Loading...
Cultural and Heritage 2012/11/15MINUTES CULTURAL AND HERITAGE COMMISSION MEETING LOCATION TIME Downtown Anaheim Community Center; 250 E. Center St., Anaheim, CA November 15, 2012; 6:30 p.m. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT STAFF PRESENT Alone Larsen, Chair Janis Heckel, Community Services Superintendent Chris Maya, Vice-Chair Jane Newell, Heritage Services Manager Erin Benedict Kelly Castillo GUESTS Andrew Deneau Mike Anderson, OC Symphony Al Jabbar Dorothy Rose, OC Symphony Gus Roditis - ABSENT A G E N D A A C T I O N T A K E N 1. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting of the Cultural and Heritage Commission was called to order by Chair Larsen at 6:35 p.m. 2. SCHEDULED COMMUNICATION: Janis announced that she received a call from Nina Rattner of the Anaheim Performing Arts Center Foundation (APACF) saying she was unable to attend this meeting and requested to reschedule to a later time. 3. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: Mike Anderson, President of the OC Symphony and Project RYTMO, attended the meeting, along with Dorothy Rose, and shared some information about the RYTMO arts programs out of the curriculum at high schools, and Chair Larsen noted that she just read that Anaheim High School has added them back to their core curriculum. 4. CORRESPONDENCE: Janis shared the newsletter from the Anaheim Art Association with the Commissioners. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Vice-Chair Maya made a motion to approve the minutes for the September 20, 2012 meeting; Commissioner Deneau made a second and the motion passed. 6. GALLERIES SUBCOMMITTEE: Vice-Chair Maya noted that they will be closing out the current show soon. He discussed possibly moving some of the plants out of the gallery to allow for more display space, and having some permanent pieces on display that are owned by the Gallery. If that is pursued, he discussed the need for guidelines drawn up by the subcommittee regarding those pieces, and suggested that they should represent the area, i.e., Orange County, and they should be in a permanent type of media, not something that will fade over time. Chair Larsen thanked city staff for providing her with the schedule for the Center Gallery and announced that the next exhibit will be mixed mediums by various artists from the Anaheim Art Association. She requested that city staff send the show dates to Michael Buss from the Arts Council so they can be listed in their newsletter, and also reminded the Commissioners that one of them should be attending each Arts Council meeting. Chair Larsen asked Janis to send the Arts Council meeting dates to the Commissioners so they can have them on their calendars. Vice-Chair Maya also suggested that one commissioner from the subcommittee should be present at the installation of new exhibits in the Gallery. Chair Larsen reported that the Center Gallery street sign has been installed and it looks wonderful. She also noted that Janis will be having signs made for each exhibit as well. Commissioner Deneau asked if there was at this time, but she is hoping to be able to find some space in the Carnegie Library Building. She noted that there are a couple of small boutique spots that would be available to use for the next Art Crawl. Commissioner Deneau made a suggestion that students from the Art Department at Cal State Fullerton may be willing to man the Promenade Gallery space, since that has been a problem in the past. Vice-Chair Maya noted that Fullerton College students also held a show of Historic Mexican Devotional Art that was spectacular. Cultural and Heritage Commission November 15, 2012 - Page 2 A G E N D A A C T I O N T A K E N 7. ART FACILITIES SUBCOMMITTEE: Commissioner Deneau reported that there has still not been any response from City Council, and that he and Chair Larsen plan to meet with the two new Council Members in January to discuss the report. He noted that Chair Larsen sent congratulatory emails to the newly elected Council Members. He also stated that the luncheon with APACF will be held on Tuesday, December 11, and it will be very informal, getting to know each other better. 8. HERITAGE FORUM THEATRE: Commissioner Deneau reported that he and Chair Larsen walked through the theatre recently, and as it is currently for sale, they would like to see it acquired by the city for use for performing arts in Anaheim. 