OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Visual Arts Commission Meeting - March 12, 2026

City Council — Thursday, March 12, 2026
BodyMountain View, California
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, March 12, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:14:02

Transcript — Verbatim
0:07

All right, let's start.

0:10

I call the meeting to order at 602.

0:21

Um I have on my list.

0:25

I know all your names, but I need the list.

0:27

Okay, but Susie Merhar.

0:32

Yeah.

0:33

Basic Rathbun.

0:34

Yeah.

0:34

Joe Medwood.

0:35

Um and Stephanie Spade absent, too.

0:38

Thompson absent.

0:41

All right.

0:43

Um item three approved minutes from the meeting on February 11th.

0:52

I motion to approve in the minutes.

0:59

All in paper.

1:05

And now we could have oral communications from the public.

1:12

Nobody there.

1:13

No.

1:17

And then we go on to upcoming agenda topics.

1:27

Topics that come to mind.

1:33

Look at all right.

1:34

No.

1:35

Then item six, unfinished business.

1:39

Uh six one capital improvement program and other public art project dates.

1:47

Public art strategy, community engagement update.

1:56

So we have a number of exciting public art projects updates.

2:01

So these are the capital improvement projects that are um have been in the works.

2:07

Um Evelyn Park, Villa Jakita Park, um Shoreline Boat House.

2:12

So we're working, um continuing to work with all the artists.

2:16

Um looking up arts on butterfly replicing a galile.

2:19

Um this is just the rendering that um so it may not be another butterfly, just noting that.

2:25

Um yeah, I think we already commented on that, yes.

2:28

On his panels and then James Den on the bench paneling.

2:34

Um continuing to work with them on the design and um for um the avan park and village.

2:43

The installation is still um CBD right now, so as we uh get further in the design process, then we'll figure it outdated on when that when the timing is for installation on these projects or the shoreline boat house.

2:57

Um the project is set to be uh completed by November, December, and the art installation will happen um right at the tail end of that.

3:07

So I'm expecting installation by the end of the year.

3:10

Um maybe giving a little bit of a confidence into January of next year, but um, but we're expecting for the R to Shoreline Boat House to be installed by the end of the year.

3:20

Will he submit the uh a draft, like a more final draft?

3:25

Yeah, so um, I mean he doesn't technically have to he will we'll continue to work with staff uh or he'll continue to work with staff on the design.

3:34

We do have a meeting schedule um to do a site visit of shoreline with the shoreline manager um and one of their team members who's uh heavily involved in kind of the ecosystem at Shoreline, and and they'll be able to give some pointers on um the flora and fauna to include in in his panel.

3:53

So um he's gonna be prepping the design.

3:56

I think um I think it'll be through early summer.

4:01

We should have a sense of what that looks like later.

4:04

So I'm happy to share that when we do get that.

4:06

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

4:07

I'm glad he's back on board.

4:10

Uh I have a quick question about the Evelyn park because I've sorry being late.

4:16

Last week.

4:17

Uh and I wonder if you could find out where it would go.

4:25

The the third third of the park is completely landscaped and down, right?

4:30

Has a has two play structures, has benches, has has uh yeah um vegetation everywhere and chat, but there is a there's a lawn strip that faces Evelyn.

4:43

Like that's just lawn, and I'm I was just wondering, does it go there?

4:47

Because it feels like the rest is over, and I kind of seem to remember where we wanted to put it is kind of in the corner in the back corner, one of the back corners, so towards the housing, not towards the street.

5:02

Yeah, exactly.

5:03

And there's no way that it can go there because there's a tree planted there and a play structure really close by.

5:11

Um I don't think we can double check.

5:15

That will be that seems to be misaligned with what we decided, so we should probably check that.

5:20

Well, and they they may have made uh an executive decision to put it in a place that does make the most sense with how you know that that completion of the patch looks like might be designated for that.

5:31

I think if we can see it from the street, you know.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████71%
Community Engagement████████12%
Procedural███4%
Parks and Recreation██3%
Economic Development██3%
Engineering And Infrastructure█2%
Finance And Investments█2%
Personnel Matters█2%
Affordable Housing█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Visual Arts Commission Meeting - March 12, 2026

The Visual Arts Commission (VAC) met on March 12, 2026, at 6:02 PM. Members present: Susie Merhar, Basic Rathbun, Joe Medwood; absent: Stephanie Spade and Thompson. The commission approved the minutes from the February 11, 2026 meeting. No public comments were received.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from the February 11, 2026 meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • None.

