OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Mountain View Visual Arts Committee Meeting - April 9, 2026

City Council — Thursday, April 9, 2026
BodyMountain View, California
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, April 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 39:10

Transcript — Verbatim
0:08

Joe Medwood, Lacey Bradbon, Steven Memorial.

0:13

And Randina Sequels.

0:14

Yeah.

0:16

And Stephanie's roll call for the up there.

0:25

That's how we yeah.

0:27

Oh yes, you're right.

0:28

Okay.

0:29

Um and Stephanie say spinning it and to Thompson are absent.

0:33

And I will update the next is approved minutes.

0:45

We all be as good to point out we have an error on the roll call.

0:51

So call the order and the roll call.

0:54

So I'll edit where I say chair Susie Merhar.

1:00

Oh yeah.

1:03

You need to change it.

1:14

I make a update.

1:16

I think we'll I make a motion to which one update the roll.

1:21

Um yeah, to update the call to order and the roll call.

1:25

I'll make a motion to update.

1:28

Oh we tweet like the current chair and question roles.

1:34

I second problem.

1:46

Do we vote?

1:48

Um all in favor.

1:49

Yeah.

1:54

All right.

1:55

Now approved minutes.

1:59

I motion to approve the minutes.

2:01

With the uh uh change.

2:04

So we just did that.

2:06

Yeah.

2:08

Second.

2:11

We just got it done.

2:13

Right.

2:13

Yeah, we just approved the minutes.

2:16

Oh okay.

2:16

We did everything.

2:18

Yeah, so now to or open the public on the panel.

2:29

And then we move to oral communications from the part of nobody online.

2:36

No one online.

2:41

All right.

2:42

Let's move on to five upcoming agenda topics.

2:52

Um I was wondering but I guess you guys do that, right?

2:56

Like uh big opening for the data station and yeah, we'll talk about alerts and all that.

3:02

That's not something we need to no, yeah.

3:04

Well give an update on that.

3:06

Um I think this time we need um six unfinished business six one capital improvement program public art project okay.

3:42

So we have um a few in progress uh capital improvement projects.

3:47

So the Evelyn Park uh that includes the butterfly and reference uh art was selected, they're still going through the uh design process for uh with the engineering team uh next shoreline boat.

4:03

Do they have a date and a date when that's I think it will be ready?

4:08

I think they're all um slated for fall or um by the end of the year.

4:14

Yep.

4:15

Yeah, yeah.

4:16

Uh shoreline boathouse.

4:17

So we're working with Stephen Galloway uh and uh and the initial design.

4:21

So he's uh going to be getting some input uh soon from our shoreline manager and um some of the uh um people who work on in the community services department and the shoreline park team.

4:33

Um we'll get some input from them uh and kind of floor and fauna to potentially include in um the panels that he'll create to put on the boat house.

4:42

And so I know the constructions happening right now on the boat house, and um that's expected to be done um by about November, and then the art will be installed um once the building's ready and permitted for the art.

5:00

So we're working with James Tin similarly and just finalizing the design.

5:04

And I think that one may be a little bit sooner.

5:08

Potentially this summer, but um I think we'll just keep kind of the contingency of fall.

5:14

Um were you able to confirm the Evelyn park location?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████74%
Procedural███████████████25%
Community Engagement█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Mountain View Visual Arts Committee Meeting - April 9, 2026

The Visual Arts Committee (VAC) of Mountain View held a regular meeting on April 9, 2026, to discuss ongoing public art projects, approve previous meeting minutes, and review the draft annual work plan for fiscal year 2026-2027. Committee members received updates on several capital improvement program (CIP) art installations and set key dates for upcoming celebrations.

Public Comments

No public comments were received.

Discussion Items

Correction of Roll Call and Approval of Minutes
The committee corrected an error in the previous meeting's roll call (changing the chair's name from Susie Merhar) and unanimously approved the amended minutes.

