Littleton Arts & Culture Board reelects chair, advances strategic plan work and public-art priorities

The Littleton City Arts & Culture Board reelected JD to a second one-year term as chair and Denise Weed to a second term as vice chair during its May meeting, and spent the remainder of the session reviewing director reports, grant-application numbers, a proposed mural site and next steps for the board's community arts and culture strategic plan, including a possible city-council resolution and renewed discussion of a percent-for-art program.

The chair and vice chair elections were conducted by voice vote after nominations from board members; the board indicated support for both incumbents and the nominations were approved. The board will hold its regular summer work on the strategic plan and related implementation tasks should the council formally adopt the plan in the coming weeks.

The board heard separate director reports from library and museum staff. Dennis Quinn, Littleton's library director, summarized recent programming, noting that the library shifted its annual "One Book, One Littleton" programming to March this year and that National Poetry Month and a spring reading challenge for ages 4—12 are underway. Quinn also said summer all-ages programming will begin in June when school is out and reported that the library elevator is under repair with no firm reopening date yet.

Tim Nims, museum director and staff liaison, said the museum is completing the concept-to-design transition for a revisioning of its history gallery and that the city is preparing a contract award for the design phase to Studio Tectonic; Nims said that contract is expected to be presented to CityCouncil in late May. He also described the museum's reaccreditation process with the American Alliance of Museums, noting a self-study due in June and an on-site review in November ahead of an accreditation decision next February.

Board staff reported preliminary grant-application totals for the arts-and-culture grant cycle: roughly 30 applications had been received by midday the day before the deadline, down from last year's 64 applications, a change staff attributed to new eligibility rules that restrict applicants to nonprofit organizations and require programming to take place within Littleton city limits. The application deadline was reported as midnight the following day.

On the public-art front, staff and board members described a proposed mural location: a long brick wall owned by the building housing Boost eBikes along Windermere just north of the Littleton Boulevard intersection (the east-facing backside of the Woodlawn shopping area). The wall was described as nearly 90 feet long and visible to passing drivers; staff said they have photographed and measured the site and owner representatives indicated interest in a bike-themed mural that could tie to the nearby bike lane. No artist had been selected at the meeting.

Board members reviewed the response from CityCouncil to the board's community arts and culture strategic plan. Board members who presented the plan to council reported a receptive reception and said that, for the first time since the plan was drafted, council expressed interest in formally adopting the plan by resolution. The board discussed next steps: staff will draft an action plan and a timeline to prepare for council consideration. Board members said that if the council moves forward, the board aims to return a percent-for-art proposal (public-side program and possible private-side options) for council consideration with a goal of first and second reading before November; staff noted further work is needed to define scope and exclusions and to produce a feasibility/implementation plan.

The board also completed annual subcommittee appointments. The board confirmed membership for three standing subcommittees: Public Art (Joni Lieb, Noah [last name not specified], Katie [last name not specified], Michelle [last name not specified], Keeley Quinn, and Kate Akel), Museum (Denise Weed, Michelle [last name not specified], Joe [last name not specified], and Joni Lieb) and Library (Kate Akel, Michelle [last name not specified], Joe [last name not specified], Tim Nims, Keeley Quinn and Denise Weed). Staff said subcommittees will meet as needed and indicated the museum subcommittee will be busier than usual because of the gallery redesign and the reaccreditation work.

Administrative items: the board agreed to cancel its May regular meeting due to limited outstanding business and a staff conference schedule; the board's June meeting is expected to proceed on schedule. The board also flagged the upcoming second-quarter CAP (community arts partnership) meeting for May 21 and a number of community events and exhibitions in the coming weeks.

The board's discussion included two voice votes for elected positions and several staff-led updates; no ordinances, contracts, or budget appropriations were voted on at this meeting.

Ending: The board adjourned after a roundtable of member announcements and scheduled follow-up work on the strategic plan and the percent-for-art discussion.