Cary Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department
Public Art Advisory Board

MINUTES

Wednesday, August 17, 2005
6:00 p.m.

Temporary Council Chambers 
Herb Young Community Center
101 Wilkinson Avenue, Cary, NC
Web Site: www.townofcary.org

ATTENDANCE:  Carol Aupperle - Chair, Ginger Hayes, Pat Hudson, Julia Kunkel Morrison, Carl Regutti, Smythe Richbourg, Larry Schessel, Ella Willams

STAFF:  Lyman Collins, Vicki Hayes

ABSENCES:  Mathias Bishop

GUEST:  Nancy Novell, Chris Simpson – Town Attorney, Karen Gray – Deputy Town Clerk, Laura Coats - Cary Visual Arts


A.    CALL TO ORDER – Carol Aupperle, Chair
        Carol Aupperle thanked Nancy Novell for her dedication to the Public Art Advisory Board and wished her well for
        the future.  Carol also welcomed two new committee members Ginger Hayes and Pat Hudson.  Everyone gave
        brief introductions of themselves for the new members.

B.    MINUTES
        ·         July 20, 2005
              Ella Williams made a motion to approve the July 20, 2005 minutes.  Julia Kunkel Morrison seconded.  The
              motion carried unanimously.
       
C.    ETHICS GUIDELINES – Karen Gray, Deputy Town Clerk and Chris Simpson, Town Attorney
        ·    Carol Aupperle introduced Karen Gray, Deputy Town Clerk and Chris Simpson, Town Attorney to the meeting.

Karen Gray explained all citizens appointed to any board or commission is required to read and sign the Ethics and Conflicts of Interest Guidelines for Town Advisory Boards and Commissions.  Chris Simpson explained she would read through a Power Point presentation and then answer any questions the Board may have.

Ethics and Conflicts of Interest Guidelines for Town Advisory Boards and Commissions

The Cary Town Council, in adopting a Code of Ethics for the Council, articulated goals it found important:

§         Public officials and employees must be:

ü       Independent

ü       Impartial

ü       Responsible to the people

§         Governmental decisions and policy must be made through proper channels

§         Public office must not be used for personal gain

§         Public must have confidence in the integrity of its government

The Council wanted similar precepts to apply to boards and commissions.

§         The goal of any Town decision-maker or policy advisor should be to make fair and unbiased decisions or recommendations that are free of any perception of impropriety.

§         Guidelines provide guidance to board members in making decisions in situations where there may be:

ü       A potential conflict or

ü       The potential for the appearance of a conflict.

ü       Violation of Guidelines is grounds for removal, but is not grounds for vacating decision.

Guideline #1

“Financial Interest”

…any pecuniary benefit accruing to the board member.  When board members have a direct and identifiable financial interest they should refrain from:

§         Publicly advocating for or against

§         Discussing

§         Debating

§         Voting

on advisory decisions that are or will be before their board.

If the financial interest is very small and is shared by others in similar situations, or if the impact of the decision on the board member is remote or speculative, then board members may disclose that interest and may discuss, debate and vote after such public disclosure.

Guidelines #2

“Close Personal or Business Relations”

…a relationship involving a board member’s spouse, parent, child (including step-child) or sibling, in-laws,

…a relationship involving a person or entity with which the board member is associated for business purposes, including employer, partner, co-owner, and a client for whom the board member is presently working or regularly does work.

Again, the appointed advisory board members must refrain from:

§         Advocating for or against

§         Discussing

§         Debating

§         Voting

on advisory decisions which are or will be before their board.

Julia Kunkel Morrison wanted to know why the Board could not discuss issues such as art for the Dog Park with the public.  Lyman Collins explained that Board members can be collecting information about issues with the public and that includes discussing issues.  Ms. Simpson explained Council intended for these guidelines to be general.

Guideline #3

“No Appearance of Impropriety”

Board members should conduct themselves in a manner that does not raise a reasonable perception or belief that there is a conflict of interest or an abuse of their position.

§         Should not publicly lobby or advocate a matter that will come before their board;

§         Should not use, for their own financial interest, information obtained because of position on the board before such information is generally available to the public;

§         Should not do business with the Town other than business as any other citizen (example, obtaining permits.)

Guideline #4

Close working relationships between Council members and board members are essential to fulfilling public responsibilities.  Therefore:

§         Contact with the media shall be conducted in accordance with Working with the Town of Cary, a Guide for Temporary Employees, Contractors, Consultants, and Volunteers, “Working with the Media”.

