Metro Arts Commission Meeting – October 10, 2024
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Metro Arts Commission Meeting – October 10, 2024
The Metro Arts Commission met on October 10, 2024, to discuss and act on a critical internal audit report, a proposed conciliation agreement to resolve a Title VI complaint, the FY25 budget, and updates from several committees. The meeting included public comments, a unanimous vote on the conciliation agreement, and reports from the interim director and committee chairs.
Consent Calendar
- The commission approved the minutes from May 16 and May 24, 2024, with minor corrections.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lydia Yusuf, a Title VI complainant, expressed opposition to the proposed conciliation agreement, stating it failed to protect Thrive and tax dollars. She advocated for direct funding to artists, citing examples from other progressive cities, and argued that the agreement did not constitute conciliation.
- Rev. Davy Tucker urged the commission to accept the conciliation agreement as a starting point, noting that conciliation processes often leave parties not fully satisfied but create a common foundation for moving forward. He offered continued support from the Metro Human Relations Commission (MHRC).
- Councilwoman Joy Stiles discussed legislation (BL 2024 343) that would place a council member on the commission. She noted an amendment removed the council member, leading her to withdraw the bill, but she plans to reintroduce it. She also announced an additional $250,000 in the budget, aiming for $10 million by 2027, and requested clarity on a commissioner email that appeared to come from the executive committee.
Discussion Items
- Internal Audit Report: The Office of Internal Audit presented findings from an audit of Metro Arts' grant processes and financial controls. Key observations included a lack of sufficient documentation, absence of robust internal controls, intentional circumvention of rules (e.g., split purchases to stay under $25,000, misuse of a temporary employee contract that bypassed HR and civil service rules), and inadequate monitoring of grant funds. The report contained 12 observations and over 35 recommendations. The audit was limited in scope due to insufficient supporting documentation. The commission discussed the need for a management response and a follow-up audit.
- MHRC Conciliation Agreement: Tyler Yarbrough, legal counsel, presented the proposed conciliation agreement to resolve a Title VI discrimination complaint filed in October 2023. The agreement includes: supplemental payments to unfunded artists (26 muralists and 13 small/micro organizations), extended grant reporting deadlines, a commitment to preserve a program similar to Thrive that complies with the law, community engagement on new grant policies, and continued conciliation meetings. The commission voted unanimously (9-0) to accept the agreement in principle and authorized Tyler Yarbrough and Dr. Coleman to finalize the written agreement by July 31, 2024.
- FY25 Budget: Christina Afote presented the operating budget for fiscal year 2025, which excludes grants and the additional $250,000+ secured by Councilwoman Stiles. The commission discussed moving toward monthly financial statements and the use of management consulting funds ($352,600).
- Committee Updates:
- Public Art Committee reported on the expansion of the lending library to five new branches and upcoming community engagement events.
- Budget and Oversight Committee outlined plans to review audit responses, examine HR and public art processes, and develop financial reporting.
- Grants and Funding Committee noted a holding pattern while working through conciliation and scheduled a public meeting for August 12, 2024, to gather community input on future grant cycles.
- CARE Committee met and is realigning its guidelines with a focus on equity and community involvement; meetings will now be monthly.
- Executive Committee discussed the timeline for the permanent director search, bylaw review, and the appointment of a nominating committee.
Key Outcomes
- Approved Minutes: May 16 and May 24, 2024, minutes approved with corrections.
- Accepted Conciliation Agreement: The commission voted 9-0 to accept the conciliation agreement in principle, with direction to finalize a written agreement by July 31, 2024. (Note: The transcript references July 2024 dates, while the meeting date is stated as October 10, 2024, per the instruction.)
- Audit Response: The interim director committed to providing a management response to the audit recommendations, with a follow-up audit expected from the Office of Internal Audit.
- Budget: The FY25 operating budget was presented with plans for monthly financial reporting to the commission.
- Search Committee: A nominating committee (Commissioners Wade, Harden, and Jester) was appointed to identify candidates for chair, vice chair, and secretary, with elections to occur at the August 15, 2024, commission meeting.
- Bylaws Review: Commissioners were asked to submit suggestions for bylaw amendments by August 1, 2024, to the executive committee and legal counsel.
- Next Meeting: The next full commission meeting is scheduled for August 15, 2024, at 12:00 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
All right. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our July meeting of the Metro Arts Commission. Um call us to order at 1211. Again, welcome and welcome to all of our um visitors in our audience. We do have a full agenda today. And so um I would just ask that people be reminded and be mindful of um their time. Uh be mindful of um during public comment, you know, sticking to your two minutes because we do have a lot to handle today, and we want to make sure that we are respectful respective of everyone's time. I do want to welcome one of our new commissioners, Mr. Evan Brown. Do you want to introduce yourself or say anything on the record for us? Uh sorry. Yeah, first agreement. Yeah. Uh what time is it? Good evening, after uh afternoon to everybody. Uh Evan Brown, uh, independent curator gallerist uh here in Nashville. Uh work with self for artists and and uh some community partners here in Nashville. So I'm excited to be on the board and uh thank you to you all for having me. Thank you so much. I do want to do um a land acknowledgement. I've been working through this, and I said this um in um in the executive board meeting, but I do want to kind of tweak our our land acknowledgement a little bit, but until we figure what that looks like, I'll do this land acknowledgement. We acknowledge that we are on the the traditional land of an indigenous people who have lived and cared for this land for generations. We pay our respects to their elders, present, past, and emerging, and recognize their enduring connection to this land, water, and community. So now it's public comment period, and um before I turn it over to um Vivian to do our time and let us know who's all on um in the queue for public comment. Just understand that we do have two minutes and we are trying to stick to that those two minutes, and um you had to sign up prior um to coming in here. We will have a total of 20 minutes for all public comment. Um cheer. All right, so um Vivian, um, how are we ready for public comment? Yes. Okay, if you are who's first on the list. First, we have Ms. Lydia Yusuf. Okay. And remember to hit the green um button so that people online can hear you. Okay, perfect. It's already on. All right, thank you. I'll let you know when your time starts, and I'll also let you know when you have one minute. Okay. Your time starts now. As one of the Title VI complaints, I just want to vocalize that this is not conciliation. The issue that happened last year was about discrimination and the potential lawsuit that happened because of that discrimination against working class artists against the will of the council, the people, and several BIPOC and allied commissioners and the director. It was not about the application or the artists and their projects. My thoughts on this agreement were recorded at the MHRC meeting last week alongside three of the complaintants. So I'm not gonna take up too much time on that. But I will say one of the failures of this agreement is to protect Thrive and our tax dollars. Truly progressive cities like Charleston, Durham, Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Portland, Chicago, and more uh and more fund their artists directly. They even fund festivals and cultural events. Why? Because direct funding to artists benefits the economy and the community.
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