I call the meeting of the Mountain View Performing Arts Committee for Wednesday, February 25th, 2026 to order at 620 p.m.

This is a special meeting.

Spanish or Chinese interpretation via Zoom and translation of meeting materials are available at no cost on a request.

Please contact the city by 5 p.m.

At least two business days prior to the day of the scheduled meeting by phone at 6509036608 or by email at MEP at Mountainview.gov.

This meeting is being conducted with a virtual component.

Anyone wishing to address the committee virtually may join the meeting online at HTTPS slash slash mountain view.us slash J slash 82884578889 or by dialing 699128 and entering webinar ID H to 8457 888.

When the chair announces the item on which you wish to speak, click the raise hand feature in Zoom or dial star nine on your phone.

When the chair calls your name to provide public comment, if you are participating via phone, please press star six to unmute yourself.

Call to order.

And item two is roll call.

Did we have some to the role call?

Chairperson Donegum here.

Vice Chair Fenwick here.

Committee member Garcia.

Here.

And commit committee member Bardois?

Yeah.

And committee meeting committee member Crone is.

Okay, item agenda three minutes approval.

Does anybody have any corrections to the minutes that we have for the January 21st 2026 meeting?

So much more written this time.

I make a motion to approve the minutes.

I took a look at them.

Oh second.

Any discussion, right?

I just I agree with member Garcia that I appreciate the little extra context of the trigger the memory.

So makes the memory the more solid.

That did happen.

Okay, everybody who approves, raise your hand.

It's unanimous.

And item number four oral communications from the public.

This fourth committee meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the committee on any matter not on the agenda.

Speakers are limited to three minutes.

State law prohibits the committee from acting on any non-agenda items.

Are there any members of the public who wish to comment?

Okay, there being none.

Um we move along to item five, unfinished business.

While there being none, we move along to six.

New business 6.1 review of the second stage vitality program.

Recommendation the committee will review second stage vitality program and provide feedback.

So I think we turn it over to this point.

Yes, I'm not sure if we need to.

We're not going to do a recommendation on the feedback for the second stage vitality program because it isn't ready to this committee.

So, but what I thought I would do, because we have new folks here, is you guys don't have a benchmark of the previous, what we used to do, which we call the second stage fee waiver program.

So it's in your pocket.

And basically, so then when the new one comes in front of you, the um ad hoc was Garcia and Donna who were on the ad hoc committee.

It's in its final stages, but um it is not ready to come to be voted on.

So hopefully we'll it will come back in front of you the latest meeting needed, but I thought we would take this opportunity since this didn't get removed from the agenda to go over what we had previously.

So basically it was a second stage fee waiver program, as you can see, there's some basic purpose um uh basic qualifications, fee waivers.

Um, and then we had a very brief application that folks filled out, um, and then and then a rubrics that would come to the committee to vote on.

Um, I think the key points that I would like to point out, because we put this on pause, gosh, two years ago.

Um we put this on pause on hold, so to speak.

Um mainly for a couple reasons.

One um we weren't completely transparent that we had this.

What would happen is when you would phone um or reach out to the performing arts center and want to rent second stage and you had never rented it before, we would offer you a fee waiver.

Um, and so one of the things I'll say that we've changed about the new fee waiver that will be forthcoming to you is that that's not a criteria.

You can still be a user of the second stage theater currently, and that you can apply for um the vitality program.

So, and then the other part of it is it will be completely transparent.

There'll be a process and a time period for folks to be able to apply for this for it to come back to this body to um grade and rank the different applicants and then approve who gets the um waive waiving of basically our um rental fees, and then we'll also have a limit on it as far as like how many weeks before the 2000 dollar year.

But I thought this was important.

Do you give you guys a benchmark?

Because otherwise you're gonna look at the new one and go.

Yeah, I think what Teresa means is that this scoring card was was not made topic.

And so people would show up to prevent and then we would pass these around and vote on things and have staff tabulated.

So people presented, they didn't know what was important, you know, and how much how important it was.

Yeah, the program just lacked transparency.

Yeah, um, oh sorry, um so all um questions on the old fee waiver program.

Um diversity of programming was just up to the back to decide if they felt a diverse um and attraction of broader audiences was kind of a guess, maybe based on past experience, educated guess, maybe not yes, sorry, right, but it wasn't like X, Y, and Z will get you 100% waiver, it was more like well, I guess it shows from here you're gonna get somewhere between zero and a hundred percent.

Yeah.

I think well, you also see that when the next um it rate or when the the now vitality program comes to the committee, it has increased in size, and I do think that it's in part to be transparent on this really looking at it from three layers with the increase of transparency in the process.

I think we also reviewed structural integrity into the overall process, including a timeline schedule in accordance to also for us looking at um kind of what revenue also is coming into the center that we didn't quite 100% consider that because we take this as um unrealized revenue as well.

That's correct, right?

If we're giving the grant, but now the shift is with a grant process.

We open up the space, not only are, but we're no longer purely looking at it as uh unrealized revenue, we're looking at it also as investment in new works as well.

So a long-term gain essentially is what we're seeing from the way that we've also re-articulated it as well.

Is that correct?

Yes, I would say that.

The other thing on what when what you were saying is that um we also um basically would do this sporadically.

So there wasn't a time period that folks would apply.

It was when you called the office and you hadn't rented the second stage, then we would offer this to you.

You would fill up the paperwork and it would come to the next committee meeting for approval.

So you weren't looking at folks, you know, 10 people apply for this, and you're looking at all these folks that have applied in rank at one time.

It was just very uh as needed, I guess.

And then you mentioned it was been suspended the last two years.

Has there been opportunities for people who maybe could have availed themselves to this to get are there other reduced fee offerings available from the second stage or no?

There's just currently suspended.

Okay.

And that's like but there has not been inquiries into it already, right?

How would you know the inquired exactly?

So the structural but the structural integrity has allowed it baked in transparency as well.

So one of the things of we had no mechanism prior to to reach out for inquiry.

So regard so it's kind of a already we had a deficit, but suspending it allowed us to reevaluate the purpose moving forward was my last point.

