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Brookings Public Arts Commission
March 29, 2018 Minutes
The Brookings Public Arts Commission met on Thursday, March 29, 2018 at 12:00 pm at the Brookings
City & County Government Center, Room 241, with the following members present: Darla Biel, Trayce
Meyer, Lynn Verschoor, Linda Purrington, Jamison Lamp, Jean Jostad, and Leah Brink. David Merhib, Kate
Treiber, and Tim Steele were absent.
Chairperson Lamp called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m.
Agenda - A motion was made by Jostad, seconded Biel, to approve the agenda. All present voted yes;
motion carried.
Minutes - A motion was made by Meyer, seconded by Brink, to approve the January minutes. All present
voted yes; motion carried.
Next meeting – April 19th @ noon
“Tangle Town” Public Arts Video – The recently completed public arts video of the Patrick Doughtery
“Tangle Town” stickwork installation was debuted at the March 27th City Council meeting. Lamp, Trieber,
and Biel attended and Lamp provided the introductory comments. The video was very well received. The
City Manager later shared that he thought it was very well done and was an excellent product.
The Commission discussed how to promote and utilize the video. Ideas included public service groups, the
city website, excerpts on Facebook, and the city government channel. They suggested these minor changes
before its final release: picture of the Mayor and Patrick Doughtery, correction on the volunteers’ names,
and names of those interviewed. The Children’s Museum should take the lead on its official release and the
press release and will coordinate with Trieber.
The Sioux Falls Public Arts Commission has requested a presentation.
Draft Public Arts Guidelines. The committee of Biel, Lamp, Verschoor, and Thornes met to review the
consultant’s comments on the proposed guidelines and current ordinances. She essentially suggested a
complete rewrite of the acquisitions policy and had concerns with inconsistencies in the two enabling
ordinances. She has agreed to write the acquisitions piece and submit recommended amendments to the
two ordinances. The review timeline was revised with the submittal to the City Council moved to late May
or early June.
Recommendations on the Draft City Comprehensive Master Plan.
The Commission submitted the following official comments on the draft City Comprehensive Master Plan
on February 16. The comments, along with other groups’, were reviewed by city staff and provided to
the consultant. The plan was revised and submitted to the City Planning Commission for review on March
12th. The Commission tabled action until April. Following their approval, the plan will be presented to the
City Council for public comment and action.
For more than 18 months the Brookings Public Arts Commission has been meeting and
developing documents and strategies that align with many parts of the draft Comprehensive
Master Plan. The vision of the Brookings Public Arts Commission is to create public art spaces and
experiences that enrich the quality of life in Brookings, South Dakota and beyond. While we are
encouraged by the support of the City Council and city staff, it seems the Comprehensive Master
Plan lacks the importance of, not only public art, but creativity and culture.
After a review of the Plan, here are some areas the Commission feels inclusion of the arts would
truly outline the Brookings we hope to create over the next 20 years.
Creating of Vision for Brookings
On page 17, there are broad statements about the vision for Brookings’ future. We would
recommend adding “creative activity” to the second bullet. It would place value on the arts, not
only as a quality of life measure, but an additional economic focus of creators and tourism.
Quality of Life: Existing Conditions
In this section, there is heading of “Cultural Facilities” on page 52, but we feel it simply stated
with not much elaboration. In fact, Brookings currently has a robust offering of these amenities
that should be capitalized and maintained in a plan for the future. Facilities like the Brookings Arts
Council, Children’s Museum of South Dakota, South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings Public
Library, South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum, McCrory Gardens and many others could
complete this list. These amenities are reflected in many of the photos throughout the draft, but
including them in the narrative would bring the value and importance to their missions. There is
additional potential for identifying public art and museums as an option under the headline
“Planning for Community Amenities” on page 58.
Integrated Amenities
Integrating amenities is at the heart of the mission of the Brookings Public Arts Commission and
would serve the community well to have public art opportunities identified in this section. It is a
natural overlap with the park and trail systems and could provide unique neighborhood identity
in new developments.
Transportation
Chapter 5 of the Plan outlines many important transportation related issues that are key to a
functional city. The Public Arts Commission sees a unique opportunity to be a player in this
expansion of infrastructure, while maintaining the vibrancy and character of the community that
has been highlighted through. Listing the Public Arts Commission as a partner or a statement
under “big ideas” would help build a vibrant Brookings.
Chapter 7: Quality of Life
In the “Recommendations for Action” we would like to see a tenth item added “Develop a public
art master plan and opportunities map to fully utilize the 1% for the arts funds.”
Thank you for the opportunity to review the draft Plan. We value the time, dedication and
investment the city staff and advisory members made in this Plan and are appreciative for the
opportunity to provide feedback and comments.
Future public arts program development and staffing – Lamp
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There was unanimous support from the Public Arts Commission members.
They suggested providing the city manager with suggested job descriptions from successful staffed public
arts communities. Biel volunteered to research university communities in the Midwest. Porter Arneill
was also suggested as a resource.
Meeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m.
Submitted by Shari Thornes