OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

San Leandro Arts, Culture and Library Commission Meeting - July 15, 2025

City Council — Friday, August 29, 2025
BodySan Leandro, California
SessionCity Council
DateFriday, August 29, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:20:39

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

I call the arts culture and library commission meeting of July 15, 2025 to order at 6 36 p.m.

0:07

Would you please take the roll call?

0:10

Chair Scotland.

0:11

Present.

0:12

Vice Chair Miller.

0:14

Present.

0:14

Commissioner Alvarez.

0:17

Commissioner Cassidy.

0:19

Commissioner Gillary.

0:21

Commissioner Ridsdale.

0:23

Present.

0:24

Commissioner Smith.

0:25

Present.

0:26

Commissioner Velasquez.

0:30

We have six in attendance.

0:32

The quorum is met.

0:33

Great.

0:34

Item two, announcements.

0:36

We have no announcements.

0:38

Item three, consent calendar 3A, minutes of the July 17th, 2025 meeting.

0:44

Can I get a motion to approve the minutes of June 17th?

0:47

Motion.

0:48

I second.

0:50

Any discussion.

0:52

All in favor.

0:53

Aye.

0:54

Any opposed.

0:56

All right.

0:56

Motion carries.

0:58

Item four, library services staff report and announcements.

1:03

All right, thank you.

1:05

A couple of things.

1:07

Just a reminder that the commission, just like the council goes dark in August.

1:13

So we will not have a meeting in August.

1:15

The next meeting will be Tuesday, September 16th.

1:18

Tuesday, September 16th of 2025.

1:23

Moving on.

1:25

Since we last met, we had the San Lando Comedy Festival, which I think was a good success.

1:33

We hadn't do the math on total attendees, but there's you may recall there were three shows.

1:41

We had one at the Historic Ball Theater.

1:43

There were 281 attendees for that.

1:46

The one at the that's traditionally been held here at the main library had uh 249 attendees.

1:54

And then we had a show at the 21st Amendment brewery, which had 203 attendees.

1:59

So good numbers for um for the festival.

2:03

I think one of the one of the most interesting things was with respect to the historic ball theater and 21st Amendment brewery.

2:11

How many people who were in attendance had never been to either of those locations.

2:15

So we got to help support some local businesses at the same time as giving people I think a really uh enjoyable time.

2:25

Uh moving on.

2:27

The other thing that I wanted to mention is uh we have um uh council member Speide Viveros Walton has nominated Mr.

2:36

Andrew Acevedo to this commission and he will be sworn in at the next city council meeting on uh July 21st, and again we'll be able to attend his first meeting in September.

2:49

So we'll be back at nine Commissioners.

2:55

Um and then last item is uh received an email on Friday of Friday of last week, that uh from a colleague in the community development department, and they have uh had made a presentation to the finance committee on the committee excuse me on um development impact fees.

3:20

I have a copy of the presentation that they made to the finance committee, and one of the things that they're considering is the public art fee that we've been talking about, the one percent for art.

3:34

Uh so uh the way this works is they made a presentation to the finance committee to say that one of their recommendations was that this be considered by the full city council, which then will go to the city council on next Monday, July 21st.

3:51

So we're encouraging folks if you want to go there and during public comments, make any so you know supportive comments.

4:01

Um the staff report that they took to the finance committee that again will go to the full city council next Monday, uh, is their recommendation with respect to uh the public art requirement is based on the public art master plan, which we've discussed here, which calls for establishing an art obligation for private development projects set at 1% of overall construction cost exceeding 250,000 with a minimum percent allocated into a public art fund and um an in lieu fee.

4:38

So uh they could it could go either direction, they could require that if you're a new development, you put art at the development site, or if the site isn't great for public art, like this is not going to be particularly visible, they could require this uh one percent uh for again projects that exceed 250,000 dollars, which would go into the fund, which could then be used for public art throughout the city.

5:11

So they I said as I said they presented that to the finance committee on May 28th.

5:16

The report is on meeting central again.

5:19

I have a copy of it, what was presented to the finance committee.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts and Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████62%
Community Outreach████████████████22%
Procedural████5%
Community Engagement████5%
Budget███4%
Economic Development█1%
Homelessness█1%
Summary of Proceedings

San Leandro Arts, Culture and Library Commission Meeting - July 15, 2025

The Arts, Culture and Library Commission met on July 15, 2025, at 6:36 PM in the Trustees Room of the Main Library. The meeting focused on the fiscal year 2026 work plan, a proposed Home Movie Day program, and updates on the city's public art fee initiative. Commissioners discussed priorities for the upcoming year, including grant program improvements, underpass art, and sponsorship outreach. The meeting adjourned at 7:56 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes of June 17, 2025: Approved unanimously.

