Arts in Public Places Advisory Board Regular Meeting – July 23, 2026
Los Alamos County Arts in Public Places Advisory Board Regular Meeting – July 23, 2026
The Los Alamos County Arts in Public Places Advisory Board (APP) convened on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at 5:30 PM in person at 1000 Central Avenue, Suite 110, and via Zoom. The meeting lasted approximately 1.5 hours. Board members present: Tim Foley (Chair), Jasmine Stephens (Vice Chair), Anna Buckthorpe, and Andy Wright. Staff liaison Chelsea Ashcraft also attended, along with Deputy Chief James Rodriguez (online) for the Police Station artwork item. All votes were unanimous.
Approval of Minutes
The board voted unanimously to approve the minutes from the May 28, 2026 APP meeting.
Lion Sculpture for Police Station (Item B)
Deputy Chief James Rodriguez reported that site preparation for the sculpture’s backdrop (a radial wall) is progressing. The board considered two revised designs by artist Daniel Borup: Redesign #1 (Sphinx pose) and Redesign #2 (Sitting pose). Board members expressed preference for the Sphinx pose, describing it as “dignified” and “classic.” The board voted unanimously to select Redesign #1 (Sphinx pose) and recommend to County Council that Borup be commissioned to design, fabricate, deliver, and install the sculpture with a not-to-exceed budget of $75,000 (excluding gross receipts tax). The Police Station Art Project Working Group was closed, and the staff liaison was directed to handle remaining administrative steps.
Fire Station #4 Artwork Acquisition (Item C)
Chelsea Ashcraft presented three options for using the state’s $20,000 Arts in Public Places grant allocated to the Fire Station #4 project due to a $2 million state grant. The options were: (1) purchase directly from the state’s catalog with only the $20,000; (2) combine APP funds with the $20,000 to purchase from the catalog while staying under $100,000; (3) combine APP funds with the $20,000 to exceed $100,000 and enter the state’s site-specific commission program, which requires a local selection committee, three mandatory meetings (up to 6–8 hours for the final), and delegation of final approval authority from County Council to the selection committee. Board members discussed the pros and cons, including the time commitment, reduced control, and potential for a larger, more significant artwork. No vote was taken; the board will continue discussion and decide in August. Chelsea agreed to arrange for the state’s program manager, Meredith, to attend the August meeting and to provide the catalog for review.
Deaccession and Relocation Priority List (Item D)
The board approved a priority list for future deaccession and relocation reviews, developed by the Deaccession and Relocation Working Group (Jasmine Stephens and Andy Wright). The list prioritizes nine artworks, with Dino World as the highest priority, followed by Nexus, water fountains, and others. The working group was closed, and new working groups will be formed for each item as they are addressed. The chair immediately formed a working group for Dino World, with Stephens and Wright continuing. A working group for Nexus was also created, with Anna Buckthorpe and Tim Foley.
Working Group Updates (Item E)
Updates were provided on the Fire Station 4 working group (ongoing), the Strategic Plan working group (meeting with Stephanie), and the Deaccession Policy Update working group (meeting tomorrow). The Lion Sculpture working group was closed earlier.
Pending Items List (Item F)
Chelsea provided updates on several pending items: White Rock Pottery relocation will begin in October with the contractor responsible; the Los Alamos Heritage Gate plaque has arrived and will be mounted in two weeks; the Justice Center wall mosaic plaque is being ordered; the Split Infinity wind sculpture was recycled into a smaller piece (Blooming Lily) and installed at the Aquatic Center.
Staff Liaison Report
Chelsea reported that the online art archive contract with Creative West has been renewed for 15 years at a total cost of $39,180. She is also processing a new APP member application and will coordinate interviews.
Chairman’s Report
Tim Foley thanked Chelsea for organizing the library mosaic assembly and reported that the ribbon-cutting ceremony was well-attended, with coverage by the Los Alamos Daily Post. He also presented a briefing to County Council, which went well with no questions.
Council Communications
A council representative noted that the wood sculpture replacement and painting were already completed. The representative also shared feedback from a Native American artist from San Ildefonso who created one of the large pots at the site; the artist expressed interest in more Native American-themed commissions.
Preview of Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for August 27, 2026. Agenda items will include proposed updates to the APP ordinance (presentation by CFO), deaccession policy updates, and continued discussion on Fire Station #4 artwork.
Key Outcomes
- Approved minutes from May 28, 2026.
- Selected lion sculpture design #1 (Sphinx pose) by Daniel Borup; recommended to County Council with $75,000 budget; closed working group.
- Discussed Fire Station #4 options; no vote; will decide in August.
- Approved deaccession priority list; closed working group; formed new working groups for Dino World and Nexus.
- Updated pending items.
- Renewed art archive contract (15 years, $39,180).
- Next meeting: August 27, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
All right. Five thirty. Uh that means it's time to call this meeting to order. Uh thank you everybody for attending. So uh I guess the first order of business is public comment. Are there any public comments? Okay. Uh that being the case, the next uh is the move to the order of business. First thing on the agenda is the approval of the minutes from the May 28, 2006, 2026 APP meeting. Votes on this or any comments. The minutes from the May 28th, 2026 APP. Second. Oh, the record show Jasmine uh seconded. Mexican stand up. Abdicate the second thing. Okay. Uh that being the case, uh it's been forwarded and seconded, and I have to read it, or do I just say we can vote on? I think you can you can just say all in favor. All in favor. It was unanimous. Unanimous. The best kind. Okay. Next on the order of business is the lion sculpture designs. Uh and so we have uh the deputy chief is online and uh James Rodriguez. And we'd like him to uh go ahead and uh bring his bring forward his comments and and point of perspective for this uh topic of business. So James, floor is yours. Okay, can everyone hear me? Uh it's a little bit muffled on my side. Okay. All right. Um I guess I'll just I'll just start off with this. Um finally we're to this point. Uh we're kind of rolling. Um you kind of give everyone a bit of background of where we're at internally with the county and at the PD. I actually just met with uh contractors today, and they were here on site looking at um the location of where we're gonna be setting up what they call a radius wall um or radial wall, kind of a a circular wall where we want that to be kind of the background for the lion sculpture we're talking about. So very preliminary, but looking at the area, it looks like the sculpture will fit there, the wall would fit there. We talked about uh possible renditions of having some benches set up in there. They seem to think that the area will work perfectly for what we're thinking about. That's kind of where we're at now. Um other than that, um I think the meeting we're here for today also to talk a bit about the artist. I'm not gonna get too much into that. I'll let you guys talk about that, but from our side, that's that's where it's at. Um the personal perspective, I'm really excited to see this public. Um I know there's been some back and forth of a particular animal, what animal it should be. I think uh Jasmine even uh recommended a roadrunner at one point. But uh it will be a lion. So yeah, I'm hoping, yeah. So that's kind of where we're at now. Thank you.
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