HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-08-13-ARTS-min El Lexington Council for the Arts
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, August 13, 2020
7:00 PM— 9:00 PM
Location: Via Zoom
Facilitator: Steve Poltorzycki
Recording Secretary: Jillian Tung
Attendance:
Present: Jillian Tung, Steve Poltorzycki, Melissa Talal, Shalini Kakar, Shubhra
Chandra
Absent: Hema Gandhi, Seetha Ramnath
Guests: Stewart Ikeda, Director of Marketing for Umbrella Arts in Concord
Meeting start time: 7:00 pm
This meeting was recorded. A copy of the recording will be kept on the LCA's
Google drive and will be available from Jillian Tung or Steve Poltorzycki.
• Introductions: Attendees were welcomed and introduced themselves.
• Steve read the Town of Lexington's guidance for conducting open meetings and
reviewed the ground rules for conducting meetings remotely. A digital copy of
the guidance will be kept in LCA files.
• March meeting minutes were approved unanimously by council members in
attendance.
• Treasurer's report: Steve Poltorzycki for Hema Gandhi
o $8356.00 currently in our state account
o None of the grants we awarded in 2020 have been paid for various
reasons: either the events have not happened, or we did not receive
reimbursement requests.
o $6565.00 in state funds was earmarked to be paid out to state recipients;
none has yet been paid out
o Several grantees who were awarded state funds were also granted local
funds
o Deadline for submitting reimbursements for local funds was yesterday
o Local funds don't roll over, so $3282.00 that we gave out of local money
was lost
o $6565 of the 2020 state funds is eligible to roll over in addition to the
$1791 of state funds previously rolled over; need to find out details of this
process
o Town is granting us $6000 for 2020-21
• Election of Officers: all were approved unanimously
o Steve Poltorzycki and Jillian Tung as Co-Chairs
o Hema Gandhi as Treasurer
El Lexington Council for the Arts
o Shubhra Chandra as Recording Secretary
• Overview of grants process
o Applications are open on October 1
o Mid-November is deadline for applications
o We need to post special requirements on website
o We need to decide whether to keep or change our currently stated funding
priorities, which right now are that preference is given for events that
happen in Lexington or that are available to Lexington residents more
broadly
o MCC collects applications and sends them to us
o Winter: we review applications
o Mid-February, send decisions to state
o After mid-February: process requests for reimbursement
o We use a reimbursement process; possibility of offering direct
reimbursements to be considered at a later time
o Need to publicize the grant process. Lexington listserves, media; are there
others?
o Discussed the importance of a Communications/PR role being created on
the Council
• Review of public art proposal ("Go Out Doors")with guest Stewart Ikeda
o PowerPoint presentation delivered which described public art project;
slide set will be stored on shared Google drive
o Artistic doors are being installed along bike path
o Goal is to encourage people to enjoy the outdoors
o Started in Concord, now in Arlington.
o Multi-town art tour
o Signage encouraging 6-ft physical distancing and mask usage will be
posted
o Arlington and Concord Visitors Centers are already involved, and have
been in touch with Lexington Visitors Center
o Cost is $150 - $400 per door
o One installation is typically $1200
• Steve proposed an allocation of$2000 of local funds to be used for an installation
of the "Go Out Doors" Project. Proposal was approved by council unanimously.
• Shalini, Melissa, Jillian to form subcommittee to oversee this project
• Next step is to meet with Cristina Burwell of the Munroe Center to discuss
logistics
• Stewart discussed importance of marketing and communications, particularly with
website
• Shalini and Melissa to form Communications/PR subcommittee (Shalini to lead)
• Next meeting: Monday, September 14 at 7 pm via Zoom
Meeting Adjourned at: 8:30 pm
Motioned by Steve Poltorzycki
El Lexington Council for the Arts
Seconded by Melissa Talal