Arts, Culture and Library Commission Meeting - February 17, 2026
Arts, Culture and Library Commission Meeting - February 17, 2026
The Arts, Culture and Library Commission of San Leandro met on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 at 6:30 PM in the Trustees Room of the Main Library. The meeting was called to order at 6:47 PM by Chair Scotland. Five commissioners were present (Chair Scotland, Vice-Chair Miller, Commissioners Acevedo, Ridsdale, Velasquez), one guest (Sky Woo), and one public speaker (Craig Williams). The meeting focused on project planning for the next two years, culminating in the adoption of four priority projects and three subcommittees.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (January 20, 2026): Moved by Vice-Chair Miller, seconded by Commissioner Velasquez. Unanimously approved (5 ayes, 0 nays).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Craig Williams (public): Proposed two ideas: (1) an "Artist of the Month" display near the library entrance, offering a stand and mock-up; (2) a small stand with a radio tuned to KCSM (jazz library) and a poster to promote the station. He expressed willingness to donate a stand and radio.
- Sky Woo (public): Expressed positive feedback about the 2025 Game of Shrooms event, noting that his family found four to five mushroom artworks, including one in the children's section. He also voiced enthusiasm for the proposed Library Bike Tour.
Discussion Items
- Project Planning Exercise: Commissioners engaged in a ranking exercise using dot voting. Nine dots per commissioner were placed on posted ideas. The top-ranked priorities were identified as: (1) Library Bike Tour (Alana's idea, with 4 dots), (2) Poetry Contest (3 dots), (3) Series of Writing Workshops for LatinX Youth (Comm. Ridsdale's idea, 3 dots), and (4) 2026 Game of Shrooms (Brody's existing event, 2 dots). Discussion included feasibility, timing, and subcommittee formation. The Library Bike Tour would likely launch in 2027 to allow collaboration with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission. The Poetry Contest could be flexible but tied to National Poetry Month (April 2027). The LatinX Writing Workshops were envisioned as a flexible, shorter-term program leveraging community connections. Game of Shrooms was confirmed for June 13, 2026, with plans to expand artist participation and add a children's art workshop.
- Subcommittees were proposed for the first three projects; Game of Shrooms would be managed ad hoc due to prior experience.
- Staff Report on Grants Committee: Staff Secretary Bill Sherwood reported that final reports for FY25 grants are being compiled and the FY26 grants program is in promotion. The application deadline is Friday, February 27, 2026 at 5:00 PM. A recent Q&A session was well attended (15–20 people) and reached new potential applicants.
Key Outcomes
- Adoption of Four Priorities and Three Subcommittees: Moved by Vice-Chair Miller, seconded by Commissioner Velasquez, and carried unanimously (5 ayes, 0 nays) that the commission focus on the following four priorities for the next two years: Library Bike Tour, Poetry Contest, Series of Writing Workshops for LatinX Youth, and 2026 Game of Shrooms. Three subcommittees were established to support the first three projects. Subcommittee members self-identified during the exercise and will coordinate via email.
- Meeting Adjourned at 7:49 PM by motion of Commissioner Velasquez, seconded by Commissioner Acevedo, carried unanimously (5 ayes, 0 nays).
Meeting Transcript
Culture and Library Commission meeting of February 17th, 2026 to order. Bill, will you take the roll call? Yes, Chair Scotland. Present. Vice Chair Miller. Present. Commissioner Acevedo. Present. Commissioner Alvarez. Commissioner Gillary. Commissioner Ridsdale. Present. Commissioner Smith. Commissioner Velasquez. Present. We have five, so the quorum is met. Okay. Thank you. Item two, announcements. We have no announcements. Item three, consent calendar. Can I get a motion to approve the minutes of January 20th, 2026? I move to approve. Thank you. Is there a second? I think. Alright, any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? No. All right. Motion ferries. Okay. On to item four, library services, staff report and announcements. I have no report or announcements. Okay. Moving on to item five, public comments. At this time we will ask for public comments for items not on the agenda, and comments are limited to three minutes per speaker, please. My name is Craig Williams. Basically, um I I heard your organization talk about uh something about artists of the month. And so I had um a proposal for how you could maybe do that. Also, a second thing. Let me just give you this first. This is just sort of a mock-up of how it could be done. It could be, you know, just uh, you know, something that said artist of the month, a picture of the artwork that was used for the artist of the month, and just a little sort of a paragraph paragraphs about about the artist. Um I I have the stand, which I'm willing to give to you guys if you want to do this and use this, but you know, this is something that you could you could put in the uh entrance way, and uh you know it would give more people seeing the art and for the art association, it might get more people coming uh or knowing about the artists association. The second thing is that I do a lot of art myself, but what I do is I listen to the station, it's called uh it's uh KCSM. I don't know if people are familiar with that, but they constantly say, you know, all the time that they have the biggest jazz library in the world. And um, you know, so I was thinking about that, and it might be possible to set the little stand with a radio.
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