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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Mesquite Public Arts Commission Regular Meeting - April 20, 2026

City Council & Committees — Monday, April 20, 2026

BodyMesquite, Nevada

SessionCity Council & Committees

DateMonday, April 20, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 47:43

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:01

Okay.

0:02

Let's bring this meeting to order of Mosquite Public Arts Commission on Monday, April 20th.

0:09

And before we do public comment, let me introduce one new member.

0:14

Okay, and that's Bonnie.

0:15

Bonnie, I'm sorry about your last name.

0:18

Bonnie Bonnie Bar Bar Bonnie Barker.

0:21

Okay, who is your council person is um Bill?

0:26

Bill Ennis, Bill Ennis.

0:29

Oh yeah, that yes.

0:32

So welcome, welcome Bonnie.

0:35

Okay, and we also have Kaelin, and Kaelin will be our at large rep.

0:39

We'll need the voter in next meeting.

0:42

Um we didn't get her name in time for today.

0:44

But Caitlin is um Kaelin, you're a senior junior?

0:48

Junior.

0:49

You're a junior at Virgin Valley High School.

0:52

Okay, and welcome Kaelin.

0:54

And and Caitlin's gonna be able to talk today, but just not be able to vote on anything.

0:59

Okay.

1:00

Um public comment.

1:02

Which one of our public wants to uh go first?

1:07

I think they're both on the agenda.

1:09

Oh, you're both on the agenda?

1:11

Okay, so no public comment.

1:13

Um we'll consider the approval of the Monday, March 16th public arts commission meeting and of our agenda for today.

1:26

I make a motion to approve the I make a motion to approve the minutes and the agenda.

1:33

Second okay, and we got a second.

1:36

All in favor.

1:37

I um administrative items on 3.1 first Friday update, Judy.

1:50

Thank you, Judy.

1:54

Judy Cole White, and I am the director for First Friday, First Friday, Mesquite First Friday, um family art walk.

2:07

That's a lot, and um representing impact, of course.

2:12

And we're just here to update on First Friday and how we're progressing.

2:22

And our um first Friday in April, we had 39 vendors signed up, but I think only about 34.

2:31

Some of them didn't show up.

2:33

So we had a lot more than we've had in the past, and we had a lot more uh public participation visitors, and it really went very well.

2:44

The weather was great for a change.

2:47

We didn't have a lot of wind, so which we're probably gonna get some this week, but then by May 1st, it should be okay.

2:56

So May 1st will be our last one of this season, and it's um scheduled from of course four to seven, and um we have right now we have 26 vendors signed up, but we're still a week away from their deadline, so hoping to get just as many.

3:18

We probably won't get all of them because of the um city May Festival going on also.

3:26

So anyway, but signups have been very good with the vendors and a lot of participation.

3:35

Um the museum will not be participating because they'll be at the May Festival also.

3:43

So what we're working on, we're going to start again in October, but we're going to move to Saturdays, and Saturday will be 11 to 2.

3:57

And they're still deciding on the name, but I think they pretty much come to the consensus of the mesquite second Saturday Art Festival.

4:07

And they would like to keep the second Saturday because it designates the day and it's makes it more repetitive.

4:16

So Judy, I have a question.

4:19

When you're doing the name of it, can we still get the family art and history walk in the title?

4:26

Instead of just an art fair festival or festival, an art festival, right?

4:33

Because this was originally designed as an art and history walk.

4:38

Okay, well, we can bring it up to the committee and because one of one of the things, mesquite first Friday Family Art Walk is a lot to put on any brochure.

4:53

And the same would be Mesquite Second Saturday Family Art Walk.

5:00

I mean, it's it's a lot, you know, and it always gets shortened down to First Friday.

5:05

So if you know, I think their their thought process was to keep the mesquite in there, and that it was an art festival.

5:13

So yeah.

5:14

Well, it kind of defeats one of the personality.

5:16

If you have suggestions, if you want to send them to me, then I'll bring them up to the committee and see what they want to do with it.

5:24

So this time we do have a uh a food truck, and it's it's a new uh food truck in town.

5:36

It's called Curbside Cravings, and his food looks really good.

5:40

He's gonna be at the rodeo, so if you want to go by and test him, see how good he has.

5:46

But he's really nice guy, and his food looks really good.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████55%

Community Engagement█████████████16%

Fiscal Sustainability██████████12%

Procedural████5%

Public Engagement████5%

Parks and Recreation███4%

Procurement Policy██3%

Summary of Proceedings

Mesquite Public Arts Commission Regular Meeting - April 20, 2026

The Mesquite Public Arts Commission (MPAC) met on Monday, April 20, 2026. New commissioners Bonnie Barker and youth at-large representative Kaelin were welcomed. The commission discussed the transition of the monthly art walk to Saturdays, a request for proposals for a mural on the Reliance Building, funding opportunities through the Mesquite Community Fund, and a proposal for a rotating public sculpture program. The commission unanimously approved the previous meeting’s minutes and the current meeting’s agenda.

Consent Calendar

The board voted unanimously to approve the March 16, 2026 meeting minutes and the April 20, 2026 meeting agenda.

Public Comments & Testimony

No public comments were made during the first public comment period.
Resident and community advocate George spoke during the final public comment period. He advocated for joining the CAFE (Calls for Entry) website to manage rotating public sculptures, citing the success of similar programs in Sheridan, Wyoming, and Grand Junction, Colorado.

