OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Puyallup Arts & Culture Commission Meeting - August 31, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Monday, August 31, 2026
BodyPuyallup, Washington
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateMonday, August 31, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 36:32

Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Is it 401?

0:08

401.

0:11

We will call the uh August 31st, 2026 Arts and Culture Commission meeting to uh order and our first item of business is Pledge of Allegiance.

0:26

Pledge Allegiance.

0:29

United States of America.

0:34

I'm indivisible with liberty adjustments for all uh will the clerk please uh call roll police commissioner Erickson.

0:51

Uh if you can turn your microphone on, sir.

0:56

One more time.

0:57

Um it should stay red.

0:59

Oh, it should stay here.

1:03

Commissioner Hopkins.

1:05

Present.

1:06

Commissioner Rooney.

1:08

Here Vice Chair Busy.

1:11

Present.

1:12

Chair Pew?

1:13

Present.

1:14

We have a quorum.

1:15

Thank you.

1:16

So uh first item is we will approve the agenda and I'll just go ahead and motion uh on the second motion.

1:25

Second.

1:26

Second.

1:27

Um before you go through with approving the agenda.

1:30

Um if oh I need to change that.

1:32

There was a uh system error.

1:34

Yeah, there is a duplicate item.

1:36

The commission can decide to amend and remove that duplicate item now.

1:40

All right, I'll I'll take care of that.

1:42

So we do have a duplicate approval of minutes for the July twenty-seventh, twenty twenty six.

1:48

So I would like to make sure make a motion to reduce or strike one of those.

1:52

So we just have motion, we have just the 3A and not 3B.

1:57

And so I'd like a second to that.

1:59

Second, perfect.

2:00

Let's vote.

2:01

Everyone in favor, I'll start.

2:03

Yay.

2:05

Uh yay.

2:07

Yay.

2:07

Yay.

2:08

So approved.

2:09

We will strike the uh 3B approval of minutes.

2:12

And next we'll do an approval of the agenda now that we've made that correction, correct?

2:18

All right, perfect.

2:19

I'll go ahead and motion that too.

2:20

So let's approve the agenda.

2:22

Second, please.

2:23

Second.

2:24

A voting.

2:25

I'll start the voting.

2:26

Yay.

2:28

Uh yay.

2:31

Yay.

2:32

Perfect.

2:33

Uh so approved.

2:34

The third item is the approval of minutes for uh July 27th, 2026.

2:41

And it wasn't a test.

2:46

So I want someone else to mo to do the motions, please.

2:49

Move approval.

2:50

Thank you.

2:51

Second, please.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████73%
Procedural██████9%
Parks and Recreation█████8%
Public Engagement████6%
Personnel Matters██4%
Summary of Proceedings

Puyallup Arts & Culture Commission Meeting - August 31, 2026

The Puyallup Arts & Culture Commission met on Monday, August 31, 2026, at 4:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting included approval of corrected agenda and minutes, public comments, welcoming of two new commissioners, a comprehensive work plan update, and updates on the library display case and signal cabinet wraps. The meeting adjourned at 4:36 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Agenda Approval: The commission voted unanimously to approve the agenda after correcting a duplicate item (striking item 3B, a duplicate approval of July 27, 2026 minutes).
  • Minutes Approval: The July 27, 2026 draft minutes were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Lori Larson, Board Member and Design Committee Chair, Puyallup Main Street Association (PMSA): Spoke about PMSA's downtown mural program. PMSA has inventoried existing murals (artist, condition, year, title) and wishes to create a brochure similar to the Arts Downtown sculpture brochure. Larson requested a potential partnership with the commission to design the brochure, as PMSA lacks software or design skills. She also asked whether the city has policies or protocols for restoring deteriorating murals on buildings. The commission acknowledged the comments but did not respond due to public comment rules.

