Title
Public Art Request for Proposals. The Public Art Commission will hold a public hearing to consider staff recommendations related to the release of Requests for Proposals (RFP) for physical public art and cultural arts and arts programming in the City of Alameda. Release of the RFPs is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act
Body
To: Honorable Chair and
Members of the Public Art Commission
From: Lois Butler
Economic Development Manager
Date: July 19, 2017
RE: Public Art Request for Proposals. The Public Art Commission will hold a public hearing to consider staff recommendations related to the release of Requests for Proposals (RFP) for physical public art and cultural arts and arts programming in the City of Alameda. Release of the RFPs is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act.
BACKGROUND
Alameda Municipal Code Section 30-65 Public Art in New Commercial, Industrial, Residential and Municipal Construction (the "Ordinance”) was adopted in 2003, to require that major development projects include on-site public art. The Ordinance also permits an applicant to pay a fee in-lieu of providing the art on-site. Any in-lieu fees collected are deposited in the dedicated Public Art Fund (the "Fund"). The Fund can then only be used by the City to provide or support public art.
Since 2003, eleven public art installations have been completed on-site or are in progress at various private and municipal developments. Because many developers have chosen to install art on-site, annual in-lieu contributions to the Fund have been minimal, and the fund balance remained relatively low. Historically, the small size of the Fund made dispersal of funds a challenge: from fiscal years 2003-04 to 2014-15, the average Fund balance was $62,649, with a maximum balance of $83,807. To date, the Fund was used for a consultant study, described below, and to cover City costs to administer the program. In fiscal year 2016-17, the Fund increased significantly due to in-lieu payments from two large developments. As of June 22, 2017, the Fund’s accumulated available balance was $381,940.
In February of 2017, the Public Art Commission (“PAC”) reviewed and approved the first draft of a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) to provide $350,000 for physical public art and cultural arts and arts programming in Alameda (Exhibit 1). Since that time, staff has made several changes to the draft RFP based on further review, research, and conversations with arts administrators in other cities.
DISCUSSION
In order to release the RFPs for physical public art and cultural arts and arts programming in the City of Alameda, staff is seeking PAC input and approval on a series of recommended changes to the draft RFP. These recommendations are outlined below, and are included in redlined versions of the Physical Art RFP (Exhibit 2) and the Cultural Arts and Arts Programming RFP (Exhibit 3). The redlined versions of the RFPs include all substantive changes, but do not include edits made in the move from a single RFP to individual RFPs for each funding category.
1) Split the physical art and cultural arts and arts programming categories into two separate RFPs.
The draft RFP included two separate categories for application: (1) physical public art and (2) cultural arts and arts programming. City staff recommends moving from a single RFP with two categories to two separate RFPs based on consultation with representatives from Call for Entry (“CaFE”), the online application and adjudication system through which staff plans to release the RFP. CaFE is widely used by national and Bay Area cities, such as Emeryville and San Jose, in the management of public art RFPs. Moving to two separate RFPs (one for physical public art, and one for cultural arts and arts programming) will better align the RFP structure with CaFE's application and evaluation systems.
2) Establish set award levels for grants issued through the RFP.
The draft RFP reviewed at the February PAC meeting did not include set amounts; rather, it allowed artists to propose physical artwork or cultural arts and arts programming at any amount (up to $262,500 for physical art, and up to $87,500 for cultural arts and arts programming). The intention of this was to avoid limiting the potential scope of the proposals, and to allow artists as much freedom as possible in applying for funding. However, further research suggests that providing funds at specified award levels may be beneficial. Defining clear funding parameters would:
a) Provide artists with clarity during the proposal process. Artists would better understand how many opportunities will be distributed at each funding level, and be able to tailor their applications and expectations accordingly.
b) Ensure that the proposals will be a good match for the funding available, and increase the likelihood of distributing the full amount of the fund.
c) Increase the chances that artwork in multiple locations around the City will be approved, as opposed to one big-budget artwork in a single location.
d) Enable evaluators to compare “apples to apples,” rather than evaluating big budget proposals relative to smaller budget proposals.
Staff recommends award levels up to the following amounts in the physical public art and cultural arts and arts programming RFPs:
§ Physical public art
§ One $150,000 award
§ One $50,000 award
§ Two $25,000 awards
§ One $12,500 award
§ Cultural arts or arts programming
§ One $35,000 award
§ One $25,000 award
§ One $15,000 award
§ One $7,500 award
§ One $5,000 award
3) Clarify ownership and maintenance of physical artwork funded by the Public Art Fund.
Staff recommends clarifying that all physical artwork funded by the Public Art Fund, including artwork on private land, remains the property of the City of Alameda for its established lifetime. For art on public property, maintenance costs shall be the responsibility of the public entity accepting the artwork. For artwork on private property, maintenance shall be funded by the private property owners. For successful proposals, property owners will be required to sign an agreement to insure and maintain the artwork for a specified lifespan, as described in a maintenance plan provided by the artist. Better defining this information in the revised RFP will provide artists and property owners with a clear understanding of expectations around the maintenance, insurance and ownership of public artwork.
4) Clarify the types of expenses for cultural arts and arts programming that are eligible for funding through the Public Art Fund.
Staff recommends that the following cultural arts and arts programming expenses be eligible for funding: all materials related to the production of the proposed programming; artistic and administrative personnel salaries, wages, and/or fees; materials related to the rehearsal or necessary rental space; general office supplies related to the project; liability and insurance costs as required; and marketing, promotion and publicity expenses.
Staff recommends that the following expenses not be funded: any activities occurring outside of Alameda; social functions, parties, receptions and/or fundraisers; food and beverages; and out-of-state travel. Clarifying this information in the revised RFP will provide proposing organizations with a better understanding of what can and cannot be included in their budget.
5) Require all artists to include a 10% contingency as part of their project budget.
After a review of RFPs and discussion with Arts Administrators from other Bay Area cities, staff recommends that a 10% contingency be required as part of all physical art and cultural art and arts programming budgets. This contingency will account for unexpected project costs, such as increases in materials or labor costs, unforeseen installation costs, or other costs not accounted for in the original budget.
6) Establish selection panels to evaluate and rank proposals.
Staff recommends the PAC establish two selection panels: one for Physical Public Art, and one for Cultural Arts and Arts Programming. The selection panels would review, evaluate and rank all proposals meeting the minimum qualifications. The top three proposals at each award level would go to the PAC for final review and selection.
Each five-person selection panel would consist of two PAC members and three additional selection panel members, including subject matter experts such as practicing artists, art administrators, arts professionals, conservationists, architects, engineers, or other experts with relevant professional experience. Selection panel members would be recommended by staff and confirmed by the PAC. Selection panel members, and members of their immediate family, would not be eligible to apply for a grant through this RFP process. All selection panel meetings would be open to the public.
The establishment of selection panels would ensure that the evaluation process includes both the input of the PAC and the technical expertise of subject matter experts. It would also relieve the PAC of the burden of reviewing and evaluating all qualified applications, while maintaining final review of the highest ranking applications.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The RFPs are not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
The public hearing was advertised in the newspaper and posted on the City website.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the PAC review and approve staff recommendations related to the preparation and release of the RFPs for physical public art, and cultural arts and arts programming in the City of Alameda.
Respectfully Submitted,
Amanda Gehrke
Management Analyst
Exhibits:
1. First Draft Request for Proposals
2. Draft Physical Public Art Request for Proposals (Redlined)
3. Draft Cultural Arts and Arts Programming Request for Proposals (Redlined)