Staff Reports & Announcements

  • No August meeting; next meeting September 16, 2025.
  • Comedy Festival: Three shows drew 281 attendees at the Historic Ball Theater, 249 at the Main Library, and 203 at the 21st Amendment Brewery. Staff noted many attendees were first-time visitors to those venues.
  • New Commissioner: Andrew Acevedo nominated by Councilmember Speide Viveros Walton, to be sworn in July 21, 2025, joining the commission in September.
  • Public Art Fee (1% for Art): The Community Development Department presented to the Finance Committee on May 28, 2025, recommending a requirement for private development projects over $250,000 to set aside 1% of construction cost for public art, with an in-lieu fee option. The item will go to the City Council on July 21, 2025. Commissioners were encouraged to attend or send supportive comments.

Discussion Items

7A. FY26 Work Plan

Commissioners brainstormed priorities for the next fiscal year. Key themes included:

  • Grants Program: Simplifying the application process, offering plain language and translation upon request, and starting pre-flight checks to help applicants. Proposed earlier timeline to avoid year-end rush.
  • Public Art: Continuing support for the Hispanic Triangle (Hesperian, Bancroft, E. 14th) and exploring underpass beautification (potentially requiring Alameda County partnership).
  • Cultural Identity Projects: Reaching out to businesses representing diverse cultures (e.g., Hispanic, Chinese) for festivals like Día de los Muertos or Lunar New Year.
  • Storefront Pop-Ups: Using vacant storefronts for temporary art installations, possibly with school or artist partnerships.
  • Sponsorship Outreach: Identifying local businesses and sponsors (e.g., Kaiser, Waste Management, Prologis) to fund projects independently of the city budget. Staff emphasized building relationships rather than cold asks.
  • One Percent for Art: Depending on council action July 21, developing policy details for the fund. The chair proposed a ranked-choice prioritization exercise at the September meeting to decide funding allocations.

7B. Home Movie Day

Commissioner Miller presented a proposal for a community film program in partnership with the library's Memory Lab. The concept: patrons digitize home movies, submit files, and staff/volunteers edit them into a curated program for public screening. Focus on San Leandro history and culture. The event would occur in fall 2026 to allow adequate planning. Staff will research similar programs (e.g., African American Museum and Library of Oakland, Bay Area Video Coalition) and report back with cost estimates and feasibility.

Commission Reports & Announcements

  • Arts Endowment Committee: Committee members compiled a list of 10+ Bay Area cities with percent-for-art ordinances, to be shared with the full commission. They will attend the July 21 City Council meeting to support the 1% for art proposal.
  • Grants Committee: All grant funds have been distributed. Commissioners discussed improving outreach through social media and the local newspaper, and nudging grantees to provide event dates for promotion.
  • Commissioner Miller: Attended a California Fund for the Arts networking event in Oakland, connecting with East Bay artists and arts organizations.
  • Comedy Festival Feedback: Commissioners enjoyed the 21st Amendment Brewery venue and suggested a time gap from the Cherry Festival in future years.

Key Outcomes

  • Work Plan: Prioritization will continue at the September 16, 2025 meeting, where commissioners will rank projects and finalize funding for the grants program and other initiatives.
  • Home Movie Day: Concept approved in principle; staff will research feasibility and present a detailed proposal at a future meeting.
  • Public Art Fee: Commissioners encouraged to support the item at the July 21 City Council meeting; the commission expects to participate in policy development if council approves.
  • Sponsorship Leads: Commissioners identified Kaiser, Waste Management, Prologis, and others as potential partners; staff will coordinate outreach efforts.

Meeting Transcript

I call the arts culture and library commission meeting of July 15, 2025 to order at 6 36 p.m. Would you please take the roll call? Chair Scotland. Present. Vice Chair Miller. Present. Commissioner Alvarez. Commissioner Cassidy. Commissioner Gillary. Commissioner Ridsdale. Present. Commissioner Smith. Present. Commissioner Velasquez. We have six in attendance. The quorum is met. Great. Item two, announcements. We have no announcements. Item three, consent calendar 3A, minutes of the July 17th, 2025 meeting. Can I get a motion to approve the minutes of June 17th? Motion. I second. Any discussion. All in favor. Aye. Any opposed. All right. Motion carries. Item four, library services staff report and announcements. All right, thank you. A couple of things. Just a reminder that the commission, just like the council goes dark in August. So we will not have a meeting in August. The next meeting will be Tuesday, September 16th. Tuesday, September 16th of 2025. Moving on. Since we last met, we had the San Lando Comedy Festival, which I think was a good success. We hadn't do the math on total attendees, but there's you may recall there were three shows. We had one at the Historic Ball Theater. There were 281 attendees for that. The one at the that's traditionally been held here at the main library had uh 249 attendees. And then we had a show at the 21st Amendment brewery, which had 203 attendees. So good numbers for um for the festival. I think one of the one of the most interesting things was with respect to the historic ball theater and 21st Amendment brewery. How many people who were in attendance had never been to either of those locations. So we got to help support some local businesses at the same time as giving people I think a really uh enjoyable time. Uh moving on. The other thing that I wanted to mention is uh we have um uh council member Speide Viveros Walton has nominated Mr. Andrew Acevedo to this commission and he will be sworn in at the next city council meeting on uh July 21st, and again we'll be able to attend his first meeting in September.

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