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  • From: "Steve Wright" <swright AT townofchapelhill.org>
  • To: <chpac-staff AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Chpac-staff] CHPAC press
  • Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 12:11:06 -0400

Dear CHPAC,

 

Linked and reproduced below are two CHPAC-related items that appeared in recent press.

 

-Steve

 

Today:

 

- An artist eyes Chapel Hill

Jesse James DeConto, Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL - Some local residents are sour on downtown, but when Boston-based artist Mikyoung Kim surveys Franklin Street, she sees potential.

"It reminds me very much of Harvard Square or Newbury Street," Kim said, referring to two high-end pedestrian shopping districts in Cambridge and Boston respectively.

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/747372.html

 

Yesterday:

 

- Council OKs public art positions

By Daniel Goldberg : The Herald-Sun

CHAPEL HILL -- Public art is taking a seat at the table of town government.

The Chapel Hill Town Council approved a plan Monday night that creates two new administrative positions overseeing public art efforts and will lead to the organization of a government-appointed advisory board.

http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-891861.cfm

 

 

An artist eyes Chapel Hill

Jesse James DeConto, Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL - Some local residents are sour on downtown, but when Boston-based artist Mikyoung Kim surveys Franklin Street, she sees potential.

"It reminds me very much of Harvard Square or Newbury Street," Kim said, referring to two high-end pedestrian shopping districts in Cambridge and Boston respectively.

Dressed in a black suit with a Prada bag slung over her shoulder, the tiny Kim is making big plans for downtown. On Tuesday, she walked the streets and visited municipal Parking Lot No. 5, site of a future condominium tower and public plaza.

Kim will work as a consultant as Ram Development Co. spends about $670,000 on public art for a future plaza at West Franklin and Church streets, which will include pieces from other artists.

Kim said she wants to make the plaza a special place, where people will want to sit and relax with a cup of coffee.

"I think that's one thing that Chapel Hill does not have," she said. "A lot of great urban streets have that."

In a separate project, the town has approved $123,250 for Kim to design streetscape improvements for Franklin Street and Rosemary Street.

Kim will work to revise the town's 1993 streetscape master plan. Kim will focus on West Franklin and Rosemary streets, which still need about 1.5 miles of improvements, according to the original master plan.

The town has already allocated $1 million for sidewalks, lighting and landscaping on East Franklin Street and Columbia Street.

In 2003, voters approved an additional $2 million in streetscape improvements, but that won't be spent until Kim's work is finished.

"The council directed us to put everything on hold until we revise the master plan," said Emily Cameron, the town's landscape architect.

Kim said downtown's character has evolved over time, giving it an eclectic mix of architecture and businesses.

"I love the way there's a high-end restaurant next to a burrito place next to a place that sells knick-knacks for your hair," she said.

Kim said she and her staff will honor that variety as they plan for new sidewalks, lighting and landscaping in parts of downtown. She said she has visited Chapel Hill at least a dozen times in the past three years.

"We're trying to really understand the place," she said.

jesse.deconto AT newsobserver.com or (919) 932-8760

 

 

 

Council OKs public art positions

By Daniel Goldberg, The Herald-Sun
October 22, 2007   10:53 pm

CHAPEL HILL -- Public art is taking a seat at the table of town government.

The Chapel Hill Town Council approved a plan Monday night that creates two new administrative positions overseeing public art efforts and will lead to the organization of a government-appointed advisory board.

In recent years, public art has largely been the domain of the nonprofit Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission, a body that is cooperative with town government but not controlled by it.

Town Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt, a member of the Council Committee on Public Art Efforts that formulated Monday's report, said that arrangement was not ideal in facilitating communication among departments in regards to public art.

The council committee's vision is for a two-pronged approach to public art.

A new committee -- also known as the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission -- comprising citizens appointed by the Town Council will operate like the many other advisory boards that assist in government. The existing nonprofit organization will change its name and act as an advocate and fundraiser for council-led art efforts.

Council members unanimously authorized Town Manager Roger Stancil to begin advertising for a full-time public arts administrator, as well as an assistant to that position. Stancil said he has not yet determined a pay scale for the new jobs, but he estimated the administrator would earn in the $50,000 to $60,000 range.

Stancil is also expected to present a transition plan for the public arts boards at the council's Nov. 19 meeting.

In other town business, a long-standing conflict between the council and the Pines Community Center took a quiet step toward resolution.

Earlier this month, Pines Community Center, Inc. President Ted Parrish asked the town to remove a lien on several lots owned by the organization. He said the legal action could cost the community a chance at a acquiring a Boys and Girls Club chapter.

Parrish disputes the town's claim that the community center owes a $54,250 balance on a 1995 loan intended to provide affordable housing.

A response to Parrish's petition for relief was on Monday's council agenda. According to a written memorandum, town staff recommended that the council take no action on Parrish's request, leaving the lien intact.

Mayor Kevin Foy instead announced that he had received a letter from Parrish on Monday stating the Pines Community Center's intention to pay off its debt.

"He said he'll pay it off and we'll be out of their business," remarked Councilman Bill Thorpe. "And I'm happy that we'll be out of their business."

"They'll be happy, too," Foy said with a smile.

URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-891861.cfm

© Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. All material on heraldsun.com is copyrighted by The Durham Herald Company and may not be reproduced or redistributed in any medium except as provided in the site's Terms of Use.



  • [Chpac-staff] CHPAC press, Steve Wright, 10/24/2007

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