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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Metro Arts Commission Meeting Summary - May 16, 2024

Metropolitan Council — Thursday, May 16, 2024

BodyNashville, Tennessee

SessionMetropolitan Council

DateThursday, May 16, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:19:36

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

0:03

Thank you all.

0:14

Again, welcome everyone and thank you for being here.

0:19

Do we have a land acknowledgement today?

0:21

And if we don't, that's fine.

0:23

Okay, we do.

0:23

We have the land acknowledgement.

0:25

And so we will we will um do that and read that together.

0:29

You can follow along on the screens or just listen to me read it.

0:33

Metro Art stands and hold space for the unceded and sovereign lands of the Cherokee, Uchi, and Shawnee peoples who have stewarded it for generations.

0:42

Every community owes this existence and vitality to generations from around the world who contributed their energy to making the history that led to this moment.

0:51

Some were brought here against their will, some were drawn to leave their distant homes in hope of a better life, and some have lived on this land for more generations than can be counted.

1:02

We acknowledge we are all standing on ancestral lands, and we honor the thousands of enslaved African peoples whose lives were physically and spiritually stolen.

1:12

We pay respects to elders, past and present.

1:15

Metro Arts invites you to join in our commitment to knowing our native communities in more meaningful ways and alignment with our restorative arts practice.

1:26

Now we will go, and you see resources there on the screen, and we will move right into our public comment period.

1:35

As you know, people wishing to speak and find up at the beginning of the meeting.

1:39

The total time allocated for our public art comment is 20 minutes.

1:44

You will have two minutes max per person, and persons wishing um to comment must comment on something germane to items on the agenda, and again must sign up prior to the beginning of the meeting.

1:58

And so, do we have people signed up, um, Vivian?

2:01

Yes, we have two.

2:02

Okay, I will turn it over to you so you can um administer that.

2:06

Thank you.

2:07

Okay.

2:07

The first person I have on the list is Nicole Williams.

2:12

And as you're walking, yep, I'll just let you know.

2:14

Um, I'll let you know when your start time starts, and I'll let you know when you have a minute left.

2:20

Thank you.

2:20

Your time starts now.

2:22

Great.

2:23

Um, so I hear you all are gonna be making a motion today to fire Director Singh.

2:29

And um, whatever you may think of Director Singh, I just want to remind you all that he is a human being.

2:35

He has children who he is trying to raise.

2:39

You are voting to take away his livelihood, and you should not be celebrating this or treating it flippantly.

2:46

Um, Commissioner John Neflin's behavior at the most recent meeting was in my mind despicable.

2:52

Uh, laughing at the idea of, oh, I want to be back from Italy so that I can vote to fire Director Singh is just like inhuman to me.

3:02

So I hope you all treat this issue with more respect than he did.

3:06

Um, and I also want to point out that cultures of fear are pervasive throughout Metro departments.

3:16

This type of behavior is not unique to Director Singh.

3:20

There was toxicity before director singing.

3:22

One minute.

3:23

Um, there may be toxicity after.

3:26

So simply replacing him won't necessarily fix this.

3:30

I just want you all to be clear on that as you move forward.

3:35

And um, you know, that's not to excuse his behavior at all.

3:40

I will say I worked for Metro for two years.

3:42

I experienced something very similar to what Director Singh has been accused of doing.

3:48

Um, and I did not report it to HR.

3:50

I quit because I was concerned about retaliation.

3:53

Because actually, the head of our HR department for my department was in the room when threats were made against me.

4:01

So this is not unique.

4:03

Um, and in the immortal words of Vice President Kamala Harris, you think you just fell out of a coconut tree.

4:09

You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.

4:13

So just remember context.

4:18

All right, thank you.

4:19

And the next person we have is Emma Supka.

4:28

Okay.

4:29

All right, your time starts now.

4:32

I'm the founding director of a small arts org, a performing theater artist.

4:35

I was also part of the operating grant editing process summer 2023, and I've spent the better part of a decade volunteering with National Arts Coalition to advocate for more money for the Metro budget to be allocated for Metro Arts to distribute to artists in our community.

4:47

But I'm not here today to discuss personnel issues and whether or not I think that Director Singh should be fired or not for doing his job well, and to be honest, I don't know if it would matter.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Governance Structure██████████████████████████████████34%

Budget and Oversight████████████████████████████████32%

Public Engagement█████████9%

Arts And Culture█████████9%

Personnel Matters█████████9%

Grant Funding███3%

Racial Equity██2%

Cultural Heritage█1%

Audit Committee█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Metro Arts Commission Meeting Summary - May 16, 2024

The Metro Arts Commission convened on May 16, 2024, at 6:15 PM. The meeting included public comments, committee reports, a budget presentation revealing a projected deficit, discussion of Director Singh's employment status, and concluded with a loss of quorum preventing official action. An interim director was introduced, and a special called meeting was scheduled to address urgent matters.

Consent Calendar

Approved the April 18, 2024 meeting minutes unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

Nicole Williams expressed opposition to the potential firing of Director Singh, urging commissioners to treat the issue with respect and reminding them that he is a human being with children. She criticized Commissioner Neflin's behavior at a previous meeting, stated that cultures of fear are pervasive across Metro departments, and shared her own experience of leaving Metro due to retaliation concerns. She quoted Vice President Kamala Harris: "You think you just fell out of a coconut tree. You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you."
Emma Supka, founding director of a small arts organization and performing theater artist, stated she was not there to discuss personnel issues but expressed gratitude for Director Singh's intent to distribute arts funding equitably, while criticizing a system rooted in colonialism and white supremacy. She highlighted the financial toll on small and mid-sized arts organizations, noting her organization received only half of its allocated funding from Metro Arts in December 2023, forcing program cuts and personal credit card use by staff.