So we've gone looked at transparency and put in structural integrity regarding timeline, also in accordance to this the transparency structurally as well, is a process more oriented, which allowed us, I think, to have a much clearer purpose for it beyond what was initially standing in the V waiver.

So that's why when it comes back, it'll be much more than three pages, but it was needed in order to again put the integrity back into the program.

Looking forward to it.

And there's a timeline.

The timeline is really built with the sense of like we go into primary booking at the DG year so that this will have an annual process timeline so that people will get to apply.

You know, we'll have a grant workshop so that people know how to apply and know what you guys are looking for, and then it you know get they get reviewed, and then of course it comes to this body, you approve, and then that way then these folks are in with the primary tools when we when we book for the season.

So we're not left out in the cold.

And I think what's also very nice about um the new uh revision to it or rehaul of this is that it also teaches people how to enter into like what is primary, what are different things in utilizing the center.

So if you're a first-time user, that workshop alone gives so much of um knowledge going forward for that company or individual to utilize the center.

So hopefully it's a win-win.

The public is getting a the ability to use the center, information about the center, and of course, information about the stuff is a win for the center itself as well.

So that's something maybe caseful.

Which hopefully brings more people into the downtown and the city, so then it's also a win for the city.

That's my hope.

There we go.

We've got a lot writing on all this.

But hey, we just came off of very successful.

You're trying to bring this to number seven.

Number seven, right?

Item seven committee staff announced.

Well, I sorry, I did call for public comment on item number six point one.

Nobody here.

How do you tell?

It's over here, right?

So at the bottom two.

We just have two participants right now.

That's us the two participants are on my laptop and the in the camera.

Okay.

Okay.

It's when we have three that we know we have yes.

Okay, good to know.

Okay, item seven committee staff announcements, updates, requests, and committee reports.

No action will be taken on questions raised by the committee at this time.

So let's talk about the gallery reception.

Please.

So the people who were there.

We were all there.

Hey, well, so what'd you think?

I loved it.

I thought it was a really fun event.

I thought is that a good turnout.

Conversation was really engaging.

Did an excellent job.

Um, I thought it was the right length.

Um really well.

In fact, I heard I heard from some people who wanted more.

And I think that's the way you want to leave an audience.

Wow.

Yeah.

Um, and I actually was so busy chatting in the beginning that I didn't actually look at the artwork.

Um, afterwards, I was like, oh my god, I want to go see this stuff because now I know so much about it.

So it I was pleasantly surprised that there was a lot of hanging out afterwards.

I had just assumed you go there, check out the stuff, listen, and come home.

But um, I actually had some of my best conversations with people outwards.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, did oh, for all that, I came with my neighbor, we had a great time.

We have to talk to Dave beforehand, and I did an excellent job.

I uh I did see um, I I kind of wished that um sometimes when the artist was talking about some pieces or some inspiration that that's what we could have had on the screen behind him.

Yes.

Um, and it was there was a slight distraction just from my own performing stuff, like when the slideshow would end and it would go to a bright white screen.

You know what that was?

It was an ad.

And the ad wouldn't like it was like an ad for his calorie or whatever, but it for however it was sourced and embedded in that.

Okay, it was a white flag, it wouldn't come up on our screen.

We tried like six ways from Sunday, and we were just okay, never mind.

But I know it's because of you and me both, but it was a free-flowing conversation as well.

So it was also a reference to the barns series.

I also wanted the barns up there, and that and that would have been cool, would have been cool, but like where your conversation was gonna go, you don't want to say no.

So that kept it more interesting, and I thought again, right length, and um my neighbor and I did check out all the art beforehand and got to talk to a few people, which we really enjoyed, and we were one of those people that just left afterwards because early.

So yeah, I I thought it was a great event.

I really enjoyed pouring wine for hand and chatting it up with people.

Um there was probably just enough food.

I mean, they cleared through everything pretty much at the end.

Yes, you know, you don't want to have a whole bunch of cheese left over.

Well, maybe staff does, but I would say there was not enough cheese.

Yes, as a vegetarian.

When I got there, there's like three pieces of cheese on my own.

Yeah, I was saving my cheese course for after the talk.

I think my wasn't anything there.

Yeah, I don't know.

I thought it was really a great event.

And the city sent out uh lots of invitations to different lists.

Uh I didn't notice anybody from council there.

I also did not.

Okay.

So um in our staff wrap-up, we talked about making sure that council was invited, and then the other um so we've already had a staff wrap-up.

So what I'll tell you is um council being invited.

Um, one of the other things is having uh something else besides water for non-alcoholic.

Oh, yeah, you know, just with some an option um for non-alcoholic, and then um name tags.

We talked about name tags.

Oh, that's a great idea.

Um it worked out in the end, but name tags would have been good, yeah.

Yeah, well, and then I felt bad because there's other committee, you know, from the other committees, there's folks that I may need not for sounds like two syllables, you know.

Well, I mean, a lot of what as I was pouring wine, people so I obviously I wasn't usher with the name Usher tag on, so they were like, Well, who are you and why are you so if I just had a name tag, yeah, uh, and then you know, when everybody else on the committees were circulating, I mean everybody could have a name tag, it wouldn't have to just be the people who worked at it.

Yeah, so that and so I'm always big on recruiting for advisory bodies because somebody's always short.

So if you know, well-turned out people such as yourselves have name tags on or going around talking and representing you know the committee, that's more likely to, you know, draw more volunteers in for this committee or other ones.

And then the other one um was in program, and then um and this was my my pet beat as I sat there with my husband and was looking at you know, my chairs for my office, and then things looked really nice and looked really lovely, and I was like off.

There's something off, and my husband says, You needed a rug.

Oh, I needed a rug.

Okay.

I was like I needed a rug because it looked too much like a stage, you know, and it's supposed to be warm and yeah, we got there though.

And I was like, so that that went on my nose.

We needed a rug.

Um so but all overall it was good planning.

It went really well, and I think it was we just you had to look into the dates of when there was performance there, right?

