection Committee Under this alternative, the Council could determine that Ms. Smith's and Mr. Augsburger's proposal is not appropriate, and request the Parking Structure Art Selection Committee to reconvene and provide the Council with an alternative selection. The advantage to this proposal is that the project could continue without dramatically impacting its time-frame or budget. Staff is not supportive of pursuing this option as it is felt that an adequate review process has already taken place. The Parking Structure Public Art Selection Committee reviewed the four artists proposals in great detail prior to making a decision. It is the Selection Committee's opinion that the proposal selected worked well with the Parking Structure's design and would be the most readily accepted by the public. This assessment was further confirmed by the ARC's unanimous approval of the selection. Alternative. Two - Council Review of all Four Art Proposals Under this alternative, the Council could defer the -selection of 'j Ms. Smith's and Mr. Augsburger's artwork until a full review of the three remaining proposals had taken place. The advantage of this proposal is that it would provide the Council with an opportunity to review all the art proposals before making a final selection. Staff is not supportive of pursuing this option. Again, it is felt that an adequate review has already taken place via the Parking Structure Public Art Selection Committee and the ARC. In addition, requiring a full review of all the art proposals prior to making a decision could be perceived as undermining the role of the Selection Committee and ARC. ATTACffiMEN1B: * "i" - Vicinity Map * "2" - Full view of southwest end of Parking Structure * 03" - View from street of southwest end of Parking Structure ATTACHMENT 1 VICINITY MAP- 842 PALM PF �f ti V ti 4 _ V, POO Oil�cm ej 6 0.44 Ar At s e 4 r .. _.� � r � ..'s' J � � � I � , .,, n- E - sr °I ,: : :_ _ • ,1... y.+ �, a - � s ��, i .tY. 't i_r.i� a+fM'ii�`1�_ it�l� Y� ? a } H' t_ - ".�+' i ; .3_. � w (� E "'---- - a E E a ' • - t ,.. v;;. �j r �; ��V'p�P�Y. ~i�G 'a�ee. l-. e y _ r: -S l k � -• I i.- IV -.> - 7 - ...�1 ` 3 - s ... � Al t t mr k . N 1 - f I