Public Arts and Culture Advisory Council

PUBLIC ARTS & CULTURE ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING SUMMARY November 14, 2016 5:00 p.m. Members present: Chair Lindsay Brubaker – Niles Park District Janet Spector Bishop – School District 63 Mary Dowd Demas – Artist Debi Gajewski – Artist Cory Hance – Artist Dr. John Kosirog – School District 71 Susan Lempke – Niles Public Library Carol Luc – Artist Katie Schneider – Niles Chamber of Commerce and Industry Staff present: Village Manager and Project Manager Steven Vinezeano Staff Liaison Cathy Spadoni Members absent: Michael Crisci – Niles Historical Society James Kozak – VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Rossana Macejak – Niles Sister Cities Ericka Stoor-Burning – Artist Staff absent: Mayor Andrew Przybylo Trustee George D. Alpogianis I. Call to Order Chair Lindsay Brubaker called the meeting of the Public Arts & Culture Advisory Council to order at 5:10 p.m. on Monday, November 14, 2016 at the Niles Administration Building, Room 218, 1000 Civic Center Drive. II. Approval of Meeting Summary Janet Spector Bishop made a motion, seconded by John Kosirog, to approve the meeting summary of September 12, 2016. On voice vote, all concurred.  Public Arts & Culture Advisory Council November 14, 2016 III. Organization Representative Reports Niles Park District – Lindsay Brubaker reported that fall programs have ended and Christmas activities and winter programs will begin in December. School District 63 – Janet Spector Bishop reported that the District has held a winter/holiday card design contest, and that the Gemini Junior High School Band will perform at the Village’s Holly Jolly event on November 26. Artist Cory Hance reported that he started a musical duo that performs at schools and nursing homes and is looking for more booking opportunities. Artist Mary Dowd Demas reported that she is trying to build awareness of art in Niles. Artist Debi Gajewski reported on her upcoming activities at the Niles Historical Center: November 20 – presenting the history of Thanksgiving; January 22 – hosting a luau with dinner and entertainment; March 26 – presenting a high tea and a vintage hat fashion show. After the holidays, she will paint the rocks for the Farm on Franks Community Garden entryway; Mary Demas is interested in helping. Debi will tell stories as Mrs. Claus at the Village’s Holly Jolly event. Village of Niles – Secretary Spadoni reported that the Bugle newspaper printed a “correction” of the erroneous statement regarding the cost of the Master Plan, correcting it from $300,000 to $30,000. Artist Carol Luc reported that she participated in Oakton Community College’s Women’s Works, is volunteering as a photographer at the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and may be offered an artist residency in Galena for one week in January. School District 71 – Dr. John Kosirog reported that Culver School is entering concert season, and noted that Culver School has a great fine arts program. Niles Public Library – Susan Lempke reported that the library hosted the annual Veterans’ history breakfast and that 500 people attended Maker Fest. The library is in the midst of strategic planning, will display District 63’s holiday cards, and will host “Winterpalooza” (formerly Holiday Open House) on December 4. Niles Chamber of Commerce – Katie Schneider reported that they are finalizing the 2017 Guide. IV. Old Business a. Upcoming Projects – Snow Plow Art, Community Garden Grant Snow Plow Art – Plows have been painted by the following: Nelson, Mark Twain, Culver, District 63 Summer Program and Niles Park District – Iceland. All five plows will be used this season and will be assigned to trucks that typically plow in the area of the corresponding school/organization. The Village will issue a press release announcing the project. 2  Public Arts & Culture Advisory Council November 14, 2016 Community Garden Grant (Farm on Franks) - After a soft opening on October 13, the site will be finalized on November 18. The rental process will be from January 3 to February 28, 2017, with a lottery to determine who gets a bed. Planting will begin mid-April. b. Status of Logo Project The logo project has been completed and the logo is being used. c. Discussion of the Niles Arts and Culture Project Application Steve Vinezeano and Carol Luc met with Vicki Peake of Niles on September 17 to discuss her application, which entailed a 15- to 20-minute performing arts program. The Council decided that this type of project is not the right format at this time. Janet Spector Bishop made a motion, seconded by Lindsay Brubaker, to deny the application. On voice vote, all concurred. The Council will reevaluate the application criteria for the next fiscal year. V. New Business a. Master Plan Project Start-up with the Lakota Group Lakota Group representatives Nick Kalogeresis, Vice President and day-to-day project manager for the Master Plan, and Marisa Schulz, Marketing and Brand Director, were present to kick-off the Master Plan project. The team will also include Michael Kritzman and Jon Pounds of Lakota Group and Paul Bluestone of Bluestone & Associates. The goal is to bring arts and culture to the residents of Niles. Key issues include: the Council needs clear direction to realize the goal; Niles has no downtown; identifying who has talent and what that talent is; providing opportunities for cultural expression; getting public feedback; collaboration between agencies/organizations; creating an “arts center” for diverse, daytime and nighttime programming, with practice rooms and studio space; determining a target audience; increasing visibility via yard signs, bumper stickers, a festival devoted to the arts. Mr. Kalogeresis and Ms. Schulz presented a Draft Project Schedule, outlining the proposed dates for Phase I, Engage & Analyze, which includes a project website/survey, stakeholder interviews, a community open house, etc. Phase II, Visioning & Implementation, will conclude next year. The goal is to complete the project by June of 2017 and present the final plan to the Board in July. The Village will assemble and forward pertinent documents to Lakota and will determine the dates of the various steps. The community open house can be held at the Senior Center and can incorporate the Council’s “call to artist” event. This will be advertised via the website, flyers/cards, electronic sign boards and Facebook. The Village will provide Lakota with the dates of Village events. VI. Open Discussion -The December 12, 2016 meeting is cancelled. -The need for the Master Plan subcommittee will be revisited. -The Council decided to hold all future meetings at Village Hall. 3  Public Arts & Culture Advisory Council November 14, 2016 VII. Public Comment We should ask Lakota Group to provide a summary of the stakeholder interviews at our next meeting. VIII. Next Meeting The next meeting will be held on Monday, January 9, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. at the Village Hall Conference Room 218. IX. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Council, Debi Gajewski made a motion, seconded by Lindsay Brubaker, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. 4