Hello, good evening. I'm Sarah Baltazar, chair of the Arts Commission. Welcome to April 20th,
2026, Arts Commission regular meeting. Please refer to the end of the agenda to review options
for participating in the meeting. If you would like to view the meeting remotely, you may do
so in one of the following ways. YouTube Live, Comcast Cable 28, Rossmoor Channel 26, Astound
channel 31 and AT&T U-verse channel 99 or live stream online at the city's website.
Thank you. Commissioner Secretary Chris Farr would you like to please take roll?
Absolutely. Commissioner Perelman. Here. Commissioner Tesfaye. Here. Commissioner
Curlin is absent. Commissioner Dresser. Here. Vice-chair Magnani. Here. And chair Ballazar.
present day see next on the agenda is the election of new chair does any
member of the public wish to comment nice audience today do we have a
nomination for chair I just have a question of for the Heather farms what's
it called Heather farms aquatic center I thought the idea of the new panel was
have a completely new panel.
So when we get to the appointments then we will have comments at that time.
At this time it will just be comments or nominations for the chair position.
Oh, for the chair position.
Oh, okay.
So I nominate Peter Magnani as chair?
Yeah, I make the motion.
I make a motion to nominate Peter Magnani as chair.
And that will do.
We'll commission our second with it.
Could be me.
I second that.
We have a motion and a second.
Would the secretary please call roll?
Commissioner Perelman?
Aye.
Commissioner Tesfaye?
Aye.
Commissioner Kerlin's absent?
Commissioner Dresser?
Aye.
Vice Chair Magnani?
Aye.
And Chair Balthazar?
Aye.
Passes?
Congratulations.
Thank you.
There you go.
The next item on the agenda is selection of vice chair, and again I'll ask for public comment.
Hearing none, that's for nomination.
I nominate Commissioner Tesfay as vice chair. I second the nomination
We have a first and a second we will go to vote commissioner apparelman. I commissioner Balthazar. I Commissioner dresser I
Absentee curland vice chair Tesfay, oh
today
Yep, and chair McNally
Passes
Next on the agenda is public communications.
This portion of the meeting is reserved for comment on items not on the agenda.
Under the Brown Act, the commission cannot act on items raised during public communications
but may respond briefly to statements made or questions posed or request clarification
or refer the item to staff.
So do we have any public comment?
Did everybody see that letter?
I did.
I'm going to bring it.
So do we take public comment or commission comments?
If there's any other public comments, it looks like there is not.
And then in terms of the email comment, we cannot address it or make comments at this
time.
However, when we get to commission or comments, if you would like to direct staff to add that
to a future agenda, we can do that at that time.
Okay.
Next on the agenda is the consent calendar.
Does any commissioner want to pull any item for discussion if you only item at the minutes?
Any member of the public want to comment?
Seeing no speakers, I'll ask for do we take a vote on this or just I'll ask for a vote
then on the consent calendar?
I motion that we approve the consent calendar as presented.
I second that.
Okay, we have a first and a second on the floor, Commissioner Parriman.
Aye.
Commissioner Balthazar.
Aye.
Commissioner Drescher.
Aye.
Vice Chair Tess Fae.
Aye.
And Chair Magnani.
Aye.
Passes.
Next on the agenda is consideration of item 4A, appointment of commissioners to liaison
roles by chair.
I'll ask first if there's any public comment.
none. Turned over to commission members comment until I think you have it.
Just clarification about the commission that's going to be put the new board that's going
to be put together to talk about Heather Farms Aquatic and Community Center. Are we having
a new complete new group to assess the art on this or are we having repeat members on
I see because Commissioner Baltazar is on here was on here before
Yet we have three other community members. I don't know if we have a city council member yet. Do we I believe we do have the
same city council member and Sarah and
Then I believe we will be searching for different panelists because not all are available that served last time
And I believe in talking to staff the idea was to keep some people on so that there's some
Existency to get through the entire project so not the entire committee would rotate
Also, I there was like a couple of communications and I had asked about this particular one to continue on
So I don't know if that was
maybe we didn't talk about it enough at the last meeting who was interested in what but
I'm definitely excited to bring some continuity there
There is one on here that I'm like Oh
Design review Commission if you can remind me what that is. I can remind you because I've just come off of two years on the design
Design review Commission meets
Every other Wednesday when they meet to go over proposals from developers
Building new construction in the city and they advise the Planning Commission on design
It's you've been on it before
Yeah, according according to the records that I read
don't worry about it and you know like like this meeting it's on zoom you can
watch it on on zoom or you can watch the video later on thank you for that it's
it's one you could you could handle both got it if you're willing any other
comments on item 4a anyone want to make a motion I am moved that we approve the
the community and commissioner liaisons as presented.
I second that.
Call the roll.
OK, we have a first and a second.
Commissioner Paralman?
Aye.
Commissioner Balthazar?
Aye.
Commissioner Drescher?
Aye.
Vice chair Tesfay?
Aye.
And chair Magnani?
Aye.
Passes.
Next on the agenda is consideration
of the joy bound public art site location, artist, and concept.
And I believe we have a staff presentation.
Good evening, commissioners.
Mariah Nelson, public art manager.
Nice to see you all this evening.
And good to see Joy Bound is here
to do a presentation for you all on their public art
requirement for their new development project that
is taking place at Heather Farm.
I'm thinking about Heather Farm.
Shadelands.
So they have an existing site at the Shadelands.
You may be aware that they are a nonprofit organization that
has space for dogs and cats and people and programs.
And I'll let them talk more about their organization.
But they are in the initial planning phase
for development of a new additional facility.
So this will be an addition, not in place
of the current facility.
So, let's see, is there?
Okay, so this is just, yes, consideration,
this is first step, and then Monica,
would you be able to put up their presentation?
No, sorry, yeah, it is, sorry.
I think it's, yeah, I can go.
So, as a reminder, City of Walnut Creek's master plan
does state that the Arts Commission
will consider three things.
you consider selection of art sites within a development
and artists and artwork placement.
And for this particular project,
it's the artwork concept direction.
I don't believe that there's actual artwork to look at yet.
This is the initial proposal for the concept direction.
And then per the public art ordinance
for construction of new buildings by nonprofits,
the public art requirement is to be no less than one half of one percent of the construction
project, which differs from private developments that are for profit that are one percent.