So I wonder if there's any way early on to pick that date so that when the visual arts committee schedules what's going on there, they could find some because that was kind of a little boundary pushing exhibit for some people, yeah, you know, and I thought it was great, and I think um, you know, more like that would be I I I do I had a couple of thoughts like after moderating, because one of the things too in moderating, I was very aware of how the event flow was happening, and so um I do think that this was a great exhibit to start off with because it being so close to identity, it's a I mean uh an event looking for an identity, boom, you have a conversation on identity.

And so um I do think that this was a great exhibit to start off with because it being so close to identity.

It's a I mean an event looking for an identity, boom, you have a conversation on identity.

So that was interesting.

Um I just wanted to note also great four things, name tags, invites to council, more than water, rug needed.

What a great list of notes if that's all you have.

Um okay, that's good to know.

And then um, I do think the length of time was correct as well.

I definitely because I also got the sense people wanted more, so that's great.

So leave them wanting more.

Um I really do think that we can also um a chance to if we do this again, expand the demographic beyond I don't know how, but I think this is a good also place to pull in.

I do think we can get younger people um as well, if it's the same sort of um atmosphere next time as well.

So that's something to think about.

I don't know how art dependent that is on the artist as well.

Um that's something interesting.

And then yes, I think keeping it very warm is a very good um method, like a good a good framework in producing this again.

I think there was a certain type of energy that we captured that could be a great uh hallmark in opening up the center for community.

So I think we hit the nail on the head in multiple ways.

Just uh I I would say uh just I meant to say before I also met who I would be talking to, and then I'd find out they were from another committee, but same tag or not, it was so very super nice to meet them and you know, get to have that collaboration.

And the wine booth in particular was I think you had one from each committee always circulating on circumstances.

One from which one person from each committee.

Oh, that's you had like someone from the downtown committee, someone from visual arts committee.

It wasn't like two people from forming arts committee serving wine.

Oh, okay.

Well, it was pretty much me and someone from downtown for the the hour before.

I don't know what happened after the talk.

It was Kirsten after the talk.

Okay.

I feel like I met someone who was like working with HR in the city council.

Like we had a couple of people who we had other staff.

There was a lot of staff in attendance too, which was great, and I was surprised by that.

Is there a way of um assessing what our demographic was?

Like whether it was like beach wise genzy or I think I got a run a ticket report, that won't get us as much as I think what you're really looking for.

Yeah.

I mean, it just you know, like folks don't have to give us that that much information.

Yeah, whatever it's worth.

I went online to buy my two tickets um and was made to create an account and I went through all those steps, and I computers for a living.

I'm pretty good for Saving.

And when I went to go look for the tickets today up, there's nothing in my email.

These people at box office said I had not purchased any tickets and I didn't even have an account.

So um was this fine, uh, but I have bought tickets for the performing arts center before.

Maybe I logged out as a guest, I don't know.

Um but uh I I would consider myself high aptitude for using computers as a computer scientist.

Um so um you went through all that and then I wasn't the only person they at least the people the box office said there was a it sounded like I wasn't the only person that said I had bought tickets and it's just one more reason why shopping for a new ticket it's not the best apparently I don't even have an account, even though I wanted to put my address and made a password and well, there's plenty of time also uh for now until whenever we think of new ways to market this and I in marketing some other stuff I was involved with.

I learned that leadership mountain view has this little form that you fill out because I was sending them flyers for a year, and she said, Well, um we don't do that, we don't do that year so far.

It's so good to know.

Live and learn.

Uh I can look for that email and send it to what are the next steps for this event?

Like I'm assuming we all want to do it again, like as an annual thing as a well, it's gonna be budgetary, yeah.

You know, so um we're looking at staff's already looking at next fall.

Okay, um, or this fall, I should say.

Um the visual arts community's already chosen the artist for the year.

So I'm gonna go in and kind of look at the what's been chosen, and then I gotta, you know, maybe if we're lucky, we we pick somebody that we like, and then I have dates that are available, or it might, you know, what I'm hoping is like it's like a a one, two, three kind of thing, and then you know, look at the first choice, see if there's dates available in the time.

And is there a reason you're choosing fall specifically and not here again?

Um, we're trying to do one.

Um I mean, this is gonna be budget contingent, but like another bit to try and do one in the fall and then maybe not and do two.

So it'll be a second in calendar year 2026.

Yes, right.

So, but we'll see.

Wait this calendar year.

Oh, uh oh.

Yeah, okay.

But Ronnie.

Yeah, um I also was thinking that I'd be interesting.

I think there's something to be sold with the idea of in like an intimate talk with the city type of situation or like a like a small talk, have like a I think FDR fireside chat, like something like that's warm, but also like institutional.

I think that might be another way.

So that being said, um, I think it might be interesting to do something for the 35th anniversary, a small talk with the uh the 35th, if that could be wrapped in somehow.

So we need to get it.

Excellent, excellent.

Well, so what a wonderful idea for the whether for ad hoc for that.

Just an idea though, but no, I do think that would be an option that I think that might be something that's interesting to do.

Because again, I think um yeah, I think the formatting seems it seems to me.

Also, I'm aware as a young person that the formatting seems very traditional, but there's something about it that seems very modern at the same time.

I'm not sure what that connection is yet.

But again, I think a young, I think young people, 20-year-olds to 30 year olds, early professionals would sit in too on on this event.

So it's a very traditional format, but like I've this is a model I've done for decades.

Yeah, and then it just depends on really it really is dependent on the artists.

And then you get the 20 somethings, or you get you know, it just really depends on what the the artists in your demographic should should change according.

I would say that this one seemed like uh I would say that we had a 50 to 60 range, 50 to 70 range, possibly older, or not all, but I'd say that's about two thirds and then one third 30 to 40.

I would say is what I would to answer your question based on talking to everybody.

Um would be the demographic.

And then I would 30 for the 40 range in our lobby is like that often.

That's young for us.

That's the young demographic.

I will say the younger demographic were from from the conversation I had were um city employees, which is fine, but I I noticed that most of the people were city employees that were of that demographic.