Discussion Items

Budget and Oversight Committee Report – Commissioner Watts presented FY24 and FY25 budgets. FY24 projected budget availability is $48,423, with additional projected expenses of approximately $1.2 million through June 30, 2024. FY25 is a flat budget of $5,461,700. Commissioner Jester detailed deficits: consultants year-to-date $426,736 with a $313,836 deficit, and temporary services budget $56,000 with year-to-date $396,192 and additional projected expenses of $36,000, creating a $375,792 deficit. Questions were raised about how the deficit occurred and who managed expenditures. A meeting with the mayor's office is scheduled for May 23 at 4 PM.
Grants and Funding Committee Report – Commissioner Jester reported on discussions to delay the grant funding cycle and bring the Thrive program into compliance, noting no conclusions were reached and that decisions would wait for executive director leadership.
CARE Committee Report – Commissioner Harden announced a meeting on May 24 at 10 AM to reorient the committee's purpose and goals.
Staff & Communications Update – Director Singh came off FMLA on May 16; his administrative leave began May 17 and ends May 30. The commission discussed the need to address the overlap with the interim director before that date.
Quorum and Legal Opinion – Commissioner Lefkowitz read the bylaw stating quorum is a majority of total members whose terms are effective. Metro Legal advised that quorum is eight based on a 15-member commission. Commissioner Wade and Chair Love disagreed, arguing that with only 11 appointed members, the commission would be perpetually disadvantaged. Legal counsel reiterated the advice. After Commissioner Watts left, the commission lost quorum and could no longer conduct official business.
Interim Director Introduction – Dr. Coleman introduced herself, expressing commitment to arts transformation, concern about the May 23 budget hearing, plans to work with committees, and a call for respect and collaboration.
Legislation Updates – Chair Love reported on appearances before the rules committee and three pieces of legislation: adding "promote equity in the arts" to the commission's purpose, requiring annual disclosures for board members, and changing commission composition to 16 members including a council member. Commissioner Lefkowitz spoke against the council member addition.

Key Outcomes

Approved April minutes.
Commissioner Watts will distribute budget documents to commissioners.
A special called meeting will be scheduled before May 30 to address Director Singh's status and the quorum question; a Doodle poll will be sent.
Chair Love will appoint a nominating committee for September elections.
The commission could not take further official action due to lack of quorum.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you all. Again, welcome everyone and thank you for being here. Do we have a land acknowledgement today? And if we don't, that's fine. Okay, we do. We have the land acknowledgement. And so we will we will um do that and read that together. You can follow along on the screens or just listen to me read it. Metro Art stands and hold space for the unceded and sovereign lands of the Cherokee, Uchi, and Shawnee peoples who have stewarded it for generations. Every community owes this existence and vitality to generations from around the world who contributed their energy to making the history that led to this moment. Some were brought here against their will, some were drawn to leave their distant homes in hope of a better life, and some have lived on this land for more generations than can be counted. We acknowledge we are all standing on ancestral lands, and we honor the thousands of enslaved African peoples whose lives were physically and spiritually stolen. We pay respects to elders, past and present. Metro Arts invites you to join in our commitment to knowing our native communities in more meaningful ways and alignment with our restorative arts practice. Now we will go, and you see resources there on the screen, and we will move right into our public comment period. As you know, people wishing to speak and find up at the beginning of the meeting. The total time allocated for our public art comment is 20 minutes. You will have two minutes max per person, and persons wishing um to comment must comment on something germane to items on the agenda, and again must sign up prior to the beginning of the meeting. And so, do we have people signed up, um, Vivian? Yes, we have two. Okay, I will turn it over to you so you can um administer that. Thank you. Okay. The first person I have on the list is Nicole Williams. And as you're walking, yep, I'll just let you know. Um, I'll let you know when your start time starts, and I'll let you know when you have a minute left. Thank you. Your time starts now. Great. Um, so I hear you all are gonna be making a motion today to fire Director Singh. And um, whatever you may think of Director Singh, I just want to remind you all that he is a human being. He has children who he is trying to raise. You are voting to take away his livelihood, and you should not be celebrating this or treating it flippantly. Um, Commissioner John Neflin's behavior at the most recent meeting was in my mind despicable. Uh, laughing at the idea of, oh, I want to be back from Italy so that I can vote to fire Director Singh is just like inhuman to me. So I hope you all treat this issue with more respect than he did. Um, and I also want to point out that cultures of fear are pervasive throughout Metro departments. This type of behavior is not unique to Director Singh. There was toxicity before director singing. One minute. Um, there may be toxicity after. So simply replacing him won't necessarily fix this. I just want you all to be clear on that as you move forward. And um, you know, that's not to excuse his behavior at all. I will say I worked for Metro for two years. I experienced something very similar to what Director Singh has been accused of doing. Um, and I did not report it to HR. I quit because I was concerned about retaliation. Because actually, the head of our HR department for my department was in the room when threats were made against me. So this is not unique.

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