So just to clarify that, and so with that, I will turn this over to Joy Bound CEO, Susan
Lee Thicke.
Thanks, Susan.
Good evening, commissioners.
It's nice to be with you this evening.
Let's see if I can run the hardware.
Ah, okay, great.
So we're very excited to present the art that will accompany this project.
It collectively expresses a new era for Joy Bound, and we hope you'll be as pleased by
the principles as we are.
I would start by noting that we are considered to be, as a nonprofit, a cultural institution.
Our use permit is classified that way.
And as we take our goals as a cultural institution very seriously, we've been in place for 35
years.
I think some of you may have known us as Animal Rescue Foundation in the past.
Just anyone been to our campus?
Ah, good, good sign.
Then you may have seen that two acres, that front Mitchell Drive that had been mustard
weed most of the time.
That's where we're proposing to build.
But it's important when we think about what does it mean for what was once just an animal
rescue organization to be a cultural institution, I would point out that almost 57% is the latest
data of Walnut Creek households have a companion animal, dog or cat, in their households.
And so this is a very vibrant, real part of life for a large percentage of our community.
And that means a lot.
So when we think about who we are in that relationship,
we want to make sure that in everything we do,
including the art, we're accessible and we're inclusive.
And so the art that we put forth,
we want to explicate visually and possibly even
in a tactile fashion what the human animal bond is
and why it matters.
And we want that messaging not just
to be relevant to folks who visit us,
but to become part of the ethos of Walnut Creek
and to transmit across the generation.
So folks of all ages will experience our art
and gather those values.
And we as an organization also carefully document
the cultural significance of the human-animal bond.
We do a great deal of research
and we mine our findings for principles and values
that we think are worth exploring and expanding
and sharing with the community.
Our core message is that the human animal bond is not
an animal rescue foundation.
It's about people and pets and that magical energy
that they exchange.
So when we think about our public art goals,
we want to make sure that the art that we place here
inspires everyone who visits and genders in people
who experience our art, actual emotion.
And we are, after all, joy bound.
We're looking for happy emotions.
And there is a biochemical piece to that.
When people feel happiness, they say,
laughter is the best medicine.
I would say, a big, broad smile plays its part, too.
And when we smile, you can feel a physiological change.
That's endorphins and dopamine and serotonin
that are flooding the body.
And so those are real measurable impacts
that we want to bring into our community, particularly
at a time when maybe there's a little bit more strife
and division, something that causes people to stand together,
observe a piece of art and smile and be happy.
It's a good thing.
We also want to achieve those goals in a way that
is socially responsible.
And as we look at the artist that we have in mind,
I think it will be clear how we see social responsibility
playing out.
So I would leave you with the fact
that while we may be depicting in this work dogs and cats
and some people with dogs and cats,
what we're really trying to depict
is the feelings that they share, the joy.
We are, again, joy bound.
So, yes, if you look at those values to restate them,
community, connection, inspiration, inclusion,
health and wellness, more on that later,
humor, happiness, environmental and social responsibility
through intriguing aesthetics,
all for that celebration of the human animal bond.
I would say that the artist we've chosen
is particularly important to us for his inclusivity.
When we depict through Patrick Amio,
is the artist we're using, human beings,
it's tough to determine.
You can look at them, is that a male?
Is that a female?
Is there any specific gender, ethnicity,
or anything that pegs that person
and puts them in a box?
No.
So they're very, very invitational.
The new Peck Care Center,
which is where this art will be located,
is again on that front 1.7 acres of Joy Bound's campus.
It will be about 12,500 square feet,
and the art that we are, that we propose
will be distributed around the new facility
and coordinate, we think quite well,
with art that is on our existing facility.
Did I say yellow is new?
No, no, you didn't say other way.
Blue is new.
Thank you, sorry about that.
Yes, blue is the new, thank you Cheryl.
Chime in any time.
Blue is new, and as you see that is along the front of Mitchell Drive.
And that's really important, not just that it's a new facility, but historically joybound
and any art it might have contained was kind of concealed.
Yeah, you know what I mean?
It was not, we have embraced what we consider a culture of hospitality and this facility
and the art that it contains and its prominence, it will be visible
from Mitchell Drive and invite people in.
Thank you.
So when we talk about distribution and coordination
with existing pieces, I would just
point out that our current long-standing facility, which
was yellow, that building has distributed around it
high art niches.
And we created these whimsical dog or cat sculptures
that are ceramic that live in those niches.
So as you look at the, do I have a pointer on this?
Well, in any event, if you look at that arrow
that is pointing down to the elevation rendering,
we are going to use those same kinds of niches
at the same scale, and the arrow points to one,
but you can see off that they're evenly spaced
across the structure, and in each one of those,
there will be an artwork by Patrick Amio.
And I would, those are, the niches are
three to four feet high.
The artworks within them.
No, excuse me, I'm so sorry.
Those are two by three in those niches.
And an important differentiation,
the art that you're looking at now, the ceramic art,
cannot be relocated.
It's permanently affixed to the building.
And if we tried to move it, it would shatter,
which would be a loss to the city
for any reason the art needed to be moved.
The AMIO sculptures that we are installing in the niches
are fully removable and relocatable,
if ever the need should arise.
Additionally, to the niche art, we
will have three freestanding sculptures to welcome visitors.
And the one on the far left, where
you see the Joybound logo, will probably
be visible from the street.
These are on the right nearest the downward yellow arrow.
That is the dog welcoming entrance.
And so that will be a very cute dog and its owner
inviting you in.
The one to the center is the cat welcoming entrance.
So this might be a kid and a kitty.
And at the far right, near the Joy to the Bound logo,
that is our Behavior Specialty Services Clinic,
a veterinary clinic of great, frankly,
it will be one of perhaps not more than three
in the United States.
And so we will have perhaps a dog outfitted for school,
going into school to get its behavior changed
with the backpack, and maybe an apple for the teacher,
or other cute and whimsical icons,
indicating that this is a place where education will happen.
If we are able to acquire funding,
we also want to put two 8-foot welcoming statues,
street side at the flanking our driveway entrance which will be absolutely
delightful for passers-by and again that is contingent upon additional
fundraising. So again our artwork we know it's directly relevant to about 57% of
our community members but I would say more than that because we know that many
families in Walnut Creek wish they could have animals but they don't perhaps have
pet firmly housing or have other issues, sometimes economic barriers.