§         During meetings, board members should conduct themselves with professionalism and show courtesy to fellow board members, other Town representatives and the public, approach disagreements in a positive fashion, and refrain from personal criticisms of meeting participants and other Town representatives.

§         Once a decision is reached by a board, respect and honor the decision.

§         Outside of public meetings, board members should avoid public acts or comments that disparage the Town or its processes.

Relationship with Council Members

The Council appreciates freedom of speech rights. With that acknowledged, given the ethical goals and the need for close working relationships, Council acknowledges and asks board members to acknowledge the importance of maintaining a relationship of mutual trust and respect for one another, particularly as such applies to the fulfillment of respective roles.

Carl Regutti explained under these guidelines you discourage artists from wanting to serve on the Board.  The other issue is he does not want to be penalized if he wants to apply for a project that may come up.  Ella Williams felt these were two different concerns – one being a process and the other financial gain.  Marla Dorell asked the Board what were some of their questions or scenarios that would come up.  If an artist is competing against Carl when Carl is a member of the Board and that artist doesn’t get the job he might have questions about the integrity of the selection process. Lyman Collins explained there are checks and balances along the way with staff and Council before A Call to Artist is sent out.  Julia Kunkel Morrison explained board members are involved in the arts because they know something about it.  The discussion continued and Ms. Simpson said she would look into these issues with Council and discuss with staff.  Lyman suggested looking into other Public Art Advisory Boards in other municipalities.  

D.    TOWN HALL CAMPUS GATEWAY PROJECT
        ·         Update on etching of glass for the Glass Walled Pedestrian Bridge
              Lyman Collins explained the bridge continues to move forward.  Catherine Widgery has provided staff a sample
              of the glass.  Lyman will keep the Board up to date on the progress of this project.

E.    US1/64 PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE
        ·         Update
              Lyman Collins explained this project is on hold until the Public Art Coordinator position is filled.
            
F.    CREATIVE TRANSPORTATION DESIGN EXHIBIT
        ·          Update
              Lyman Collins explained this project is on hold until the Public Art Coordinator position is filled. 
             

G.    CARY DOG PARK
         ·         Update
              Lyman Collins explained this project is on hold until the Public Art Coordinator position is filled. 

H.    LAZY DAZE  
       ·         Volunteer schedule
             Carol Aupperle distributed a letter with a map to show the location of the booth at Lazy Daze.  Lyman Collins
             displayed the new map that Meredith Bridgers had completed for the Board.  He also, thanked Smythe
             Richbourg and Mathias Bishop for updating the photos for the map.

      ·         Booth Information and Distribution Materials
            Carl Regutti felt the Board needed to get feedback from the public.  It was suggested that the Board include a
            survey and have boxes at the booth to collect the completed surveys.  Marla Dorell suggested having a banner
            that said “What is your favorite piece of public art”. 

I.    OLD BUSINESS
        Lyman Collins said the Sears Farm Road Park dedication will take place on Sunday, September 18 at 2:00 p.m.
       Cary Visual Arts (CVA) will formally give Russ RuBert’s Kinetic Sculpture to the Town.  The naming of the piece
       will be coordinated by CVA and will kick-off the dedication. 

J.    NEW BUSINESS
       Several items Ella Williams new gallery opening in Cary
        The “Cary Gallery of Artists” Consists of a group of artists who have rented a business in Ashworth Village in
        order to sell their art as a co-op.  This group of 24 artists consists of jewelers, potters and two-dimesional
        artists.

        The opening of the co-op is planned to coincide with the opening of LAZY DAZE.  The hours of operation will be
        from 11 am to 6pm Tuesday through Saturday with extended hours until 8 pm on Friday evenings.

        There are plans to include events such as poetry reading, artist demonstrations and classes.  The president of the
        gallery is Winnie Ferguson, Rhonda Myers, Vice President, Rocky Alexander, Treasurer, Ruth McGregor,
        secretary and Jerry Miller will be an at-large member of the board.

        Friends of Page-Walker Art Collection
        Carol Aupperle explained she had asked Julia Kunkel Morrison to report on the Friends art collection, which is
        housed in the Page-Walker Arts and History Center.  In light of last month’s discussion of art and a desire
        expressed to actively encourage the acquisition of art depicting Cary’s history, we need to be educated on the
        existing collection.  This will give everyone an insight to what the Town currently has.