So something to know as well.

Um we seem to reach we reached inside the city, like staff specifically, and I don't know how that which makes sense, but that is a concern when we mark again how to break out of kind of the people already in the circulation of the city.

Um, because we didn't, I don't think we quite reached, or they were the population that did not come because of the weather or something, but I don't know.

Yeah, the weather was pretty foul.

Yeah, yeah.

So that'd be interesting to also see how this does on a not a better.

So I have a question.

It was Instagram, was there an Instagram thing?

I mean, how do I say this?

Like we have an Instagram, but our Instagram.

But we did post it on Facebook.

No, I'm suggesting an Instagram wallpaper flyer, whatever you call it, that other people could post.

Oh, I got in gram accounts because that's where the kids are at.

I know a lot of council members post a lot of things in the active on Instagram, and those are the influencers that some you know a lot of people follow.

Yeah, well, they have algorithmic power as well.

So I was thinking next door as well.

That's that means we didn't extort the city does, and then I didn't see it from the city, but how the algorithm works doesn't mean they didn't book so it's gonna make it across.

How do I say this?

Um we didn't really get our communications I think everybody I how do I say opportunity for more yes, there's opportunity for more um engagement and involvement.

I think we might have been a little intrepid.

I don't know.

Well, I think with you know the story of the wild success at the past one was it'll be easier to get like you know, get other departments on board.

Has has anyone from have we told council yet as a whole has um that the event occurred?

Well, they knew about it only because um we do council connections, but we didn't necessarily it'd be interesting to just have a report on the agenda that we that it happened, whether that comes from economic or development, the performing arts division or um downtown.

We could add it into the council connection, you know, because I know that I have photos get added in this event.

It'd be interesting to have 85 people was fabulous, right?

Including the weather.

So old Mountain View had an announcement of it in their printed newsletter, the neighborhood association.

Oh nice.

Yeah, and I think they have a website too.

I sort of crashed one of their events recently and picked up a flyer.

Um but they have someone who in their newsletter does downtown restaurant reviews.

That's posted in next door.

I see that.

So that group is seems to me like a key market for the ones that attended, which is interesting.

All of the people who attended were were from Old Mountain View, a majority live lived in Old Mountain.

I only know that.

Yeah, that's true.

I mean some of the people said that they just walked over here.

So yeah, so that's interesting.

I think we need to then strengthen the cool just knowing because old Mount, I mean, also Old Mountain View is a very tight knit, right?

Um, or has so it's interesting is what is considered old mountain.

Um right here till Calderon, I think, or uh what's this castro to Calderon?

Oh, okay.

We're good.

But like not uh and then shoreline's the edge.

So from Shoreline to Calderon, probably.

So I was a capture street.

So I think oh uh it's on the map, it's designated.

So I think old Mountain View is on the other side of Castro.

I don't think it's on the oh yeah.

Well, that's like ongoing debate, but I mean there's also like political too.

Yeah.

Does it count?

It's I think it's designated on the well, it's not there anymore.

Gone gone.

So it's designated.

I think I think it's a specific designation.

So okay.

I think so it seems like we create we had an implicit partnership with Old Mountain View, which brought in people, so we need more partnership, apparently.

Exactly.

So algorithmic power is what we're looking for when we're talking.

And I wonder if really we are reducing when we're talking about marketing.

Are we just talking about the algorithm at this point?

I don't know.

That's an interesting thing for us to think about as committee members.

But um, well, and then secondary to algorithms is partnerships.

Because you have the intention of marketing as partnership, then marketing as algorithmic maneuvering.

And so partnership implicitly came through old Mountain View.

Old Mountain View and Red Rock.

You know, anything that happens there, I think they'd be happy to post something.

Anything that happens here.

Yeah, but the red rock would be a great place to have a flyer up or something.

And if you're going to have a flyer for them, I'm sure the bookstore would post it as well because I'd then put something up.

Yeah.

And there's like a million Facebook groups.

I don't know if our marketing is kind of NIA this time.

Like, you know, there's like Mountain View moms and things like that.

Yeah.

At least a dozen.

Well, isn't there a young professionals group in Mountain View?

Some sort.

I will the chamber have an ad.

Um I hope these channels have run, they might exist, but they might be like little rivers that are drying up.

Yeah.

Okay.

Post COVID.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So um, but they they have kind of existed, but I don't think anything's um, I don't think there's a young professional group that's hitting strong right now.

But leadership mountain view is technically.

Leadership mountain view is all that yeah.

There's been other things though, but leadership mountain view has a lot of too.

The ones worth I posted on my uh on Slack group that I'm on, um Facebook and LinkedIn.

So I but other than my neighbor, which cross the street.

I don't know about anyone else's.

But I didn't think about next door, which is more specifically.

Well, the chamber did circulate something because a friend of mine is an ambassador for the chamber, and she that's how she heard about it and she came.

Well, next time would we have it in this thing as well?

Possibly, yeah.

We mailed out postcards to the same list.

Oh, we didn't.

This is interesting to uh so I the the the thing, I mean, people will say Gen Z is act is inactive or politically inactive.

They just don't have a consolidated um channel, right?

To reach the city.

So very well could say the onus on Gen Z.

But uh so kind of a hard thing though, because so there's overlap between old and um old Mountain View Chamber and the City.

Those are all very and leadership Mountain View, very, very, very similar networks.

So just something to think about.

I don't think that that's a barrier at all.

I think the strength actually.

Um, but my my it's kind of a bigger thing just to think about um my fear is that we become accidentally too insular to that community and then run into the same problem of where's our audience because that audience in 10 years will also be will age as well.

And so we'll have a couple of years of a new audience, but then no channel for whatever's next.

So that's just something we obviously can't solve that as a committee, but this barrier that I want.

I don't know how to fix that, but then what well, I mean, there's um like foothill community cannot or something.

Don't they have an art pro?

I mean, there's all kinds of things.

That's true.

The community calls I mean they can they can but again not drink one to me then that depends on the artists that you choose.

Exactly.