New Business

  • Welcome New Commission Members: The commission welcomed two new members: John Hopkins (also on PMSA and Arts Downtown boards) and Alden Erickson (a 20-year Puyallup resident). Both expressed interest in improving collaboration between the commission and other arts organizations.
  • Work Plan Update (presented by Eric Johnson):
    • Background: The commission's work plan, created in 2024 and adopted by city council, includes five high-level goals with strategies and tactics.
    • Accomplishments:
      • Community mural project with the school district.
      • Completed library display case (see Old Business).
      • Regular updates from Arts Downtown at meetings.
      • Approved new mission and vision statement.
      • Expanded signal cabinet wrap program to South Hill (in progress).
      • Guest list for local partner updates.
      • Created a commission position on the Arts Downtown Board (filled by Commissioner Hopkins).
      • Changed meeting day/time from unworkable Friday 10 AM to current schedule.
    • In-Progress Items:
      • Partner with Northwest Sinfonietta for music nature walks at Bradley Lake Park.
      • Coordinate and install art sculpture at Bradley Lake Park.
      • Partner with library for musical story times.
    • Future Priorities (seeking direction):
      • Partner with Liberty Theater for free dress rehearsals in Pioneer Park.
      • Work with city branding consultant on marketing campaign for arts.
      • Draft a community mural plan with PMSA.
      • Incentive program for downtown business murals.
      • Graffiti art event at the new skate park.
      • Artwork on downtown street furnishings.
      • Public piano program in parks.
    • Discussion: Commissioners expressed strong interest in expanding art into parks (especially Bradley Lake and skate park) and using play-equipment-style sculptures. Commissioner Hopkins suggested leasing vacant space at South Hill Mall for a gallery to display flat work and signal wrap submissions. Commissioner Busy championed the public piano program. The group also discussed a potential performing arts center; Commissioner Hopkins mentioned a master's thesis by a UW architecture student (Nolan) who designed a center for the library parking lot. The commission agreed to invite Nolan back for a presentation and possibly survey community interest.

Old Business

  • Library Display Case Update: The new display case has been installed and blends seamlessly with existing cases. Next steps: draft a memorandum of agreement with Arts Downtown for management, then schedule a ribbon-cutting ceremony with city council. A Doodle poll will be sent to commissioners.
  • 2026 Signal Cabinet Wraps Update: The call to artists document is ready and incorporates previous commissioner feedback. The commission is awaiting final cabinet dimensions from public works to include in the call. The call will be released after school starts (Wednesday, Sept. 2). Submissions will be reviewed at the next meeting (October 26, 2026) for spring installation. Commissioner Erickson mentioned that over 300 submissions were received in a previous round. The commission also discussed adding a cabinet at Stewart and 5th (conservation district) to next year's list, ensuring it follows the public program process. Paige distributed teaser flyers for distribution at the fair.
  • Nature's Throne Artwork Repair: Commissioner Busy reported that the artwork (damaged when a wing was cut off) was repaired by the artist on the prior Thursday and is back in place.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved corrected agenda and July 27 minutes (unanimous).
  • Directed staff (Eric Johnson) to send the full work plan document to commissioners and to reach out to Nolan about the performing arts center presentation.
  • Staff will also contact the conservation district about including their cabinet in the next signal wrap cycle.
  • The library display case MOA and ribbon-cutting will be scheduled via Doodle poll.
  • The call to artists for signal wraps will be issued in early September, with submissions due before the October 26 meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Is it 401? 401. We will call the uh August 31st, 2026 Arts and Culture Commission meeting to uh order and our first item of business is Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge Allegiance. United States of America. I'm indivisible with liberty adjustments for all uh will the clerk please uh call roll police commissioner Erickson. Uh if you can turn your microphone on, sir. One more time. Um it should stay red. Oh, it should stay here. Commissioner Hopkins. Present. Commissioner Rooney. Here Vice Chair Busy. Present. Chair Pew? Present. We have a quorum. Thank you. So uh first item is we will approve the agenda and I'll just go ahead and motion uh on the second motion. Second. Second. Um before you go through with approving the agenda. Um if oh I need to change that. There was a uh system error. Yeah, there is a duplicate item. The commission can decide to amend and remove that duplicate item now. All right, I'll I'll take care of that. So we do have a duplicate approval of minutes for the July twenty-seventh, twenty twenty six. So I would like to make sure make a motion to reduce or strike one of those. So we just have motion, we have just the 3A and not 3B. And so I'd like a second to that. Second, perfect. Let's vote. Everyone in favor, I'll start. Yay. Uh yay. Yay. Yay. So approved. We will strike the uh 3B approval of minutes. And next we'll do an approval of the agenda now that we've made that correction, correct? All right, perfect. I'll go ahead and motion that too. So let's approve the agenda. Second, please. Second. A voting. I'll start the voting. Yay.

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