McHenry Times

City of Woodstock Arts Commission met Aug. 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

CALL TO ORDER 

A Regular Meeting of the City of Woodstock Arts Commission was called to order by Chairperson Wendy Piersall at 7:00 PM on Monday, August 14, 2023, in the 2nd Floor Conference Room at Woodstock City Hall.

ROLL CALL: A roll call was taken and Chair Piersall confirmed a quorum was present.

COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: John Hegner, Julie Miller, Susan Stelford, Anne Marie Whitmore Lenzini, and Chairperson Wendy Piersall.

COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: None.

OTHERS PRESENT: Barbara Bundick, Michael Stanard and RB Thompson.

STAFF PRESENT: Economic Development Director Garrett Anderson and Deputy Clerk Bernie Walker.

ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES: 

Motion by A. M. Whitmore Lenzini, second by S. Stelford, to accept the minutes from the July 10, 2023 Arts Commission Meeting.

Ayes: J. Hegner, J. Miller, S. Stelford, A. M. Whitmore Lenzini and Chairperson W. Piersall. Nays: None. Abstentions: None. Absentees: None. Motion carried; minutes accepted.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: 

RB Thompson recapped some of his ideas from the July 10th meeting to ensure new commission member J. Miller and other attendees were aware of his ideas. He introduced a chalkboard concept that is in 71 cities, which he would like to see placed on Benton Street. RB Thompson feels it would draw people in, but stated there would need to be guidelines and it would probably require monitoring. He also expressed his ideas for future mural locations, roundabouts, railroad corridors, and D200 scholarships for performing arts. RB Thompson opined that there is a nursery by the South Water Treatment Plant that we can use to begin seeding and growing plantings or trees, for our future needs. He also stated that this is the week that the Old Courthouse transitions from a liability to an asset.

COMMISSION COMMENTS: 

A. M. Whitmore Lenzini shared that she referred someone to apply for the open Arts Commission positions and S. Stelford shared that she also knows of someone who applied and that their application should be with Mayor Turner.

S. Stelford welcomed Julie Miller to the Commission and asked J. Miller to introduce herself. J. Miller shared she is the President of Friends of the Old Courthouse Board and that she grew up in Woodstock, moved away, and she moved back to Woodstock in 2015. The Arts Commission welcomed J. Miller.

GENERAL BUSINESS/DISCUSSION 

1. RFP for Soliciting Public Art in Roundabout 

G. Anderson recapped that at the July 10th meeting, the Arts Commission agreed to request additional budget from City Council due to concerns that the design and install was too much to ask of the artist. G. Anderson shared that he asked for additional budget during the recent quarterly meetings held with City Council members, but they weren’t supportive of increasing the budget. Discussion ensued about the budget, grants and application process, and alternative roundabout ideas including a large-scale typewriter that S. Stelford previously brought up. S. Stelford is going to follow up with a sculptor to see if the typewriter monument is an option and she asked the Commission to bring their ideas for a sign to the next meeting.

Chair Piersall asked Michael Stanard to share his feedback with the Arts Commission. Mr. Stanard shared that he has been in business for 43 years and that he learned a lot about roundabouts through this process. He passed around a couple of his drawings to the Commission, which he stated were very rough, and the Commission said they would consider them for the roundabout, along with the other submissions. Discussion ensued about the RFP process and how it came about, and how the Commission is still working together to figure the process out. Chair Piersall also shared that the Arts Commission is a process commission which is why artists were asked to submit a design that the Commission could evaluate. S. Stelford also encouraged Mr. Stanard to submit his ideas for future roundabouts on Route 47.

2. NIU Arts Plan 

G. Anderson shared that the next phase of the NIU Arts Plan was approved by the City Council in late June. He shared the next steps include organizing a task force of 10-12 members by October or November 2023, including one or two members from the current Arts Commission. They are also looking for feedback on other communities in the region that the Arts Commission considers to be peers or that we feel are aspirational communities. Areas should be similar sized and within an hour of us. The Arts Commission brainstormed on areas and came up with the following: Janesville, Belvidere, Lake Geneva, Algonquin, Geneva, St. Charles, DeKalb, Fort Atkinson, Galena, Beloit and Lake Zurich. G. Anderson will send the list to Ms. Evans at NIU and she can determine which ones would be a good fit. Discussion ensued about the task force and Chair Piersall asked who was interested in serving on the task force to which A. M. Whitmore Lenzini and J. Hegner expressed interest. G. Anderson will also pass this information along to Ms. Evans.

3. Artspace Plan 

Artspace provided a report of what they did while they were in Woodstock to G. Anderson. Edits were made by G. Anderson and Terry Willcockson and he expects to receive an updated report within the next couple weeks, which he will forward to the Arts Commission. He shared that Artspace believes downtown Woodstock would be an excellent location for 40 units of artist housing. Phase 2 consists of an Arts Market Study, which will be done in November/December. They will use an online survey tool to quantify the demand for housing, types of spaces and types of art intended for the facility, and to help build support to secure funding. Discussion ensued about the study; including payment which is covered by the Rise Grant, potential locations for the housing, time frame, tenant criteria, and maintenance and upkeep of the building.

4. Future Arts Commission Members 

G. Anderson shared that they received two applications that will go before Mayor Turner for approval. Chair Piersall announced that September will be her last meeting so G. Anderson will need to work with Mayor Turner to select a new Chair. In addition, the Arts Commission needs to select a new vice-chair with the recent resignation of C. Vohs-Demann.

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 

The following items were identified for the next meeting:

• New Chair

• Vote on Vice-chair

• Route 47 Landscaping Plans

• Roundabout Ideas

• Future Arts Commission Members

The following items were identified for future meetings:

• Community Foundation Grant

• Process for Businesses that want to put up a Mural

o Senator Craig Wilcox is interested in installing a mural on his office building. His staff has approached the City to inquire about proper procedures.

o D. Gulli reported the owner of Cesaroni’s is also interested in installing a mural on the side of their building that would be viewable from the Metra station.

o Defining the Sign Code re: murals.

• D. Gulli plans to meet with artist Erik Blome regarding his interest in creating a Groundhog Day themed bench/sculpture for the Square.

ADJOURN 

Motion by S. Stelford, second by J. Miller, to adjourn to the next regular meeting of the Woodstock Arts Commission to be held on Monday, September 11, 2023 at 7:00 PM in the 2nd Floor Conference Room at Woodstock City Hall.

Ayes: J. Hegner, J. Miller, S. Stelford, A. M. Whitmore Lenzini, and Chairperson W. Piersall. Nays: none. Abstentions: None. Absentees: None. Motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 8:37 PM.

https://www.woodstockil.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/arts_commission/meeting/46594/8-14-23_arts_commission_minutes.pdf