You know, they can we and the theme of the art and the yeah, yeah.

There's and then some of those are gonna be easier to get rid of a young Gen Z.

I thought we're coming.

I have a small other committee report um possibly related to some of our Gen Z that I ran into the our public after our meeting last time.

The people that were here to make public comment.

Uh and um and uh and then one of their friends who was late uh and I ran into them down by Villa and Castro just on the street that when I was walking home, and they had so many questions, including like why we couldn't really like talk to them.

And so I explained Brown Act at a really high level.

Um, but they and I did uh give them your name.

So I'm not sure they followed up, but I said, you know, that's uh that you were a person that could have a conversation with them.

Yeah, uh more of a two-way street, and they're like, oh, we just thought you were all kind of a little weird.

And I was like, no, Brown Act is all a little weird.

So um, but they were super um I encourage them to come to more or other committee meetings and our committee meetings.

So hopefully we will see and hear from them some more.

But uh it was a little bit serendipity to run into them on the street.

They seem you guys are stuffy.

Like I were here and they were super polite.

They were so so polite.

They were just like, how how tell us about these committee meetings?

And like it seemed like you all couldn't really talk to us.

And I was like, oh, because it wasn't on the agenda.

So we couldn't really discuss.

Yeah, they're like, oh, merging they were super interesting.

Yeah, Brown Act is weird if you don't you know, if you're not interacting with people that are brown acted a lot, and uh it's weird.

Um, but they were super excited to have uh and I did direct them back to you.

So hopefully you'll hear from them and uh I said because you can have a dialogue.

I want to tie this back into our work plan, actually.

What we're discussing, because this is giving me a thought, a little kernel that I'm not thinking of.

So we said that we wanted to, for the past three years, we have said that we wanted to work with other committees and create partnerships, etc.

What we're finding, I think also just in the discussion, again, actually, we have a network that we are leveraging already, um, structurally speaking.

So again, Old Mountain View Chamber, City Leadership MV, very similar network, all in network.

And this question of I think there's a demographic that we are not tapping into.

Um, but it's such at a level of they don't even know how to interact with the city.

Of course, these are not, this is not a new conversation.

But um, I think this is something for us to consider when to put onto our work plan as an issue of sustainability, not necessarily at the level of revenue or expenses, but at the level of exposure, talking about how do we attract, we've continued to talk about attracting new demographics, but um even us have questions about how to do that, but that seems like there needs to be some place where we create um some sort of container or a net to see what we can catch.

And we currently I don't feel like have that in place.

I do think as as a young person, just to speak, I think that would be interesting for us to add moving forward whenever that time ends up coming onto our work plan as a long-term goal and sustainability to continue to bring in new people.

So again, we have I think what emerges clearly there is an in a network that exists, and then we need to expand out of them because those networks overlap quite a bit.

So we will find a cap, I think, to that.

Well, so that makes me think about will there be an advertising budget in the future for online for the voice.

A lot of people actually advertise in the Los Altos town crier, a little bit pricey, but it's a physical thing, and a lot of people pick it up.

So I don't know what the budget is.

That's just like not it.

Or the budget's zero.

Well, I think beyond that too, I'm very curious to, I'm wondering if we have meetings in which we hold for the public, but uh with the invitate invitation to young people, whether that's certain leadership mountain be people on at a certain age who might are less involved with with the city or don't know, or people from the high school, and we lead a meeting about what is the performing arts committee and how to different things that could be potential, and then I mean this could be an event as well and have a QA and people ask the questions, or I don't know, it's either small, could be large, but I think we need something that does allow dialogue um at the level of the meeting itself.

Um that's something interesting.

So literally, I mean, if we had an an agenda item that was like to discuss the center, people could ask all of their questions as a result on the as legally they could ask it.

And so that might be an interesting sort of device to do that would allow um that could be the beginning of a net as well, the beginning of fielding something to see what what young people would come about.

I I would also recommend that we we should definitely that'd be such an interesting thing in in thinking about the people who had a public comment.

Well, I have an ask.

Will there be a debrief of PAC back in downtown committees?

To uh the ad hoc committee, yeah.

Yeah, because staff have met, but we haven't met.

And also I think if someone asked us, we would all give permission for our sort emails to be circulated instead of blind copied.

I think that's a that's a brown ad buttant.

Yeah.

Oh, really?

Yeah, yeah.

Otherwise, then we have a meeting online.

People the people that were in the BAC and in the ad hoc committee.

Oh, email.

Oh, the ad hoc committee.

The ad hoc committee, these but we still cannot have our each other's emails though.

Well, I you know, oh, and we can have each other, we can contact each other for the ad hoc you can.

Yes.

But I don't know how to know because everything was sent out by blind.

Oh, the contact information.

So I would like to be able to contact people that I've met and worked with.

Yeah, that's true.

Maybe do something else.

I do I mean, it's okay outside of the committee.

Yeah, yeah.

And I mean, it's not violating their brown act things.

If I think that was, I mean, I can bring it up.

I think that was just a habit that we were dealing with the committee.

I would agree to prevent accidentally at all.

And even though this is an ad hoc and there wasn't a majority of anyone in the committee.

So there is no harm, no foul to to share.

And but I think that was probably just a habit.

Well, this they're there used to be uh an internal document where people that were on this committee would get personal emails from everybody and everybody else's committee and then click the circulating bad.

So somebody said I you didn't have permission to do them.

Right.

For whatever it's worth on the last committee I was on for the city.

We all had each other's email address.

Yeah.

But how did you get them?

They were just I don't know.

The whole public had mine as well.

I got direct emails from the members of the public as well.

So I I just got a number of emails that had each other on, but we were just instructed not to reply, like particularly if it was a public comment and they CC, all committee members.

Um we just were told not to reply to, and then it would be entered into the meeting as public comment for upcoming meeting.

But I it wasn't couldn't they weren't like Peter's Carol's email, but it wasn't in either.

So I think there's a little bit for how that's managed the committees, but like I said, the whole public seemed to also find the weather.

So I do agree that a debrief as an ad hoc would be quite nice.