            “Portrait of R.O. Heater” (1951) oil on canvas by Hallie Siddell - $2,000.00 owned by the Friends

“A Scene of Bynum, N.C.” (1950?) by Nell Eastwood Page Atwater - $2,000.00 on loan to the Town

“Walter Hines Page Watercolor” (restored 2004) presented to Walter Hines Page by Harry Brittman and donated to the Friends of the Page-Walker in 1986 by Mrs. James Green of Raleigh

“Nancy Jones House” (2000) watercolor by Val Fox $1,000.00 owned by the Friends of Page-Walker Hotel

“The Turner House”, Oil by Nell Chadwick presented to the Friends of the Page-Walker by Sherri and Jerry Baird, May 2, 2001

“Waiting for the Train” pastel by Doris Jones Buchanan, donated to the Friends of the Page-Walker Hotel to commemorate the dedication of the Page-Walker Arts and History Center (December 1991).

“Guess-Ogle House " (1995) by Catherine Pietrzk donated by Karen Christie

             “Hibiscus” (1995?) watercolor by Holly Brewster Jones on permanent loan to the Town of Cary from the
              Friends of Page-Walker Hotel and exhibited in honor of Anne Kratzer as the first acquisition in the
              Friends of Page-Walker Hotel’s permanent art collection.

“Walter Hines Page” photo from the Junius Page Shamburger Family, Southern Pines, N.C.

K.     REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
         ·         Cary Visual Art – Pat Hudson

               Sears Farm Road Park Sculpture:  CVA plans to dedicate the artwork by Russ RuBert in conjunction with the
               grand opening of Sears Farm Road Park.  The sculpture will be named with input from the community.  The
               reception has been scheduled for Sunday, September 18^th at 2:00 p.m. CVA is also working with artist Russ
               RuBert to schedule a public lecture on Monday, September 19^th at Page-Walker Arts and History Center.

Temporary Exhibition:

o        CVA is working on obtaining approvals from individual property owners regarding the sites for each artwork.

o     The following artworks are no longer available for exhibition:

“Ecclesiastes/War Wagon” by Phil Alan Simpson (sold to a San Angelo Museum of Art)

“Sky Dancer” by Frank Holder (exhibiting at Greensboro Arboretum for 2 years)

o        Phil Alan Simpson has submitted images of alternative artworks for consideration.  CVA may present an alternate artwork to PAAB in September.

Cary Art Crawl: The Art Crawl event is being planned to showcase public art in downtown Cary.  The event will serve as a kickoff for the Cary Art Loop and is scheduled from 5-7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 30^th.  CVA is seeking volunteers for the event.  Interested individuals and groups are encouraged to contact the CVA office at 531-8149 or cva@caryvisualarts.org.

Wishing Well Young Artists Exhibit at WakeMed Cary Hospital: The ongoing exhibition features artwork by students of the Explore! Beyond School Center.  CVA is planning a silent auction of selected artwork during the Art Crawl on September 30^th.  Auction proceeds will be used, in part, to fund scholarships for students to attend art classes.

Journey through the Arts:  CVA is working with United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County to provide a continuing education program for Wake County Educators on Saturday, October 15^th. The program will begin at Page-Walker with a slide presentation overview of public art.  Following the presentation, participants will go on a bus tour of public art in Cary.

CVA is working with MacGregor Office Park to assist in bringing temporary and permanent artwork to the development.  The Board of MacGregor Office Park has selected two works (Paradox by Michael Jacobson and Red, Yellow, and Blue Seed Pods by Frank Holder) from CVA’s current temporary exhibition for purchase.  The business Withers and Ravenel will be exhibiting Metamorphosis by Marvin Tadlock on a temporary basis with an option to purchase.

The West Cary Proposed Site Committee is researching approaches for permanent public art at the corner of Chapel Hill Road and Maynard.  The committee is seeking additional volunteers.  If you are interested, please contact the CVA office at 531-8149 or cva@caryvisualart.org.

• Fine Arts League of Cary – Ella Williams
  The FALC organization usually does not have board meetings or a program meeting during the month of August.

  Currently on going research is being conducted into the finding of an office space.

  A consultant to facilitate discussion on where the organization is and where it will go in the next few years is being planned to start in September.

  Luanna Winner will present an interesting program. “Divide and Conquer: Shapes and Colors” in September on the fourth Thursday of the month.

  A theme show will be presented at JHAC in September entitled Reflections.
  
  The Senior Show sponsored in partnership with the Town will be held during the month of September and both receptions will be held Friday September 9^th from 5-7 at the Cary Senior Center and 608 at JHAC.

  Other Organizations

N.                 ADJOURN