So we know that it's fair to say probably pushing 65 to 70 percent of households relate
to this relationship between people and pets.
So these are some examples of the whimsical art that Patrick Amio creates from found objects.
And we particularly celebrate that.
In fact, here we see a doggy, this kind of doggy
going into a clinic as the kind of idea of the doggy
going to school, creating that notion of this
is what I'm going to go do inside this building.
But all of this is made with found objects
that would otherwise be in a landfill.
So we love the environmental responsibility of it.
That the artists themselves are quite renowned for this work.
Patrick Amio and his partner, Brigitte Laurent,
live and work in Sebastopol, California,
the work that they do has just captured
such a passionate following.
They were recently commissioned,
they are now internationally known.
They were just commissioned for a $30 million
pride of Canada carousel in Markham, Canada.
So their significance is spreading.
Meanwhile, if you drive around the Bay Area
and you will find yourself as do I many times saying,
look at that, that's an AMIO piece.
And it'll be in a vineyard or in somebody's front yard
or at a municipal building.
I saw one at a fire station recently of the firefighters.
So this partnership between AMEO and Noron
really brings community to life in the work that they do.
We think it will become actually not just
an enhancement of Joybound, but a draw to Walnut Creek,
certainly to the shade lands and hopefully Walnut Creek
as a whole.
So here I'm just going to share a few more visuals
from Patrick Amio and Brigitte Aron's website.
I love this quote.
The whole purpose of my work is to glorify these objects
because they have their own spirit.
Amio enthuses.
And this part really, I think, is powerful.
When a hubcap has traveled on a truck for millions of miles
and has seen the prairies in winter
and the hot summer asphalt, when it's
done traveling with that truck and I get cut off,
finds itself, we'll say, in an artwork,
It's a whole new life, but it brings with it
that earlier iteration of its existence.
And so it invites a viewer to go deeper,
deeper into the work of art to kind of figure it out.
Like, oh my goodness, look at this piece and this piece.
I recognize that.
Deeper into time, deeper into the meaning
of each of those individual objects
and the story that they are telling together
in their new assemblage.
So we believe that there's a lot of resonance in the work.
Our budget estimate that we expect to invest in this
is about 51,000.
Our obligation is around 45,000.
We hope that you will note that our belief and passion
for this particular work, our belief in its quality
and the contribution that it will make to Walnut Creek
inspires us to spend more than we are required.
And we will certainly spend another $17,000 or $18,000
if we can raise it, to put those two marvelous statues
at flanking the entrance.
Here are a few additional examples of Amio's art,
and I like that one line.
You do a double and triple take to figure out
all the found objects, an old caster
that's a nose, bolts, or screws turned into toes.
And look at that, central with the cats,
this fellow enjoying his kitties or his kitties enjoying him,
we might say.
His nose actually is a caster, so you
can see how people kind of want to process these artworks
and linger with them.
Here are a few more examples.
And again, these are representative.
We will be giving the artist direction.
Right now, we as a nonprofit wouldn't do that
until we had your approval.
We would not commission work.
So a few more for you to see.
If you do approve this direction on our artwork,
That is where we will engage Patrick to sketch.
And we will commission the works from him.
And each will be unique.
And that allows us, as a nonprofit,
to be careful with our funds rather than investing upfront.
So I'll pause there and thank.
Oh, I see I have one more for you to admire.
Yes, these are, I mean, the one with the doggy on the couch.
I have a new favorite every time I look at these.
So I'll pause here and thank you.
And as for any questions or comments
or thoughts you might have.
Did I hear you correctly in that the pieces
for the nine niches are going to be ceramic?
No, the first pieces were ceramic that were installed
and they cannot be moved.
Now using Patrick Amio's work,
all the niche pieces will be fully removable.
So if for some reason the city needed them else
where they could be moved.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you for the clarifying question.
Yeah, I love everything about this.
I think it's fabulous.
And it would be such a wonderful addition to our town.
I was out visiting and looked at all the other porcelain pieces.
And they are beautiful and meaningful.
And I did notice there are plaques with them,
with messages, which I have two cats.
So that deeply resonated with me.
It got me all teared up.
And I thought that was such a beautiful concept.
And I understand that those were donors, pets.
So I'm sure the names and all of that meant something
to somebody.
So I'm wondering if that's going to be something similar
that would be carried over to the other.
That's a wonderful question and observation.
And I love that you immediately, like,
what are we out to celebrate the bond between people
and their pets?
Those plaques bring that to life.
And yes, the new niches will have the opportunity
for people to dedicate.
If someone chooses to dedicate, a nation makes a contribution.
We'll make every effort to have Patrick Amio style that
as a portrait of their pet.
Those ceramic niches were originally pet portraits as
well.
So I can tell you that the center itself,
oftentimes donors appropriately will name something
for a family legacy.
I mean, I'm Susan Lee Vick.
it could be the Vic, so-and-so Vic family,
something or another.
The naming donor of this facility chose to name
the facility after their beloved dog.
They didn't even, their name didn't need to be on it,
so it will be called the Liberty Center after Liberty.
And that was the dog of their lives,
and we also think the freedom that this center will offer
Walnut Creek pet families plays into that beautifully,
plus the Liberty Center acronym, TLC, Tender Living Care.
Just saying.
Any other questions?
But then yes, yes, yes on naming and the dedicating plaques.
A question as far as the niches.
Have you talked about what will happen to the niches
when birds decide to build nests in them,
or other creatures decide to go out
with the niches with the sculptures?
Yeah, so this is a complex question, actually.
When a bird builds a nest, we treasure that
and we treat it very carefully.
Right now, we had recently a nesting in our courtyard
and it got taped and all staff and volunteers
that alerted this bird family to hatch and fledge its chicks.
So if there were an active nest, we
would protect and observe that.
We also have an excellent facilities crew
that, if we're talking about things
like soiling or unwelcome bird visits and deposits,
we keep our campus pretty immaculate.
Yeah, they haven't come in.
But they, you know, they might.
Any questions?
Just one, I noticed in the drawing you've got trees
planted in front of the building,
you need to be sure and keep the trees
so that the sculptures will continue to be visible.
Yes, absolutely.
And I think for us, we choose species
that are proportionate to our goals for the overall project
And we do want the art work to be very prominent.