It's forthcoming.

And I have one other not, I've got a nice kit just committee note.

Um a long time theater community in the Bay Area, uh, West Valley Light Opera has ceased operations after 60 years.

So after how long?

60.

We just had their 60th anniversary celebration.

Very well attended.

Um it was this uh West Valley Less Light Opera they have performed and the Saratoga Civic Center for the Saratoga Civic Center.

Okay.

For many, many, many years.

Um so that's uh Marge at hand and the Pincuses and had started that up long time ago, well six years ago.

So we have children as one more problem.

When is art month?

Is that April?

Um California Arts month is April.

But we don't have time to get it on the council.

Okay.

I'm just gonna put on a little typo.

No, um it says yeah, it says 214 is 14 and 13.

Oh my goodness, but it's under March, but still all the other catch these things.

Railroad.

So you two were at the make music day.

If you wanna stop and I know that's we wanted to talk, you want them the SV creates lunch that we went to make possible.

Oh, right.

Make me music.

Why didn't you preface it a little bit if we want or but um go ahead?

I'm about to hear your comments.

So um make me so I'm gonna pass this around.

Make music day is basically uh a nationwide day that all communities that participate basically ask folks to just make music.

It could be you sit out on your front porch and play the harmonica, or you might get a group of musicians and go to the local park and play.

Um but it's just it's an all-day kind of affair that um you know, like New York has I don't remember how many thousands of people that participate, and then there's you know other communities.

Um San Jose can um also participates, and so the make music day is a nonprofit organization.

They have a software essentially that helps match um, like in your community where where folks would be, and so that if folks want to come and listen and then also the register to participate, so it seems like a blast.

What I will say is like for us as a city, June 21st is tomorrow.

It's also Father's Day this year.

I don't think um so you know, obviously we would be talking about next next year, most likely, but we I did have I got this from Aaron and I did have a conversation with him about it.

Um it's really not meant to be like a city function, it's meant to be very grassroots and just kind of happen, but the one thing that I did um understand is that obviously somebody has to pay for the software, folks register you know, to play music in your neighborhood park.

Um there's permits, there's a few things that we need to like you know find out information about.

Um, but then I know talking to the staff person at the city of San Jose, because they have so many people that participate, it's pretty much like a full-time job to like go in and make sure that everybody they've got their ducks in a row and you're gonna play at the park from 10 to 11, and you're gonna play at the park from 11 to noon, and you're gonna you know that kind of stuff.

So it it possibly what I'll say is there is the possibility of it becoming laborious for staff, just depending on how big it rolls and and what it turns into.

Um but it's also can be very grassroots, and then I was just trying to think of ways um when I was talking to Aaron, Kristen and I talked to Aaron of that ways that the city could kind of help launch the bird out of the nest, but not like own the bird.

You know what I mean?

So things like you know, we have a lot of pocket parts, and could we for this day waive the permit fee, you know, and let folks be able to play in the park kind of thing.

Would we you know allow people to like play up and down Castro Street, you know, you know, what what would the city do that would encourage folks to like participate in this um without getting heavy handed on it?

The permits for such an a thing that one, if it's not amplified, they can just play.

Because the the the thing, and I think I already so the other thing too is that this is a this is something that it sounds this sounds like the chamber, not the city.

Oh because it looks it's to organize nonprofits.

I think organize organizations that already exist.

Um and then they can look no, it's it's personal, it's like folks just participate.

For the maintenance of it though, I I would struggle to say if if it so it so it depends on twofold.

I I'm I'm a little wary initially, like looking at this actually.

I think a day of national music making that sounds great, exciting.

But um, but I think I I do I I would hesitate to move this towards the city though, upon initially upon looking at this.

I I would say because I think that um it requires a certain level of agility that I'm not sure staff could undertake, maybe upon initially, but it would really have to, I think, be in conjunction with some uh uh a nonprofit that that is capable of doing this.

Because you would leverage, I mean, immediately off the bat, if you're gonna talk about this, you would look at all your current music schools, you look at CSMA, see if there's capacity, and then and then, but have the one entity, whoever channels it be the funnel be the end of the funnel, so they're all coming into the funnel and then they're coming out.

So make music gay is basically the funnel.

They have a software that everybody funnels through that.

It's just somebody has to monitor the registration of that.

So how expensive is the software?

It's not that much.

I don't remember off the top of my head.

Sounds like 300 a year.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

So is it a subscription to a software or something?

Yeah, it's it's their proprietary software, but basically, like on you know, it creates the map.

You know, so like, you know, it creates the map so that you know, then somebody has to produce them, so to speak.

And it's easy for like if you're like an RB artist, just go online and see, oh, where are other people might play as opposed to trying to find people on your own?

It's like a centralized location for the artist as well as facilitators.

That map yes, so that is a great way to uh build a local database of us.

Well, and also anything like I know it doesn't fit exactly with what the Red Rock people look at, but clearly there's a need and desire for more visibility for the local musicians.

Um I know what they were saying was a little bit more about trying to make money and stuff out of it, but um I mean it's something where they can get music.

But Red Rock is a nonprofit.

I I I think this would all take selling to the community.

They are a nonprofit.

They they were having a tough time go making a go of it.

They are a nonprofit with the mission of promoting the arts.

So I don't know much about their structure other than that, they must have a port.

Just super quick glance to this.

I see like item number three is saying where this maybe it would be like an I don't know, something between the city and um chamber of commerce, because it says number three is make permitting easy.

So like that's where the city would really be involved because we can't like if we want to say you can have amplified music this one day in the Rex Mont Manor Totlot, which is private my house.

Um right now, amplified music is forbidden, but maybe it could be a special day and you could let the neighborhood know, and yeah, excited.

I mean, even non-amplified it, somebody brought like a trombone, like people knowing it was like kind of allowed as a special event.

I mean, I think it's worth exploring because they did say there's a boot range outside seems to be quite involved in, and then there's a lot of cities that are just very laissez-faire, just kind of right, and maybe all the city mountainee does is just cities to get permits.

