Arts and Culture Commission - August 15, 2018 Minutes
The Regular Meeting of the Arts and Culture Commission of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held in the City Commission Room at City Hall at 5:00 o’clock p.m., Wednesday, August 15, 2018.
The Arts and Culture Commissioners present or absent were as follows:
Present: Arlette Preston, Deb Williams, Jon Offutt, Denise Kolpack, Mark Johnson, Denese Odegaard, Michael Olsen
Absent: Joe Williams, Tracy Walvatne
Also Present: John Strand (City Commission Liaison)
Chair Preston called the meeting to order and welcomed Members to the meeting.
Item 1: Order of Agenda
Chair Preston moved to add commercial advertising versus sponsorship and scheduling the strategic and capital project planning to the agenda.
Member Odegaard moved to approve the order of agenda. Second by Member Olsen. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 2: Minutes: Regular Meeting of July 18, 2018
Item #4 - correction of Charlie Johnson name Mr. Offutt
Approval to approve June 20th and July 18th agenda
Member Odegaard moved to approve the minutes of the July 18, 2018 meeting with the above corrections. Second by Member Offutt. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 3: A Love Letter to the City by Amanda Lovelee
The letter is the educational component brought forward to the Commission.
Chair Preston noted that The Cities places an artist in resident inside city structure to consult on city projects. The position is funded by a non-profit, Public Art St. Paul. The artist in resident is what the Arts & Culture Commission would like to see within the City of Fargo in order to have an artist at the table who can offer a creative discussion and solution.
Member Odegaard recommended placement of a person who can provide a voice for all the arts.
Item 4: Communication Plan
Member Kolpack presented the draft Communication Plan with the intent of starting discussion with fellow commissioners. The Public Art Master Plan was utilized to construct the Communications Plan. The plan adds structure to the tactics in order to establish objectives, promote public art and the understanding of public art throughout the community, establish Fargo as cultural hub, engage the public, new initiatives, partnerships, and build support within the community and city staff.
Member Kolpack outlined the categories of the Communication Plan: communication objectives, audiences, key messages, communication principles, objectives, attaching “taglines” to differentiate, draft elevator speech, FAQ’s, Measure of Success, Communication Strategies, building relationships, targeting communications media, expansive media, press releases for everything, recommend e-newsletter, mobile app, and direct mail.
Chair Preston asked the significance of the Arts & Culture Commission not being an arts council, which would qualify the Arts & Culture Commission as a NDCC (North Dakota Century Code) recipient. Member Olsen responds that the Arts & Culture Commission is limited to public art, but can be expanded.
Member Preston asked if are there forms of culture that the Arts & Culture Commission is not addressing. Member Olsen responded that as we evolve consistent messaging and defining who the Arts & Culture Commission is, we will address all arts and culture. Mr. Strand stated the Arts & Culture Commission can define who they think they should be as the commission evolves. Chair Preston recommends re-examining the Arts & Culture Commission’s ordinance in the future.
Chair Preston would like to meet with the City’s Communication department on obtaining web traffic data. Recommended a working session for further development of the communication plan.
Item 5: Job Description
Chair Preston moved to approve the job description. Second by Member Olsen. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 6: Other Business or Public Comment
Discussion was held on commercial advertisement on public art. Member Olsen stated that commercial properties can put whatever they would like on their building and property. Chair Preston would like to see a policy for the Arts & Culture Commission. Member Williams suggested that with the understanding that the Parks District is public, that the organization should follow the public art policies the Arts & Culture Commission established.
Strategic planning meeting and development of a work plan for 2019 will be held on September 19th, before the meeting, from 3-6 p.m.
CVB meeting - coordinating a meeting in October. Anyone that can come is welcome to attend.
The time at adjournment was 6:07 p.m.