Discussion Items

3.1 First Friday Updates (Transition to Second Saturday)

First Friday Director Judy Cole White reported that the April 2026 event had 34 vendors and strong public attendance.
The event is transitioning from a Friday to a Saturday schedule, starting October 2026. The tentative new name is the “Mesquite Second Saturday Art Festival”. Hours are proposed as 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Commissioners Karen and Bonnie expressed strong concern that the new name should retain the “Family Art and History Walk” aspect to keep the event tied to the historic district and tourism goals.
Judy agreed to take a formal recommendation on the name from Commissioner Karen back to the event committee.
Commissioner Mitzi suggested surveying vendors on extending the event hours beyond the proposed three hours. The use of a food truck (Curbside Cravings) at the event was highlighted as a positive draw.

3.2 Reliance Building Mural / Main Street Grant

Commissioner Karen introduced the item, stating the city’s downtown organization (Morph) had requested a mural for the Reliance Building suitable for the next Main Street Grant cycle (due at the end of the year).
Building owner Christy specified a desire for the mural to depict the progress of technology in the valley from the settler era to the present day.
Next steps agreed upon during discussion:
- Commissioner Steve will contact local artist Miles for a design and price.
- Commissioner Karen will contact an artist in St. George, Utah (provided by Liz) whose murals are priced in the $20,000–$25,000 range.
- Commissioner Mitzi will explore a Nevada Arts Council grant to supplement funding.

3.3 Mesquite Community Fund

George updated the commission on the Mesquite Region Community Fund, managed by the Wyoming Community Foundation (WCF), which has $235 million in assets returning roughly 15.7% annually.
The fund is a permanent, donor-advised fund. The next application deadline is June 15, 2026.
George confirmed the fund can be used as a source of matching funds for other grants.
Staff (Marco) reported the MPAC arts subtrust balance is $2,530.69. Recent withdrawals included $400 for moving a community piano and $150 for its tuning. No deposits have been made this year.
Commissioners requested a detailed accounting of the fund’s withdrawals.

Commissioners Comments and Reports

Dave reported a positive experience at the April First Friday.
Bonnie reiterated the importance of the art and history branding.
Karen reported the mural re-wrap for Lee’s Liquor is complete and looks improved. Re-wraps for Clark County are in process.
Mitzi announced the Poet Laureate schedule: nominations opened April 1, submission deadline August 15; finalists announced September 1; public reading September 16; selection September 21; city council celebration October 13.
George provided a pitch for the CAFE subscription service for rotating public sculptures.

New Member Introductions

Bonnie Barker was introduced and welcomed as a new commissioner.
Kaelin was introduced as the youth at-large representative. She is a junior at Virgin Valley High School and cannot vote until formally seated at the next meeting.

Key Outcomes

Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously.
Saturday Event Name: A formal recommendation to preserve the “Art and History Walk” branding will be given to the event committee.
Reliance Mural: Design and pricing actions assigned to Steve, Karen, and Mitzi, aiming for the next Main Street Grant.
Community Fund: Validated as a matching fund source. Staff to provide a detailed withdrawal accounting.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned following a motion and second.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. Let's bring this meeting to order of Mosquite Public Arts Commission on Monday, April 20th. And before we do public comment, let me introduce one new member. Okay, and that's Bonnie. Bonnie, I'm sorry about your last name. Bonnie Bonnie Bar Bar Bonnie Barker. Okay, who is your council person is um Bill? Bill Ennis, Bill Ennis. Oh yeah, that yes. So welcome, welcome Bonnie. Okay, and we also have Kaelin, and Kaelin will be our at large rep. We'll need the voter in next meeting. Um we didn't get her name in time for today. But Caitlin is um Kaelin, you're a senior junior? Junior. You're a junior at Virgin Valley High School. Okay, and welcome Kaelin. And and Caitlin's gonna be able to talk today, but just not be able to vote on anything. Okay. Um public comment. Which one of our public wants to uh go first? I think they're both on the agenda. Oh, you're both on the agenda? Okay, so no public comment. Um we'll consider the approval of the Monday, March 16th public arts commission meeting and of our agenda for today. I make a motion to approve the I make a motion to approve the minutes and the agenda. Second okay, and we got a second. All in favor. I um administrative items on 3.1 first Friday update, Judy. Thank you, Judy. Judy Cole White, and I am the director for First Friday, First Friday, Mesquite First Friday, um family art walk. That's a lot, and um representing impact, of course. And we're just here to update on First Friday and how we're progressing. And our um first Friday in April, we had 39 vendors signed up, but I think only about 34. Some of them didn't show up. So we had a lot more than we've had in the past, and we had a lot more uh public participation visitors, and it really went very well. The weather was great for a change. We didn't have a lot of wind, so which we're probably gonna get some this week, but then by May 1st, it should be okay. So May 1st will be our last one of this season, and it's um scheduled from of course four to seven, and um we have right now we have 26 vendors signed up, but we're still a week away from their deadline, so hoping to get just as many. We probably won't get all of them because of the um city May Festival going on also. So anyway, but signups have been very good with the vendors and a lot of participation. Um the museum will not be participating because they'll be at the May Festival also. So what we're working on, we're going to start again in October, but we're going to move to Saturdays, and Saturday will be 11 to 2. And they're still deciding on the name, but I think they pretty much come to the consensus of the mesquite second Saturday Art Festival. And they would like to keep the second Saturday because it designates the day and it's makes it more repetitive. So Judy, I have a question. When you're doing the name of it, can we still get the family art and history walk in the title? Instead of just an art fair festival or festival, an art festival, right? Because this was originally designed as an art and history walk. Okay, well, we can bring it up to the committee and because one of one of the things, mesquite first Friday Family Art Walk is a lot to put on any brochure.

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