I guess we can take comments from commissioners.
I have a question from our public art staff.
Are we going to hear from you at all, Mariah,
about the signage versus the art right now?
Sure.
I can clarify or answer questions to the best
of my ability regarding signage or?
If we approve this project as presented,
it will be all cats and dogs in the niches,
and at some point, is that okay
with the public art master plan, or is it not?
So it's a good question.
Per the public art master plan,
if something does indicate what takes place
in or on a building that is considered signage
and can go for a review for the Design Review Commission.
However, if it is also original artwork
that is like decorative artwork,
then it would be reviewed by this commission.
So this artwork, it's, I mean, it's kind of a gray area
because it is original artwork,
but it also is symbolic of what takes place
in the building and could be interpreted as signage.
So does that clarify that?
it clarifies it for me, but I don't know if the other commissioners have considered that because it's a
small piece of the public art master plan that we're not always thinking of. Right, it is a small piece and it was intended to
which I think that Susan touched on it's
the idea is that whatever takes place in that building the artwork would hold up being that it's public art.
So if Joy Bound were to leave that site and move to a different site
and maybe a sports organization would move in,
then the artwork would not really make sense
for that site any longer.
So I think that it's different than if it's
an abstract sculpture that can kind of work for any space.
So.
I know our public art master plan also
talks about art that advertises what's in the building.
And so this does advertise what's in the building,
dogs and cats.
Again, another nuance to our master plan
that we just seem to be aware of.
Sure.
Yeah, thank you for bringing that to the Commission's attention.
And that is still it's the Commission's purview
to vote on if they think it's appropriate
or not for the space.
Well, I gather you think it is.
I'm sorry?
You would say that it is, from your perspective, appropriate.
Well, staff doesn't get to have an opinion on it, so.
You brought it to us.
That's why we have you here.
Sure, yeah.
The two points we thought about this ourselves,
and the two points that really stood out for us,
is the portability factor, the artworks
that we're proposing, if we were no longer in that site,
would be attractive additions to any city park,
their recreation facilities.
And then the second piece to that
is we know that a large percentage of Walnut Creek,
this does represent the life that they live here
with companion animals.
So it's not niche.
I mean, they are niches, but it is not a niche use.
It is a quite broad universal use
that we hope to bring that point home
and to make it clear that they are movable
and we don't intend to ever go anywhere.
That's not for this committee to make a judgment on.
Anyway, I hope that you will see the universal appeal.
I think it's back into prehistoric times
that we know that canines and felines recent archaeological
Studies of Unearthed, partnered in life with human beings.
That is a symbiotic and important relationship.
So having pets in a community as art does have a logic to it.
Yeah, I'm really excited for you guys
to have some new facilities in this space.
I go to the Shadelands a lot, and we
walk along Oak and over through Mitchell.
and my youngest child really likes the ceramics on the wall.
I go back and forth with her
because there's a few that I'm like,
ooh, over time, it's a little creepy now.
But that's very exciting.
My comment is actually more about proximity to the road
and the change of the community space
within the shade lens itself,
and more just a provocation or an offering
for even your own staff and employees
might be in the facilities. As you see in the kind of Kaiser Center, there's like little corridors
and a table. There is also one on that corner right before you get to Kaiser where there's a
lot of construction between the former art school and the the lagger place. There's some tables and
you know those are mainly for folks that work, but on the weekends a lot of folks that ride their
bikes, with their kids, on a walk, on a run. If there was some way that there could just be an
offering if someone wanted to sit at the front of your new facility have their sandwich on the way
to the mark from back from the market and then keep walking if there was just some way to be more
in relationship you're you're actually touching upon uh something that was very important to us
if i may go back briefly to the site plan we have gorgeous memorial garden on our property that has
never gotten the traffic that we wish.
And if you look, there's the Blue Building,
which is the new facility.
Directly across from our entrance,
you see all those curved areas.
This is a gorgeous garden with trees and shade
and flowers and benches.
And we are really hoping that this invitational artwork
will bring people into our campus, park, stay a while.
There are pathways to stroll.
there are lovely things in that area.
So it's kind of exactly what you've described.
We just are hoping that this work will activate
that beautiful space.
That'll be helpful.
Yeah, I think so.
I think so too.
We'll help get people in.
I did have one question.
For the sculptures that would be on the ground surface,
would there be a lighting to highlight them
in the evenings and such?
I know we'll have racist lighting for the niches,
but how would, how visible would it be?
Yes, they will be, and they will have uplighting.
So they will be lit, the sculptures that are
free-standing, the three.
And they will also be, the three free-standing sculptures
will be right at the skirting of the building,
so they will also receive light from our sconces
and other fixtures affixed to the building.
I have a couple of different comments.
One, I've seen Patrick's work in Sebastopol,
and it is amazing, the street that he lives on,
every neighbor having his art is phenomenal.
If you can take a drive up there and have a walk his street,
It's so amazing.
So very excited to see his art in Walnut Creek.
I want to be sensitive to the fact
that we are talking about art that also advertises
what is in the building.
And maybe a way to kind of take away from that a little bit
is maybe to add a few other animals into the mix.
Maybe the cats have birds on their head.
Maybe there's a couple of native.
That's a great suggestion.
Just kind of putting that in there,
because I want to be sensitive to the fact that we don't,
we have a public art master plan,
that says we don't want to have art
that advertises what's in the building.
Yeah, that's interesting.
And I've seen Patrick do that in some of those sculptures
on Florence Avenue, his studio is.
Yeah, I would note, in terms of advertising,
what's inside, I know in a for-profit business,
that's an important consideration,
because the art is not there too for commerce.
but as a cultural institution, the art advertising
what is going on inside actually relates directly
to the fact that we are a cultural institution
for Walnut Creek, so there's a nuance there,
much in the way that I've been to performing arts centers
that have the mass of tragedy and comedy
or a Juliet balcony with a bronze Romeo Romeo
wherefore art, or Juliet on the balcony just making,
they are advertising what's going on inside,
but only because what's going on inside
means something to that community.
So I'd say we're kind of that way too.
Yeah.
Sure, so I understand that.
I'm just trying to give you just a little,
a little thing you could add to it that would be nice.
And then comments unrelated to the art.
I never like uplighting because I like dark skies
for all the creatures that live in the trees outside.
