Arts Commission nominates two voting members for permanent public art committee; percent-for-art funding discussed

The Kingston Arts Commission nominated Commissioner Lester Berg and Commissioner Sophie Landres as the commission’s two voting representatives to the city’s new permanent public art committee. Chair Lisa Kelly asked for a motion to nominate the two; the motion was made and the chair recorded assent. No roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.

The committee is a joint staff-and-community body the mayor has created. Kit said the permanent staff public art committee currently includes Lisa Tinti, Ruth Anne Frank, Lindsay Tembrook, Kristen Kessler and Bartek (last name in transcript: Star Dog). The KAC’s two voting members will be recommended to the mayor for appointment; Kit said a press release will be issued seeking public applicants for the committee’s three public voting seats.

Commissioners who expressed interest in serving as the KAC voting representatives included DJ Brumfield, Lester Berg, Richard Fromis, Cicely Wilson and Ward; the commission nominated Berg and Landres as the two representatives to recommend to the mayor. The chair asked staff to forward the nominations to the mayor’s office.

The commission then heard an extended briefing on percent-for-art policy and how it might work in Kingston from Commissioner Lester Berg. Berg described percent-for-art ordinances as a commonly used municipal funding tool and gave examples from other cities, noting that the mechanism is typically structured to apply to capital projects or specific funding streams. “It's a penny on a dollar. It's $10,000 for a million dollar project,” Berg said, adding that cities often set aside a maintenance percentage (Berg cited Atlanta as an example that reserves 20% of collected funds for conservation and maintenance).

Berg and other commissioners discussed several design choices for any Kingston policy: whether to apply a percent to municipal capital projects only or to include private development; whether to count certain grant-funded projects; and how to structure maintenance reserves. Berg recommended an economic analysis to determine whether Kingston’s capital pipeline would produce meaningful funds and suggested borrowing staff time or analysis from Ulster County staff to assess development and grant pipelines.

Commissioners asked for follow-up: staff to consult with the mayor’s office and city grant managers about projects in the pipeline and to bring an options paper back to the commission. A motion to nominate Berg and Landres as the commission’s two voting members of the permanent public art committee was recorded; the transcript records verbal assent but no tally.

Ending: The commission agreed to continue percent-for-art discussion at a future meeting and to table formal ordinance drafting until staff can supply an economic analysis and further guidance on grant and capital project pipelines.