9. AT&T PROPERTY: Commissioner Deneau also reported that the AT&T property has been sold, but he heard that there have been some problems with the sale and it may be available again in the future. He would like this property to also be considered for performing arts in Anaheim. He also stated that the AT&T building -10 years, so that could also become available. He in the downtown area. Commissioner Deneau stated that he would like to see the city acquire the Heritage Forum, and much like the City National Grove, make it available for rentals, with the income being used to further arts and culture within the city. To that end, Commissioner Deneau made a motion that the Cultural & Heritage Commission recommend to City Council that the City of Anaheim acquire the Heritage Forum for performing arts public use. Commissioner Jabbar seconded the motion, and discussion ensued on the merits of making this recommendation at this time, including concerns about the financial situation in the city. Commissioner Deneau stated that the purchase of the Heritage Forum was already mentioned to the Mayor and Council Members in the meetings he and Chair Larsen had with them, and that this would simply be a formal recommendation following up on those conversations. Vice-Chair Maya mentioned that this topic could also be shelved and discussed for a vote in January; Commissioner Deneau would like to move forward now while the property is still for sale. He also stated that they discussed with the City Manager the possibility of Commissioner Deneau restated the motion and Chair Larsen called for a vote; the motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Deneau also made a motion to recommend to City Council that the City of Anaheim acquire the AT&% parking lot and AT&T building if they become available for public use of cultural and arts purposes. Commissioner Jabbar seconded the motion, and then stated that he thinks it would be better to make all of the recommendations at the same time instead of piecemeal. Therefore, the motion and second were rescinded and Commissioner Deneau then made a motion to recommend to City Council that the City of Anaheim acquire the Heritage Forum Theatre, the AT&T property at Anaheim Boulevard and Lincoln, and the AT&T Property at Lemon and Lincoln for public cultural and heritage use purposes. Commissioner Castillo made a second, and stated that it seems like a huge recommendation to make. Commissioner Deneau stated he wants to be sure that the City Council is aware that all three properties are worthwhile so that if/when they are available, they will already be on their radar to move forward with purchasing them. Chair Larsen called for a vote, and the motion passed unanimously. Janis stated that she will inform the Commission when the memo has been approved by Terry Lowe and the information forwarded to the City Manager and City Council. 10. CHAMPION FOR THE ARTS ANAHEIM ARTS COUNCIL FUNDRAISER: Chair Larsen noted that the Commission participated in the fundraiser last year and they discussed whether to participate this year. After discussion, they decided not to participate. 11. INFORMATION ITEMS: A. Commissioner Benedict: Commissioner Benedict reported that 65 vendors and artists participated in the recent Art Crawl, which was the most so far, but attendance was low due to the cold weather. B. Commissioner Castillo: No report. Cultural and Heritage Commission November 15, 2012 - Page 3 A G E N D A A C T I O N T A K E N C. Commissioner Deneau: No report. D. Commissioner Jabbar: Commissioner Jabbar reported that a community group is interested in restoring the mural on the wall across the street from . The cost is estimated to be around $16,000; they have not raised the money to do that to date. Janis noted that the murals by Emigdio Vasquez are protected, and his family would need to be contacted and approve any restoration that takes place with his murals. Commissioner Jabbar stated that this group did contact Mr. Vasquez and that is where the cost estimate came from. E. Chair Larsen: Chair Larsen shared an article from the LA Times from Saturday, November 3, about the Packing House. F. Vice-Chair Maya: Vice-Chair Maya reported that Council Member Gail Eastman did attend the Art Crawl on Saturday and visited the Center Gallery. G. Commissioner Roditis: Commissioner Roditis was absent. H. Staff: Janis shared that the Planning Department has found another grant opportunity for the ARTIC art project, Art Speak, and they should notify the city by early January whether or not we have been selected to continue in the application process. Jane announced that she and volunteers will be decorating the Mother Colony and Woelke-Stoffel house for Christmas on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will be open the first two Saturdays in December and still have the decorations up on the first Saturday in January. th Dorothy Rose distributed flyers to the Commissioners for the December 9 performance of the OC Symphony Orchestra along with the Claremont Concert Choir at the Anaheim First Christian Church. They will also have a silent auction, and perhaps a voice auction to raise funds to support the Orchestra. Ms. Rose announced that the OC Symphony will be performing a free concert with the All-American Boys Choir at Pearson Park Theatre on Saturday, June 15, 2013. She also announced that they will be the presenting entertainment for the opening of the Grand Plaza on January 12 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Thursday, February 23, 2013, 9. NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be held on at 6:30 p.m. at the Downtown Anaheim Community Center, 250 E. Center Street, Anaheim. 10. ADJOURNMENT: Chair Larsen adjourned the meeting at 7:34 p.m.