So I'm hoping that your lighting is gonna be sensitive
to trying to keep a dark skies for the birds,
bats the insects that use your area at nighttime. And I also looked at your landscape plan and was
very disappointed that there were so many non-native plants in it. So I'd like to have you see you have
more native plants in it, and sometimes that's just a direction for the landscape architect firm
that your developer may have hired. You may not have even hired that firm. They hired them and
all of a sudden they've given you a plan, but you haven't been able to give any input into what
you might like that environment to look like. Thank you. You're welcome.
I simply want to make a motion.
I would entertain a motion to approve.
I know.
I'm trying to find it.
There it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
It's at the top of no page number.
Sorry.
After consent calendar in consideration.
You want me to do it?
Yes.
OK.
I motion that we approve joy bounds.
What's the exact language that I need to put in here?
The joy bound proposal.
Joy bound proposal.
That works.
The Joy Bound proposal for our public art.
I second the motion.
We have a first and a second.
Commissioner Perelman?
Aye.
Commissioner Balthazar?
Aye.
Commissioner Dresser?
Aye.
Kerlinde is absent.
Vice Chair Tesfaye?
Aye.
And Chair Magnani?
Aye.
Passes.
Congratulations.
I just wanna add that I love the wry comment
on classic buildings that have busts of famous people
in their niches.
Here you've got an animal building with busts of animals.
Let's see, item 4c, artwork acquisition and Mariah.
Thank you.
Number one, the first PowerPoint.
It should be the first one.
So while she's getting that up, I'll just talk about next item
on the commission's agenda for this evening
is consideration of gifts of art that have been offered
to the city, trying to, OK.
I'll get this.
OK, so we have on the original agenda,
you'll have noted that there were three gifts.
However, due to delays related to the development project
that is associated with the Windfins by Ned Kahn,
we are postponing that until further notice.
So tonight we'll just be considering artwork donations
for acquisition into the permanent collection
by two different artists.
The first that we'll discuss is Brad Krebs, our neighborhood.
And the second will be Jack Laycock's Emerging Towers,
which is a painting.
And so here is the first one up for review.
It's a series of 28 ceramic houses,
each measuring approximately six by four by three inches.
Each one is completely unique.
and here you see 18 of them,
10 are not yet on display, they're just in a box.
The artist had displayed them earlier in the year
or last year, I guess, here,
right outside in this rotating exhibit space.
And due to all of the compliments
and everybody, you know, overwhelming appreciation
for the artwork, he generously offered
to donate them to the city.
currently these ones are on display in the human resources office and if the Commission accepts the acquisition into the city's collection
staff will determine the location of the additional 10 with
Consideration of rotating them around different different spaces for people to see
Are there any questions about these pieces
Do you have any idea where you might put them if we?
Not really. We haven't really we haven't gotten that far because we kind of wanted to bring it to you for review first
I can tell you a little bit about the artist Brad Krebs. He is a Walnut Creek resident
Who is not a formally trained artist? However, he has taken classes here in our ceramics
studio for a long time
He is a Vietnam vet and an IT professional who has worked for his entire career at UC Berkeley
and he's been working in ceramics for 10 years and
He loves being a part of this community and this community's arts program, so
Acquiring these they're probably fairly low maintenance. Just need some dusting. They're ceramic. So
Any other questions about the artwork or the artist?
Would you want to put them all in one place or like separate or you don't know yet?
I think it's very nice that he built these display boxes specifically for his work. However
There are more than can fit and so I think that it would also be nice to display them in different places
So that more people could enjoy them throughout the city. I
Know the office where they're at right now. Everyone's really happy
to have them there.
Any questions?
Any public comment?
You can do that.
I have regular comment.
I just want to see them.
So if they're in the offices in City Hall,
the public really doesn't see them.
And it's frustrating that we can't see the art even
in this hallway unless chambers are open.
So I would like it for once in a while
they would be in a place where the public actually
could see them.
Yes, totally understand.
We would have to think about that because of the size of them.
It's something we wouldn't want to have disappear.
I love these pieces.
When they were out there, they were very impressive.
I think it was a tribute to the city's arts program.
The city basically made this guy an artist.
Right.
All right, well.
Anything else or any kind of motion?
imagine them in a library in a space like that where they could be viewed by
several and maybe some kind of protective glass or something but they're
absolutely beautiful. Alright I'm gonna move on to the next donation
consideration. The next is a painting by artist Jack Laycox. He is no longer
living but he was an artist. He was a California painter who had degrees in
art from UC Berkeley and SF State. He painted profusely, he had a career in
producing technical illustrations and he taught studio art and was a guest
speaker for many juried shows and different institutions throughout the
country and this painting was created circa 1960s and the this painting is
is being offered to the city as a gift from Connie Regalia
in memory of her mother and former city mayor Gwendolyn W.
Regalia.
And do you have any questions or comments about this piece?
I will make a comment about this one, if I may.
Jack also apparently had a studio in Walnut Creek.
And apparently, Ed and Gwen Regalia
bought this and other pieces from him
when he was actually working in Walnut Creek.
And the two of them, as most of you know,
were true pillars of the Walnut Creek community,
played leadership roles in the development
of some of the institutions that defined the city,
including the Lesher Center,
Kennedy King Scholarship Fund,
and the Walnut Creek Library.
In fact, there's a plaque with their name on it
at the park entrance to the library,
commemorating a very generous gift
they made to the capital campaign that built the library.
So I bring this up now, because while the family understands
that gifts to the city are unrestricted,
it was their wish that this be donated to the library.
In fact, when they first brought it to us,
they actually brought it to the Walnut Creek Library Foundation
as a gift to that organization.
But the process is that the city provides
the art for the library, so the donation was made to the city.
But the city guidelines for art acquisitions,
which is one of the exhibits in our agenda package,
do allow for memorial and commemorative gifts
to be located at specific sites.
So while, again, everybody understands for good reason
that the gift is unrestricted, it
would be my hope that we would honor the regalia's wishes
in that regard.
Thank you, chair, I think that was helpful.
Give a more robust story, and yes, you're correct.
It was initially offered to the library,
but the library building is owned by the city
and all of that work in it is managed
and owned by the city.
We have a motion on acceptance of these two items.
I move that we accept both of these gifts.