There's some there's some musician in Quest a Park that organizes weekly summer outdoor concerts at the park.

So I mean, there are organizers around they we just need to identify.

I mean, number one is identify a local champion for the event, and I think that's like the big one that I'm looking at is who will yeah, would that be the chamber?

Yeah, but I also think that's going uh I have hesitation about this because I'm worried about the champ, I'm worried about I'm also worried about not worried, um, thinking about like I think that we would whoever the champion is would have to galvanize community to make music, and it's very easy.

We'll see.

I mean, I was also they'd have to organize artists, they'd have to go find the talent.

Um because I just don't know.

I'm saying this because I don't think that we have just a natural music making scene in the city.

I oh I see.

Also, there's very something very different to promoting the idea of just making music and amateur music versus having someone who or a Keystone or a capstone to that who is a musician.

They that can sometimes fall into a false binary of community made music.

So I there's a couple of constraints that I'm thinking of.

I mean, not for right now.

I think it's overall a positive project, but I do think that there are constraints considering um the climate here that would have to be considered.

Um that I don't think it's it's I don't think it's a shoe-in.

I do think it would take some planning for sure.

That's maybe mainly my concern.

I also think it's gonna be something that grows within years, like he gave he gave the analogy of it being like Halloween, like people aren't gonna pull out and costume until everybody else is going out in costume, or we start singing in the park till they start seeing oh, everybody's okay.

And um, yeah, I mean, I think the marketing is I I don't know if they're necessarily um central ranking people, but I would think this would need a champion.

This would really need someone to coalesce it.

I don't think I don't think if the city I mean, we can might get a few people.

Well, I mean, if you get like you're saying CSMA, Red Rock, the concerts in the park, and like four or five other um, you know, there's uh I mean something else not to spoke like can't be a fire school.

Yeah, yeah.

You know, get like those kind of people say, like, hey, why don't you present something?

They become this the you know champions core.

My big question, and I would be honest is then why have they not championed?

Like so the so they have not championed already.

They have not, and maybe we just haven't had a strong enough consolidation, but I would say that many of them reach in network, their own network, and unless someone creates the connective, like the interstitial or tissue, like in between organizations.

I um I have to articulate I will articulate this at another time, I think.

But I I also that's why I was saying we're already seeing an overlapping network.

My fear is that this is is already the demographic.

The demographic that we immediately think of that we plug into this already are coming to the center, already are connected to music.

So I would say that there is a public benefit and already a captured audience.

Is there a public benefit to a wider audience?

We might have the intention structurally.

I don't think we have the network.

That's why I'm saying that we'd need a champion.

I don't think we have the the structural resources right now to reach the city and not something that otherwise, yes, we're very well capable.

But I think we would we would be we're stacking events onto the same thing.

This is we can't there weren't because this is not just a people that attended reporting on this is not anything we're doing here.

Yeah, no decision or guidance is not on the agenda.

So do we want to put it on the agenda and all this over and maybe have an ad hoc committee or to explore to find people who might be interested in doing this?

I mean, it sounds like it's not gonna what would the timeline be?

Is it the time okay?

We should we're talking about it now for 2020.

Could we make it happen by June?

Oh, June in general.

Next June.

Next June.

Right.

So we have an ad hoc committee in the fall.

Well, I would, I mean, honestly, what I would recommend is you do an ad hoc.

You might end up having two different ad hoc committees, but I would recommend doing an ad hoc committee immediately that finds out things like can we waive permits?

Like what can the city do and what can't we do?

Like so we know like where the city stands.

Is the chamber even remotely interested?

Like, you know, like let's let's do the preliminary finding, so to speak, so at least we know where we stand.

And then and then it would be like, okay, so then you know, I would we think that could work, or it's like, okay, this is this is the hill, and these are the valleys.

This is like let's be realistic about it.

You know, this is this is gonna be our struggles.

These are the things that we can do.

These are the things that like you know, just for saying governments, okay.

We can't not comment the park.

So like they won't let us do that.

Okay, oh that's a you know, like where do we stand?

Okay oh that's a you know like where where do we stand and then you know could bring it back to the group and say okay this is where we stand this is what's going on is it a yay or an A and then it would be an ad hoc committee that's like okay now we're doing this in earnest for next June what do we need to work I think that's also what I'm interested in structural limitations and also the pros of doing it I think we'd also be interested before I would also be interested to see how it aligns with our current work plan.

Yeah for the committee.

And yeah.

Okay not may just I think a lot of constraints that need to be considered before looking at it.

Um that's all that's okay.

Well I'm kind of with Teresa it'd be nice to have some people look into the permitting and and other low hanging fruit that would the way for people to volunteer to um this thing.

Because if there's too many roadblocks right well and then like what is the thing that makes it Mountain view cohesive to the city to a participant here what would make them want to participate is my other question.

Sorry say that again specific to because I I again specific to the city specific to Mount View what is a connecting kind of identity of of this that would say here this pro why this program and why here in the city is my question.

And I would want to know that from like a statistical or like data standpoint.

Well I think it would be from my perspective from a staff perspective I would like to talk to the staff person at San Jose.

It's like it's big now and she's spending a lot of time on it I know that we heard that at the lunch but like 10 years ago what you know what was it like what was it when it just started you know and then what is the look like and how did and and how did how did that for sake of conversation how did how did that path end up with you doing X, Y, and Z.

And what resourcing was needed and and what what if we don't want to end up on that path what if we want to be over here like where where would we need to like kind of like I said that's like throwing the bird out of the nest but like where would where would we as city like go, okay we're we're back it this has got a life of its own now we're gonna back up.

And then he needs to start at the beginning technically because otherwise you'd get easily wrapped into yeah sustaining it or ending.

And it could be as simple as like yeah we waive the permits or or it's one park or something also to central I don't know.

Yeah or we made the park you know the permits for one park or the city reverber reserves a park or something that's possible.

I mean there's all kinds of you know but like what what can I think I think it's the we can do and we can't do and then the sideways if the city does what can we do as possible as possible.

So is this um conversation with the city staff San Jose City staff person part of ad hoc committee part one stuff?

