Arts and Culture Commission - January 20, 2021 Minutes
The Regular Meeting of the Arts and Culture Commission of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held in the Commission Chambers at City Hall virtually at 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 20, 2020.
The Arts and Culture Commissioners present or absent were as follows:
Present: Deb Williams, Tracy Jordre, Jon Offutt, Tracy Walvatne, Joe Williams, Monika Browne-Ecker, Ann Arbor Miller, Brad Bachmeier
Absent: Denise Kolpack
Also Present: City Commissioner John Strand
Chair D. Williams called the meeting to order and welcomed Members to the meeting.
Item 1: Order of Agenda
Member Offutt moved to approve the Order of Agenda. Second by Member Bachmeier. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 2: Minutes: Regular Meeting of October 21, 2020
Member Browne-Ecker moved the Minutes of the October 21, 2020 Arts and Culture Commission meeting be approved. Second by Member J. Williams. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 3: Fargo Lions Club Project Presentation
Jane Pettinger of the Fargo Lions Club presented the “Spirit of the Sandbagger”, a sculpture the Lions Club would like to commission and gift to the City of Fargo in honor of the City’s historic sandbagging efforts. The sculpture will be located at the northeast corner of 1st Avenue North and 2nd Street North. The project is scheduled to be constructed this spring.
Item 4: Gifts of Artwork/Donations Policy and Fargo Lions Club Project
Planning Coordinator Maegin Elshaug highlighted the policy set by the Arts and Culture Commission in 2018 for reviewing and accepting gifts of artwork. Maintenance of the sculpture is taken into consideration as part of this review.
Member Walvatne moved to recommend to the City Commission the acceptance of the Fargo Lions Club project “Spirit of the Sandbagger” as a gift, and work through technical details related to development, maintenance, and legalities with City staff and City Attorney. Second by Member Jordre. Discussion was held in which members of the Arts and Culture Commission questioned the idea of recommending acceptance of an incomplete work of art. All Members present voted nay and the motion failed.
Director of Planning and Development Nicole Crutchfield suggested that the Arts and Culture Commissioners could make a new motion that accurately captures their support of the project without accepting the unfinished sculpture.
Member Browne-Ecker moved to recommend to the City Commission the approval of the general concept for the Fargo Lions Club project “Spirit of the Sandbagger” and work through technical details related to the development, maintenance, and legalities with City staff and City Attorney. Second my Member Arbor Miller. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 5: Fargo Community Water Tower Process Documents
Chair D. Williams presented documents that explain how the public art process was conducted for the community water tower.
Item 6: Other Business and Public Comment
The 2021 meeting calendar was presented.
Item 6a: Next Meeting—February 17, 2021
The time at adjournment was 5:49 p.m. Members of the Arts and Culture Commission then moved to a different virtual platform to discuss 2021 work priorities.