One is a Jack Laycox painting emerging towers,
And the other one is a Brad Krebs gift of ceramic houses
and move that we accept them into the city's art collection.
I second the motion.
I'll roll.
We have a first and a second.
Commissioner Perelman.
Aye.
Commissioner Balthazar.
Aye.
Commissioner Dresser.
Aye.
Commissioner Kurland is absent.
Vice Chair Tesfaye.
Aye.
And Chair McNany.
Passes. Thank you. Next on the agenda is item 4d, the updated mural grant program
guidelines and again take it away from Mariah.
All right. You may recognize somebody here in this image. So the City of Walnut Creek Public Art Master Plan launched a mural
match grant program in 2023 to support new murals on commercial properties. In
accordance with the grant launch the Commission approved the mural match
grant guidelines which is documents that aims to clarify how the grant is to be
distributed and the goal with the goal of implementing more murals through the
city but in January 2025 the commission approved revision of the grant structure
replacing the match requirement with a more accessible direct grant and the
guidelines have just been updated to reflect this revision and the commission
is now asked to review the new Meryl grant guidelines which that was all in
your packet also and I hope you've had a chance to review are there any questions
or comments review regarding the new document or the amended revised updated
document I don't know if it's more of comments or if I should just state all
the questions that we it feels like more discussion I'm not sure so it would
normally go clarifying questions and then public comment and then back but
being that there's no public comment I say go for it. Yeah. I think can you tell
us a little bit about how the current mural partnership is going with ABT? Sure.
Is this, I think this is the right time for all these questions now. Just really
interested in terms of just onboarding that process, this allocation of 30k, all
that stuff. Yeah so good question. So back in October 2025 we had the
Commission had awarded the first grant to the first eligible and qualified
applicant to the grant program and there had been that shift where instead of it
being a matching grant the Commission had voted to allocate the full 30,000
and Funding toward the applicant ABG Art Group with the intention and expectation that he
Trent Thompson who is the head of ABG Art Group will oversee the implementation of four
unique murals working with different artists in the city and since then we staff drafted
contract the contract had to go back and forth for review from the applicant and
Anytime the city drafts a contract with anybody
we need to see their coverage their coi insurance and
They need a business license so all of this process takes a while. It's no it's not really any different
It's just every public art project is
obviously unique and so contracts need to signify that and
So he's been easy to work with he's been patient through the process. He understands that working with municipalities is not super
Speedy just because so many people do have to look over everything
To ensure that things are being done accurately and correctly
And so I am pleased to report that actually as of this week. We are finally moving forward
We've received everything we need from him in order to move forward so we will be moving forward and how it was written in the
original guideline is that the murals are to be completed within a year of signing the contract so hopefully he'll
Begin soon as soon as it's I'm sure this rain will subside soon, and it'll be hot and ready to paint murals so
Working with him has been great. It's great to
Know that we'll be realizing more more murals in the city. I'm very excited to see
how how this all comes about and I'm sure that from this process this first cycle of
Grant funding and working through the project. I'm sure that we will learn from it
the unknowns and hopefully use that information to refine it in the future if we need to and
Yeah
Does that answer that question it does and I think it's less about?
ABG, but that's great because they are our first
test
partnership essentially
I think I'm what I'm hearing you say is just like
Finding the right size contract for what this looks like. Obviously their insurance is probably standard
it's and then however the city requires the COI to be labeled or additionally
endorsed. Just kind of thinking about how we operationalize that because I think
there should be a lot of desire to want to come and be a part of a mural in
Walnut Creek. I think removing the matching grants to being kind of a
larger pool of money. One, because of how much everything costs right now and two,
to bring the kind of teams and caliber of artists that we want to work with
commercial businesses or with the city in general. So I was just, you know,
before we re-approve the process, like what does this process look like? How are
you guys learning from it? This new set of guidelines goes out and like where in
in your 500 projects you're managing,
does this timeline start for this next clock of 30K?
Next fiscal year.
Okay, yes.
So July, yes.
Okay.
I was gonna leave it if anybody else
had additional questions.
I think I'm good on questions.
I just have one quick,
this is a use it or lose it, right?
30,000.
It disappears at the end of the year if we don't.
I think that it's up to... so the funds are there, it's up to the Commission to
determine how they want these funds allocated. So if we were to like when
when the Commission first decided to allocate the $30,000 or up to $30,000
with a match of up to $5,000 per applicant, we had no applicants or no
projects realized. So we did not lose that funding. It has continued to roll
over. Okay thanks. But we haven't added more to it. Right. Correct. Which is the
thing. Other discussion or questions you can ask for a motion on the guidelines. This is to approve the new guidelines.
I make a motion to approve the new guidelines for the updated mural match
grant program guidelines. I second this motion. I just want to clarify that we're
actually moving away from the match so if you could just restate that it's just
the updated mural grant program without the word match I think just for
clarification. Sure just updated mural grant program without the word match
in the title, thank you. I motion to approve. To approve the updated mural
grant program guidelines. Perfect, thank you. We still have the second on the revised.
I second this motion. Perfect, thank you, I appreciate it. Motion and second on the floor.
Commissioner Perelman? Aye. Commissioner Balthazar? Aye. Commissioner Dresser? Aye.
Commissioner Kerlin is absent, Vice Chair Tescue?
Aye.
And Chair McNally?
Aye.
Passes.
Okay. So next on the agenda is reports on projects,
and I believe we have a public arts report.
All right. So if you'll recall,
there had been some discussion on potentially moving artwork
that is currently located at City Hall,
which you may have noticed as you were walking in, and it has been determined that we will,
after much looking and searching and also thank you Commissioner Dresser for taking it upon
yourself to go look at different potential places in the library that could house these pieces,
it was finally determined that we were actually just going to keep them here at City Hall.
So, that's the update. They are not going to be moving. So, that includes this piece, which was
commissioned specifically for this space, which makes it extra challenging to move that piece.
Yes? I'd like to see the bases of the
disabled pieces change to be beautiful bases. Those bases are horrible.
thank you for your comment. Also just to to piggyback on Raya's statement so it has been
determined they will stay in the lobby however their exact placement within the lobby may
change and maybe that could be part of the recommendation that we change the base or whatnot
but so they're not going to leave the building but their placement inside could which i think
is a great idea too uh their placement could definitely use some help i'm hoping that the
ceramic piece on the wall that was actually designed to go there is going to stay there.