Discussion Items

  • Capital Improvement Program and Public Art Projects Update: Staff provided updates on several public art projects. Evelyn Park, Villa Jakita Park, and Shoreline Boat House are in progress. Artists are continuing design work. The Shoreline Boat House art installation is expected by the end of 2026, possibly extending into January 2027. A discussion arose about the placement of the Evelyn Park art piece, with a commissioner noting it may not align with prior decisions; staff will double-check. The ballar beautification project: installation is expected to begin by the end of March 2026, with staggered installations. Fernanda Martinez will start installing her mural at the maintenance restroom building near the tennis courts and Magical Bridge playground next week (tentatively week of March 19, 2026). The Dream Depot art installation is scheduled for the end of March 2026, with a ribbon cutting about a month later. The latest exhibition at the CPA lobby, "Variations on Classics" by Stanislav Chenning, opened March 11, 2026, and is open Wednesday to Saturday, noon to 3 PM and one hour before public events. The previous reception had over 90 attendees (85 ticketed) and received very positive feedback.
  • Public Art Strategy Community Engagement Update: Staff and Amanda Ross from Art Builds Community presented the results of community outreach. Over 700 people participated across 10 events, with over 300 surveys completed and 3,000 dots placed on vision boards. Survey results indicated top preferences: murals, sculptures, and functional art; preferred locations: downtown, parks, and trails. Themes: cultural, family-oriented, and natural environment. Stakeholder meetings were held with artists (20 attendees), downtown business association, developers, and community school of music and arts. Key themes from feedback included: streamlining processes, fair artist compensation, supporting the arts ecosystem, encouraging private space activation, investing in experiential programming, integrating art with infrastructure, using art for identity and belonging, committing to quality, planning for maintenance, and building awareness. The strategy draft is expected to be presented to the VAC in June 2026, with council adoption tentatively in October 2026. A subcommittee meeting may be scheduled to align on the draft.
  • Other Updates:
    • The City Council approved updates to the Facade Improvement Program, increasing the city match to 75% (max grant $15,000) and creating a standalone mural grant. Artists can now apply with property owner sign-off.
    • An art coordinator position has been approved and funded by council; hiring is underway.
    • April 2026 is Arts, Culture, and Creativity Month; the mayor will present a proclamation to the Community School of Music and Arts.
    • The LAT 12 affordable housing project (parking lot site) is progressing; a groundbreaking ceremony is expected in May 2026, but the public art component is behind schedule.
    • A commissioner inquired about new trails at Shoreline; staff noted they may not be city-funded CIP projects and will follow up.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved minutes from February 11, 2026.
  • Received updates on ongoing public art projects and their timelines.
  • Reviewed community engagement results for the public art strategy; the draft will be presented in June 2026 for VAC feedback, with council adoption planned for October 2026.
  • Noted the approval of a new art coordinator position and updates to the facade improvement program.
  • Staff will investigate the Shoreline trails and provide clarification.

Meeting Transcript

All right, let's start. I call the meeting to order at 602. Um I have on my list. I know all your names, but I need the list. Okay, but Susie Merhar. Yeah. Basic Rathbun. Yeah. Joe Medwood. Um and Stephanie Spade absent, too. Thompson absent. All right. Um item three approved minutes from the meeting on February 11th. I motion to approve in the minutes. All in paper. And now we could have oral communications from the public. Nobody there. No. And then we go on to upcoming agenda topics. Topics that come to mind. Look at all right. No. Then item six, unfinished business. Uh six one capital improvement program and other public art project dates. Public art strategy, community engagement update. So we have a number of exciting public art projects updates. So these are the capital improvement projects that are um have been in the works. Um Evelyn Park, Villa Jakita Park, um Shoreline Boat House. So we're working, um continuing to work with all the artists. Um looking up arts on butterfly replicing a galile. Um this is just the rendering that um so it may not be another butterfly, just noting that. Um yeah, I think we already commented on that, yes. On his panels and then James Den on the bench paneling. Um continuing to work with them on the design and um for um the avan park and village. The installation is still um CBD right now, so as we uh get further in the design process, then we'll figure it outdated on when that when the timing is for installation on these projects or the shoreline boat house. Um the project is set to be uh completed by November, December, and the art installation will happen um right at the tail end of that. So I'm expecting installation by the end of the year. Um maybe giving a little bit of a confidence into January of next year, but um, but we're expecting for the R to Shoreline Boat House to be installed by the end of the year. Will he submit the uh a draft, like a more final draft? Yeah, so um, I mean he doesn't technically have to he will we'll continue to work with staff uh or he'll continue to work with staff on the design. We do have a meeting schedule um to do a site visit of shoreline with the shoreline manager um and one of their team members who's uh heavily involved in kind of the ecosystem at Shoreline, and and they'll be able to give some pointers on um the flora and fauna to include in in his panel. So um he's gonna be prepping the design. I think um I think it'll be through early summer. We should have a sense of what that looks like later. So I'm happy to share that when we do get that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm glad he's back on board. Uh I have a quick question about the Evelyn park because I've sorry being late. Last week. Uh and I wonder if you could find out where it would go.

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