Capital Improvement Program – Public Art Project Updates
Staff reported on several in-progress public art installations:

  • Evelyn Park Butterfly Art: The artist has been selected and is working with the engineering team on design. Installation is anticipated by the end of this year.
  • Shoreline Boathouse Art: Artist Stephen Galloway is developing initial designs and will seek input from shoreline management and community services. The boathouse construction is expected to be completed around November, with art installation to follow.
  • Bollard Beautification Project: Multiple artists are creating murals on traffic bollards. Sophie Godet has completed her whimsical planetary designs on the 100 block by Eureka Nagame; Zoe Karen finished pomegranate and rooster themes; Catherine Liu started painting (weather permitting); Rachel Barnes and John Patrick Thomas are scheduled to begin later in April. Committee members praised the fun, high-quality designs and noted positive community engagement, including children interacting with the artists.
  • Rengstorff Park Mural: Artist Bernanda completed a mural near the tennis courts featuring a magical bridge. Committee members complimented her improvements to the right-side features.
  • Train Depot Mural: The final mural installation is nearly ready. A ribbon-cutting celebration is planned for Thursday, May 7, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. The mayor is expected to speak, and the event will recognize the partnership among the City, Arts Mountain View, VTA, and the artist.

Committee members also noted the new decorative designs on black planters on Castro Street as a positive alignment with the public art strategy's goal of creating whimsy.

Draft Work Plan for Fiscal Year 2026-2027
Staff presented a consolidated draft work plan, grouping previous items (e.g., collaborations, outreach) into single line items. The plan highlights continued implementation of the public art strategy once adopted by City Council (expected in fall 2026). Accomplishments from the current year mentioned included a 60% increase in exhibition applications and a 60% increase in social media reach, with committee members noting both quantity and quality improvements. Committee discussion focused on the plan's lack of specificity compared to prior years; some members expressed concern that leaving out detailed milestones might limit the committee's ability to act quickly. Staff and the chair explained that the high-level wording provides flexibility and avoids pre-empting council direction. The committee agreed to provide feedback and will consider a finalized version at a later meeting before forwarding a recommendation to council in September.

Recognition of Arts Mountain View
A committee member suggested that the City issue a proclamation thanking Arts Mountain View for its extensive work on the train depot project, noting that the project would not have happened without their efforts. Staff noted that the ribbon-cutting will already highlight the partnership, but the suggestion will be considered.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes approved after correcting the roll call.
  • Ribbon-cutting for the Train Depot Mural set for May 7, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. at the train depot.
  • The draft work plan was discussed but not voted on; staff will bring a revised version to a future meeting for formal recommendation to City Council in September.
  • A special meeting is scheduled for July 8, 2026 to discuss the public art strategy in depth.
  • Regular meetings are set for May 13, 2026 and June 10, 2026.
  • The mayor will present a proclamation to the Community School of Music and Arts on the following Tuesday as part of Arts, Culture, and Creativity Month.

Meeting Transcript

Joe Medwood, Lacey Bradbon, Steven Memorial. And Randina Sequels. Yeah. And Stephanie's roll call for the up there. That's how we yeah. Oh yes, you're right. Okay. Um and Stephanie say spinning it and to Thompson are absent. And I will update the next is approved minutes. We all be as good to point out we have an error on the roll call. So call the order and the roll call. So I'll edit where I say chair Susie Merhar. Oh yeah. You need to change it. I make a update. I think we'll I make a motion to which one update the roll. Um yeah, to update the call to order and the roll call. I'll make a motion to update. Oh we tweet like the current chair and question roles. I second problem. Do we vote? Um all in favor. Yeah. All right. Now approved minutes. I motion to approve the minutes. With the uh uh change. So we just did that. Yeah. Second. We just got it done. Right. Yeah, we just approved the minutes. Oh okay. We did everything. Yeah, so now to or open the public on the panel. And then we move to oral communications from the part of nobody online. No one online. All right. Let's move on to five upcoming agenda topics. Um I was wondering but I guess you guys do that, right? Like uh big opening for the data station and yeah, we'll talk about alerts and all that. That's not something we need to no, yeah. Well give an update on that. Um I think this time we need um six unfinished business six one capital improvement program public art project okay. So we have um a few in progress uh capital improvement projects. So the Evelyn Park uh that includes the butterfly and reference uh art was selected, they're still going through the uh design process for uh with the engineering team uh next shoreline boat. Do they have a date and a date when that's I think it will be ready? I think they're all um slated for fall or um by the end of the year. Yep.

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