However, great. Yeah, that will be staying. Yeah, I would say particularly the piece on the left is
kind of in a cubby hole. I'm glad too that they're staying, particularly the site-specific piece.
Other questions, comments? I don't think we need to do any action, do we?
Recently we had this piece, Wings, by artist Dan Dykes.
It was thoroughly cleaned and underwent maintenance which included draining of the weep holes
that had been clogged from the leaves and drying out cleaning and then an application
actually I think it was three applications of wax, seal.
So it looks really nice and we'll be putting this up on our public art web page soon.
We've been waiting to have it photographed until it was clean and looking good.
Any questions or comments about this piece?
And this piece is actually, we're in the process of working out fumigation for it because there
have been pests detected.
So we would like to ensure that this work continues to be preserved and safe for the
public to enjoy, so we are in the process of scheduling effemigation for this piece.
And so it will be tented for a couple of days and then hopefully everything will be great
and it will continue to exist in the city.
And I just received word very recently from PG&E and they have confirmed that this is
indeed a viable location.
So public art staff will go out and measure the exact area because they did give measurements
of just how far we need to be from any electrical that is underground.
So that is good news.
We could move forward.
And I don't know if you recall or who has been on the commission, but this has been
a long time in the works, a rotating temporary public art program or sculpture program.
And so public art staff has been working with city engineering staff and street and maintenance
staff and recently with an electrician and we have identified three sites on
Locust Avenue. These are not perfect but like the little red boxes symbolize
where we plan to have sculpture pads placed with a little bit of up lighting.
But now Julie, have you in my in my head about nightlife and birds so and bats
we'll have to think about that, but
there will be two little up lights and then we would like to go forward with a
rotating sculpture
Project so that will provide more opportunities for artists in the future
But we're making progress on this
Any questions comments? Yeah, so these would be
Pieces will commission artists
They would be existing pieces because it would be small stipends to artists to compensate them
So I think that we haven't
Finalized how we're going to be doing a call for artists
But it would probably because of budgetary constraints be limited to Bay Area
artists. That could be the nine Bay Area counties and bring the works in on a rotating basis,
but they would probably remain up for two years. But there would be three-dimensional pieces.
Correct. So we would not be commissioning anybody. It would be, do you have existing artwork?
Can you drive it here or can we have it brought here by a local art transportation service?
And would that be borrowed or were commissioning them, how would that be?
What's the transaction like? So basically it would be consigned to, well it consigned to us,
just lent to us for two years, yeah. Borrowed and then given back and we would give them
some money to compensate them for use of their artwork. Thank you.
Are you pulling from the list of artists that are already tapped by Wilson Creek
or are you thinking this is a new campaign?
I think we would do a new like a pool of eligible artists so we do not have artists in mind.
Unless you've already said sorry, when does it start? Like are we already in the process?
we are waiting to finalize the sculpture pads so the artwork won't start until the sculpture
pads are in and the electric is it's just out there on the radar we're making progress though
it's been a long process. Question, how do we secure the artwork so it doesn't get carried away
or is that not an issue because we expect the art's all going to be heavy enough
that someone isn't going to pick it up and throw it in the back of their pickup truck?
So we're planning on having metal pads that will be, like, plates that will be there.
And so the artwork will have to be able to be screwed into these metal plates because
we don't want it to move in case of, you know, for safety or for theft. Any others?
And as we talked about earlier, Mural Grant is moving forward.
and this as you'll recall is just one of the renderings so we're looking forward to to this
and that's it. Any other questions or comments? I just want to comment I commend you on just
the different ways as a city that we try to give artists opportunities in the smallest ways and I
truly appreciate that. Thank you. And Maria I think you've been busy you're dealing with a lot of
different art that's all has to be treated somewhat differently. That isn't
even considering waterlight plaza which you haven't mentioned. I know we've
talked about it but you have so many different whether it's water or
electricity or lighting or security issues to deal with all this art. Thank
you. We appreciate all that you're doing. Yeah, thank you. It's fun. I can never
every board.
Anything else?
Thank you.
Let's see.
Reports on projects.
Are there any other updates on your staff announcements?
No other staff announcements.
No other staff announcements.
So commissioner announcements, any commissioners
have individual updates they'd like to share with us?
Of course I do.
I'm surprised that our curator has not said anything
about the new show at the Bedford.
And we have a new show at the Bedford.
I'm not gonna get the title exactly right,
but the artist is just charming and essential.
Gino, why don't you fill me in, Emily,
with the exact wording.
Just kidding, staff's giving an update.
Good evening, commissioners.
Emily Anders, Bedford Gallery curator.
The exhibition title is As Text Stories in Modern Mexico
and Inno-Sensio Humanist Chino Retrospective.
I'm really surprised you didn't remember that, Jill.
It's only like nine words long.
So yes, that exhibition opened on Saturday.
Thank you so much for those who were able to attend.
The artist is a Nahuatl artist based in Guerrero, Mexico.
And so it's a retrospective of 55 years of his career,
spanning from 1970 to 2025.
And it really traces his artistic journey.
And so you can watch him progress as an artist.
He's self-taught.
And it's just this really incredible love letter,
both to his community,
but also to the land where he is from.
Thank you.
And when you go to the gallery to see this show,
have some time there because you're gonna wanna read
all the texts that Emily and her staff
and the anthropologist has given the city to put up.
And everything is in Spanish and in English.
It's a beautiful show, and the artist is just lovely.
And he'll be here tomorrow night
for Cocktails and Conversations.
Are there any tickets left?
Cocktails and Conversations is sold out,
which I'm sorry because he's just charming.
There is also a children's book
that he has done the art for,
and that book is for sale in the gallery,
and I encourage you to take a look at it
perhaps by it if it appeals to you. On another note, former Arts Commissioner
Janie Manuel and I decided to put together a library public art walking
tour. The months of December, January, February, and March we have no public art
walking tour and we thought why not add the library art in. We have about 40
pieces of art in the library and there's definitely enough to take up an
our tour. So Jane and I did our first tour in March. It was very well attended, in
fact too well attended. The staff, the marketing staff at the Lesher Center is
doing such an amazing job marketing what is going on at the Lesher Center and the
Bedford Gallery and the walking tours that we are getting oversubscribed to
everything. We decided to limit the sign-ups, I think 12 people, 12 to 15
that day and then we had people walk up but we each had 20 in our groups. We had 40 people
touring the library in two different groups and it was too many because unlike the public art on
the streets of Walnut Creek that is large that you can gather around and look at you cannot go up to
a piece of art in a library with 20 people and gather around. So we're going to limit the amount
of tickets we sell next time I think to 10 and maybe take two walk-ups and we'll offer this tour
every February and every March.
