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Record of Proceedings

Ocala Municipal Arts Commission Meeting - June 25, 2026

City Council & Boards — Thursday, June 25, 2026
BodyOcala, Florida
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateThursday, June 25, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:22:53

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:16

Oh, it's in the paper.

0:18

Oh, interesting.

0:18

It was in uh O'Cala News.

0:26

Probably touch this.

0:33

Nobody shared any thoughts about it, so it's not controversial.

0:44

So there were no calls.

0:45

Oh, if there's any like if there's ever a reason we have to evacuate a school.

0:49

They have to get their parents all back together again, basically.

0:52

We go through a training on like how to do that.

0:54

Anyway.

0:56

It was just a very long day.

0:57

Today, here's a previous article about it.

1:01

And I was like, all right, I'm gonna get some caffeine before I'm at.

1:08

We commented on that one either.

1:09

Emily, will you need one of us to call it to order to get it started?

1:13

Or do you do that since Jay's not here?

1:16

Um we start a meeting.

1:19

I'll kind of start it first and say because we all had a chair of nice chair.

1:27

Okay.

1:31

Okay.

1:32

Next meeting.

1:33

August we're gonna have three packed agenda.

1:38

Um, but we'll have the full election for the cycles for chair and price here as well.

1:43

Right on.

1:44

Great, thank you.

1:46

I think one of the right.

1:51

Sounds good.

1:55

Yes.

1:56

Wow.

1:57

Yeah.

1:58

So it was very long day.

2:00

And then they bring in, we do like a mock reunification.

2:05

We do a couple of them.

2:07

Like the new South American high school football team.

2:10

And so like they act as our parents and children kind of thing.

2:15

No.

2:15

It's funny.

2:17

I'm on too many boards to remember which number is which for which.

2:21

And I'm not, but I still don't remember this app that we use.

2:24

They know.

2:25

Yeah, basically.

2:32

So basically, we started.

2:36

Well, I just adopted two kitties from hers and checkers.

2:40

That new shop downtown where you can go in and see cats.

2:46

Let's go.

2:46

Yeah, well, no, it's it's start showing out so you don't need to check them in.

2:50

It's a little bit more work on the primary.

2:54

And you can just speeches.

2:57

And it's on Silver Springs Bull of the Captain.

2:59

I mean, especially if you end up with the highway.

3:06

She works.

3:08

Read in the case.

3:12

I think I use age seven or half hour after I.

3:23

So I took two home and one.

3:25

So this is a where we end up because they're the ones that are running on all of my wife.

3:34

What's your number again?

3:34

I didn't know.

3:35

I don't have a number.

3:37

Hey, Tito.

3:38

How are you?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████62%
Technology and Innovation██████████████19%
Procedural████████11%
Public Engagement███4%
Animal Welfare█2%
Budget Equity Analysis█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Ocala Municipal Arts Commission Meeting - June 25, 2026

The Ocala Municipal Arts Commission (OMAC) met on Thursday, June 25, 2026, at 4:05 PM in Ocala City Hall. Key actions included approval of minutes from February and April 2026, approval of the Mount Moriah Commemorative Public Art Project, and discussion of the public artist roster update and license plate fund.

Consent Calendar

  • The minutes from February 4, 2026 and April 1, 2026 were approved separately by voice vote with no opposition.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made.

Discussion Items

  • Mount Moriah Commemorative Public Art Project: Staff presented the project, funded with $40,000 from the new parking garage budget. A call for Florida-based artists resulted in four finalists who each received a $500 honorarium to create design concepts. The community and congregation selected the design "Legacy of Light" by the team of Beth Rabbitt and George Gadson, an eight-foot tall sculpture of laser-cut aluminum with laminated etched glass to be located near Southwest Third Avenue and Southwest Broadway Street. Staff recommended approval of the selected team to move forward with contracting.
  • Public Artist Roster Update: Jamie Antonetti guided members on using the CAFE platform for scoring applicants. The roster has 386 applicants. Scoring is on a 1-20 scale (professional experience and artwork quality), with a threshold of 14 or higher for recommendation. Members discussed concerns about AI-generated imagery and fraudulent applicants. Staff suggested that if there are concerns, members can note them in the comments for later discussion. The goal is to have all scoring completed by the October meeting, with an interim update at the August 5 meeting.
  • License Plate Fund Review: The current balance is $10,337.65, with an available spending balance of $4,800 after setting aside $8,000 base. No current grant applications are pending, but outstanding grants include Leap of Faith dance lessons and Magnolia Art Exchange mural project.
  • Board Comments on Arts Funding: Several members expressed frustration about the lack of support for the arts in Marion County, including low awareness of the arts license plate and the absence of a dedicated funding source like a penny sales tax. Member Greg Thompson noted that surrounding counties have such funding. Suggestions included using influencers, partnering with the Visitors Bureau, and placing ads in programs. Staff noted that the license plate fund can be used for advertising.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved: Motion to approve the Mount Moriah Commemorative Public Art Project as presented passed unanimously.
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for August 5, 2026. Members are expected to have completed scoring on the public artist roster by that meeting, with a final deadline in October 2026.
  • Directives: Staff will look into developing an AI policy for the city's arts programs and explore marketing opportunities for the arts license plate. Members committed to completing individual scoring and will consider additional meetings between August and October if needed.

Meeting Transcript

Oh, it's in the paper. Oh, interesting. It was in uh O'Cala News. Probably touch this. Nobody shared any thoughts about it, so it's not controversial. So there were no calls. Oh, if there's any like if there's ever a reason we have to evacuate a school. They have to get their parents all back together again, basically. We go through a training on like how to do that. Anyway. It was just a very long day. Today, here's a previous article about it. And I was like, all right, I'm gonna get some caffeine before I'm at. We commented on that one either. Emily, will you need one of us to call it to order to get it started? Or do you do that since Jay's not here? Um we start a meeting. I'll kind of start it first and say because we all had a chair of nice chair. Okay. Okay. Next meeting. August we're gonna have three packed agenda. Um, but we'll have the full election for the cycles for chair and price here as well. Right on. Great, thank you. I think one of the right. Sounds good. Yes. Wow. Yeah. So it was very long day. And then they bring in, we do like a mock reunification. We do a couple of them. Like the new South American high school football team. And so like they act as our parents and children kind of thing. No. It's funny. I'm on too many boards to remember which number is which for which. And I'm not, but I still don't remember this app that we use. They know. Yeah, basically. So basically, we started. Well, I just adopted two kitties from hers and checkers. That new shop downtown where you can go in and see cats. Let's go. Yeah, well, no, it's it's start showing out so you don't need to check them in. It's a little bit more work on the primary. And you can just speeches. And it's on Silver Springs Bull of the Captain. I mean, especially if you end up with the highway.

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