Public Arts Committee elects chair, vice chair and forms ad hoc committees; Sturgeon’s Mill donates bench materials for April dedication

The Sebastopol Public Arts Committee elected Jeff (committee member) as chair and Robert (committee member) as vice chair, approved two ad hoc subcommittees to organize upcoming sculpture openings and to inventory potential sites for public art, and received an update that Sturgeon’s Mill has agreed to donate materials and labor for a bench to accompany the Bruce Johnson sculpture.

At the start of the meeting, Lars (committee member) nominated Jeff for chair; there were no competing nominations and the committee voted unanimously in favor. Robert was nominated and confirmed as vice chair with no recorded opposition.

Bench and openings: Robert reported that Sturgeon’s Mill has agreed to donate two 3-inch-thick redwood slabs (each slab marked at $800) and that Tom Schaeffer, president of the mill’s board, agreed to construct a roughly 6-foot bench. Robert said the committee should set four 1-foot-square concrete pads for the bench legs so the wood will not be in contact with soil, and recommended annual Thompson’s WaterSeal treatment and a likely sculpture-maintenance recoating cycle of about three years. He said the mill will brand the bench with a “Sturgeon’s Mill” mark and suggested city publicity and an item in the city newsletter and local papers when the bench is installed.

Robert requested that regional parks confirm permission because the proposed installation site sits on property the city does not own outright; John (city staff member) said he would contact the regional parks contact and report back, aiming to keep the bench installation and dedication before the committee’s April 5 opening if possible. The committee discussed the need to coordinate with the Johnson estate and with the friends of the library (who previously supported event food) for the opening.

Ad hoc committees and communications: The committee approved formation of two ad hoc subcommittees. First, a two-member event subcommittee of Jeff and Barbara (committee members) was established to design and coordinate the two upcoming sculpture openings; Lars moved the measure and Jeff seconded it, and the motion passed unanimously. The committee recorded a procedural note from staff that any communications intended for the full Public Arts Committee distribution must be routed through city staff for release.

Second, the committee established a two-member site-inventory subcommittee of Jeff and Robert to work with staff on mapping and walking potential public-art locations. That motion also passed, and staff will coordinate meeting times and map access for the ad hoc members.

Votes at a glance: the committee approved minutes from the December 10 meeting, elected Jeff chair and Robert vice chair, formed the event subcommittee (Jeff and Barbara) and the site-inventory subcommittee (Jeff and Robert); all recorded votes were unanimous.