So we have something to offer in the winter months
when it's raining.
Of course, I think it was 80 degrees a day
we did the tour, right?
So that's I think a great new addition
to our public art walking tours,
which I heard the ones on Saturday,
which is tour number one again,
as we start our cycle over again,
was very well attended as well.
And I think that's all I have to share.
Yeah, thank you.
I want to, on the record, to give all the accolades
to the curators of the Bedford Gallery.
For the outstanding shows they continue to bring
to our town, as an artist, as a woman, as an immigrant,
as a person who checks out all the boxes
in a marginalized group, I cry every time I go in.
Because it speaks so much to me,
that means it speaks to everyone.
And they continue to do that.
And I think this is one of the most I get choked up,
and I was not going to do that because I was going to write
it out.
But I think it's incredibly important to note
that they continue to go out of their way
to bring our community such service.
And it is very special.
So thank you.
Well, a couple of things.
I said before that I've done two years now on the Design Review
Commission and in all that time I haven't come across anything that I
thought would be of interest to this commission but finally I do have a couple
of items. They recently took a look at a couple of projects I thought might be a
general interest. One is the restoration hardware complex that's going to replace
the Neiman Marcus store and the other is the restaurant that's going to place
and replace the Walnut Creek Yacht Club.
The Restoration Hardware Project is hugely ambitious
and that's an enormous piece of property.
And in fact at the commission meeting they made a lot
of the fact that it's located on what they consider
to be the most important corner in Walnut Creek.
So you've got Neiman Marcus slash Restoration Hardware
in one corner, you've got the rooftop restaurant complex
And then you got Tiffany's and then Broadway Point.
On the other side, the Restoration Hardware Project is going to be huge.
It's five showrooms and a high-end restaurant all linked by landscaped walkways and places
where you can sit on their furniture that they're hoping you might buy.
The main frontage on South Main, which is kind of the showpiece,
got a lot of criticism from the commission
because although it's beautifully proportioned
and sophisticated and urbane, it really looks
like it belongs in Palm Desert or Rodeo Drive.
And there were some pretty strong recommendations
that maybe they look at that a little bit,
including gill palm trees.
And so they talked a little bit about ways they might mitigate some
of that and make it a little bit less cold and suburban, including,
I was pleased to note that somebody suggested maybe a little public art
might help, because there is none planned for that complex.
So we'll see if any modifications come by the time it gets
to Planning Commission.
It's one of those things where they describe it very
professionally, and it makes a lot of sense
in terms of classical architecture.
It just isn't northern California.
It might look good in ancient Greece or ancient Rome,
but it's, in my view, wrong.
But we'll see what happens.
And then as for the Walnut Creek Yacht Club,
It's gonna still be a seafood restaurant,
although I'm guessing somewhat more expensive one,
called Oceania.
It's gonna be a little bit bigger
than the current Yacht Club.
It's gonna have much better outdoor seating.
And, you know, so we still get a seafood restaurant
out of that.
And then finally, I just wanted to say a little something
about an artist in my book group, Bushra Gill.
She had her first public sculpture installed
in Lafayette Plaza last month.
It was a temporary installation commissioned
by the Lemurin, the Muslim Community Center,
to celebrate Ramadan, and it was up during Ramadan.
And there was some unintentional irony around it
because true to Muslim tradition,
it was themed around the crescent moon.
And here's Regia Busher's statement about the project.
She says, the moon belongs to everyone,
and I hope my sculpture is a reminder
to reflect on our shared humanity
and how we are all linked.
And true to that sentiment, it was installed
just before the Artemis astronauts
made the exact same statement with their historic voyage.
So it was an interesting little nexus of things there.
And a nice piece for Lafayette while it lasted.
So I'm glad we're going to have temporary sculpture
installations too.
My bad.
I was trying to get.
Whatever you want.
The announcements that I have are just a couple of local art projects that I'm
working on with artists across the Bay. The Day of Peace is happening on July
25th. It's at San Quentin Rehabilitation Facility in the North Bay. It actually
invites all of the men that are incarcerated there to participate in
kind of a large-scale arts event. So it's arts, it's music, it's dance, it's the
folks that live there and are incarcerated,
they're showing their own work.
It's all of the programming from local universities,
community colleges, and other non-profit organizations
that are there.
So if you think you might be interested
and haven't ever gone, it is small, open to the public.
So we are looking for volunteers, so offering that.
And then simultaneously on the same day, July 25th,
At the San Francisco MoMA, O. Smith, Orlando Smith,
who has been incarcerated for over 30 years at San Quentin,
is showing his collection of art pieces,
and that will be up for a year,
as well as the SF MoMA acquiring three pieces
for their permanent collection.
And his work is really,
it explores a lot around the different layers of our society.
Smith is his artist name or Orlando Smith. And then lastly like I loved what
you brought from the Design Commission and I would be really remiss to just not
say like as beautiful as our downtown shopping center is like the
inaccessibility Walnut Creek is evolving towards for families and working class
people to access it. The arts are really important that we figure out how to keep
grounded and rooted and accessible and I think we have programs across Lesher
and Bedford that open the door to students and low income. But as these
four corners evolve to places that most people cannot shop at or eat at, thinking
about how we might incentivize our youth programming or the arts in economic development which
Walnut Creek has not taken a stance on and is not currently structured that way. But
I do think that there is a way that we could flip some of the work that we do in the public
art space into economic structures or opportunities so that we can have more artists working with
the city build more pipelines of accessibility to working on creative projects in Walnut Creek
across the arts. I have one thing to add. I forgot about we did public art walking tour
for two of our sister cities youth. We had youth here from Ceo Focre, Hungary and Nocetto, Italy
and they had a full day of the city with the mayor and the lecture center and the police department
And they ended with a public art walking tour, which is, I think, a lot on their plate.
Um, just because of the timing, but just wanted that to be in the record that they were here.
They had a tour.