Yeah I think it would I mean you know as stuff it's like I think it's it in order in order to assist the committee you know we should do our due diligence to talk to the staff person and make sure that like you know I don't even know how many years they've been doing it.

There's this huge I mean yeah I think San Jose is a huge city too and maybe it's a conversation back to Aaron of like do you have another city that's like size right maybe we maybe we have a brief conversation with San Jose but like maybe we really have an in-depth conversation with somebody at I don't know Gilroy.

I don't know I'm just making it up but you know that's a little more Gilroy seems to be doing things so I would say like an exploratory committee it's not like committing to do anything.

Right.

Yeah it's just figuring it out you know what what is how can it be done that's interesting that's a proportional because they do give examples these are all big cities that they give examples for but the lunch he did like there was one in Alaska there was another one in Nebraska that was like 5,000 people and they all just come out on Main Street and like you know like you know so there's there's a huge gamut.

And then there's New York and San Jose which we're not right well like Connecticut has 17 doctors.

So I can't imagine that's I mean well I personally like to see more music that's not 70s and 80s.

That's a big request across demographic so now is the time to make inroads into something else.

Okay.

Because I think we're being optimistic.

I'm not saying, yeah.

I think I think we're kind of also kind of getting in our head too much about organizations getting involved in this, because ultimately it's supposed to be people.

It's supposed to be like the dude who hasn't picked up a clarinet, so it's who is in middle school being inspired to like get together with his buddies and something.

But I think like having been in the music education field here specifically, but we don't have the same, we don't have strong music education in the Bay Area.

We do not have a strong music scene.

We don't have a strong cultural scene in very fractured ways, we do, which is great.

That's what I'm saying.

There are barriers.

Also, we haven't done our our orgs that have existed for a while that are well known, have not done this sort of outreach, have not done, or they have and we haven't heard of it.

So that's what I'm saying.

And then the expectation to that that being said, that does not translate.

So the person who's been playing the clarinet or hasn't been playing the clarinet, does not translate to getting another act on stage or in the city that would be of a diverse or different diverse and maybe different than 70s rock or Aiden's Rock.

So that's what I'm just saying.

Like that does not technically translate to programming.

Well, you know, I think I'm looking at it as more simplistic view as somebody who wishes, you know, that I'd stuck with it and could make music, but likes to hear music.

So just it's like a gallery walk, you know, where you go around and look at different art objects.

This is like a music walk.

I mean, it's it would be you know, pretty lively, and it would get more of the community engaged in a new way.

And it's one of those things that's either gonna build or it isn't.

But I'm kind of leaning toward trying, you know, something new.

So I don't know if others agree with me.

I I feel like there's so many unknowns that um, and I think uh I already feel like there's just too many unknowns, and I already feel like we're we've all gone pretty deep on a topic that's not technically on our agenda.

Well I'm trying to put it on the agenda.

Okay, so I'm I'm with you, and I think it's because we were there at the event and we got really inspired by this.

But I'm sorry, it's not on our agenda, so we're having a like trying to make decisions about things this is on our agenda who not that we get a lot of public here, but this might be something that the public would be interested in getting their feedback on.

So my I started this whole came into this conversation saying maybe we ought to put this on the agenda so that we can talk about this more, and we keep talking about it.

I'm not hearing anybody say great idea, let's put it on the agenda.

I I think it should be on the agenda to talk about because I'm feeling like I I feel like we've talked a lot about a lot of specifics for something that's not on the agenda.

I would rather it be on the agenda and I support the agenda meeting.

I was supposed to put it on the agenda too.

Okay, so then next month.

No, it's not a good remote community.

We can do just request.

Like a like a traffic signal.

Lagic wave of the hand.

Okay.

So then it's for next month.

Okay.

Is there a report or something that follows is it gonna be a memorandum or anything attached to it?

Sorry, to discuss it.

Or just anything when we're for because it'll be for ad hoc, but I'm I'm interested in whatever information from the event as well, or who's gonna who is connected to would be interesting.

I'm not sure I understand the question.

Well, I'm curious, uh like it'd be interesting to see how it came about through SV creates just what that conversation was.

But I'm I was just saying if there's any additional information on this, that would be nice to know going into the uh discussion.

Yeah, like what will we know differently next month than what we have right now?

Well, we can all visit their website.

Yeah, I would just appreciate a report, but that's okay.

It doesn't have a report on what uh a report on I I really do want to know uh who presented on it.

I want to know about the SV creates conversation.

That's who presented on it.

That's okay.

If we're gonna, I just I would okay.

We'll see next month.

That's fine.

Okay.

I'll take one.

Thank you.

Oh fine.

That stays here though, so I won't do that.

Don't do that.

I'll scale it back.

Do you so um take this with you, right?

Let me put in a plug for one of our companies, uh upstage theater forming sometime.

Is it in April?

Is it March?

At the end here.

Yeah.

Oh yeah, ride the cycle.

They're wonderful.

They are so have we exhausted all I have one question.

Anyone said at one point we can get two comps for all.

We haven't said that yet.

No, the MOU has to be up.

Do we set the one for Shoreline?

Oh yeah, number those comps or the tickets.

The tickets.

That's the thing.

Yeah, it usually comes out.

Yeah, you'll get an email.

April or something.

Yeah.

Okay, so is March.

Well, we have a quorum on March 18th.

Everyone is has the ability to attend at this point.

There's also an SV creates round table that day.

I have it written in my calendar, so I'm happy to let someone else go.

Well, I don't I think Teresa circulates an email.

How do I say it's the city is invited and it's usually either visual arts or the performing arts committee, but there's a limited amount of tickets for the city of Mount that we're happy for.

Um but then we had more folks last time, and the lady and the lady was just like, oh no, no, it's fine because we have always it's always like you know we're supposed to stay in our box, but then when we don't stay in our box, it's okay.

All righty, so the next performing arts committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 18th, 2026 at 6 15 p.m.

in the H3M conference room, 500 Castro Street.

Uh this meeting is adjourned at 7 33.