Item 1. MACC Advisory Board Meeting Minutes 7-6-22 Draft — original pdf

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EMMA S. BARRIENTOS MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER REGULAR MEETING ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Advisory Board convened via video conferencing. Board Members in Attendance: Endi Silva, Chair David Goujon, Vice Chair Gerardo Gandy, Member Litza Gonzales, Member Ricardo Maga Rojas, Member Tomas Salas, Member Board Member Absent: Wayne Lopes, Member Art Navarro, Vice Chair CALL TO ORDER: Chair Silva called the Board Meeting to order at 6:07 pm. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION Larry Amaro discussed being involved in the 2018 plan discussion. He mentioned his concern with the lack of community engagement for Phase 2. Maria Elena Rodriguez talked about wanting the Phase 2 project to be transparent and wanting community members to be involved in the planning and all through the project. She expressed wanting to see more local artists and musicians represented at the MACC. APPROVAL OF April 6, 2022 MINUTES 1. Member Goujon made a motion to approve the meeting minutes. Member Gandy seconded the motion. Vote passed. (6.0) CHAIR REPORT 2. Chair Silva thanked Vice Chair Goujon for attending the meeting in person as she was not able to. STAFF BRIEFINGS 3. Supervisor Tamzarian provided an update on the upcoming exhibits and programs for the month of April. Presentation by Lorie Martinez, Culture and Arts Education Coordinator on Latino Artist Access Program Activities. Manager Rojas presented staffing position updates and the continuation of MACC programs and activities once the MACC is closed for construction. 4. Ricardo Soliz and Tom Migl presented on the alley way vacation project. Soliz discussed the history of 64 Rainey Street and the process to file for vacation of an alley way. He explained 1 that all City departments vested in the process would have to give their ok to proceed with the project. He explained that City of Austin Fire Department staff were very considered with closing of the alleyway because of how busy the Rainey Street area is with vehicles. Soliz presented a plan that the Fire department had agreed might be a way to support the vacation of the alleyway. Migl mentioned that due to safety concerns the fire department did not want to loose circulation through the alleyway in case of emergencies. In studying the area, Fire proposed that an additional 8 ft of 64 Rainey land be given up for parking spaces. There would now be able to keep 20 feet of space for emergency vehicles to go through. Member Salas mentioned his support for the plan. Chair Silva asked that if this was the only option. Soliz responded that this was the only option presented at this time. Discussion ensued about the closure of Rainey Street for vehicles. Vice Chair Goujon asked about who the owner of the 64 Rainey Street property and the alley way. Soliz responded that it was City property. Discussion was had on the proposed parking spaces and the size of 64 Rainey street. Member Gandy expressed concerns with using parkland for parking. He mentioned wanting to see other options than using parkland for parking. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 5. Presentation on Phase 2 Art in Public Places prospectus by Anna Bradley, Sr. Project Manager Anna Maciel commented on the Art in Public Places projects and mentioned that she felt it was very important to get local artists to be part of the Phase 2 project. Anna Bradley from Art in Public Places presented the draft prospectus for the Phase 2 project. She summarized the history of the projects and described the solicitation process for new AIPP projects throughout the City. She also discussed the artwork opportunities for Phase 2. She mentioned extending the artist call to a Statewide call. Member Gonzales asked about why the artist call was not kept as a local artist call. Bradley responded that because the MACC is an international center and the project team had requested it be an international call. She mentioned wanting to get a broader range of artists. Member Salas mentioned having it be a local call from the surrounding 7 counties is a large enough pool. He expressed concern looking for artists that were not familiar with the history of the MACC. He asked about the current number of local artists and asked how many where of Latino backgrounds. Bradley responded that out of the 17 contracted artists about 70% were from Latino backgrounds. Manager Rojas mentioned that MACC staff did not support opening the call to the state of Texas but instead wanted it to be a local artist call only. Member Gandy did not recommend opening the call to the state. Bradley mentioned incorporating the recommendations of the board to the draft prospectus. Member Gonzales also recommended that it be a local call. Vice Chair Goujon also agreed with the recommendations. Member Maga Rojas asked about the community engagement process. Bradley recounted the engagement process that the artist had to provide as part of their project. 6. Presentation by Elizabeth Ferrer on the Phase 2 Community Communications Forum (CCF) Elizabeth Ferrer did not attend the meeting. 7. Discussion and possible action on Phase 2 project. 2 Anna Maciel commented on the struggle of community members throughout Austin history, She recognized Peggy Vasquez for her contribution to the community. She reminded staff to always keep community at the forefront of all decisions. Larry Amaro discussed the lack of community engagement on the Phase 2 project. He said he wanted to see alternative designs that the community could vote on. He mentioned his opposition to the minus one level of the proposed plans and the lack of engagement from the community. Amaro expressed his request to get community engagement for the design development phase of the Phase 2 project. Manager Rojas read through the update provided by the Phase 2 project team. Vice Chair Goujon asked if any members of the project were present in the meeting. Rojas said none of the project team members were present. Member Maga Rojas asked about the community communications forum and wanted to know about what was discussed during their first meeting. Manager Rojas responded that this first meeting was an introduction of the CCF members and what their role was as members of this forum. Discussion ensued about the particulars of the CCF meetings and why the project team members did not include the details of what was discussed. Chair Silva wanted to reiterate that the CCF is meaningful and the need to get a more detailed digest of meetings presented to the board. Vice Chair Goujon recounted the need to have a more detailed report from the project team. 8. Discussion and possible action on alley way vacation adjacent to the MACC. Anna Maciel made comments that the alley way vacation project should have been done a long time ago. She asked Ricardo Soliz to clarify the parking spaces that the alleyway vacation project would take from the 64 Rainey lot. She asked about the benefits of leaving the alley way open. Discussion ensued about the alley way vacation project. She expressed her disappointment with transportation and accessibility of the MACC. Chair Silva asked if there were alternative options to the alley way vacation process. Soliz responded that not all ideas had been exhausted but said he would return the discussion with the Fire Department to explore more options. Member Salas expressed being in support of connecting the 64 Rainey lot to the MACC but would like to see more options. Vice Chair Goujon asked if a more extensive plan could be presented with alternative ideas. Discussion ensued about the 2018 master plan and how that helps support the alley way vacation. 9. Discussion and possible action on Board Annual Internal Review and Report. Vice Chair Goujon mentioned that he would share the draft with the other board members and that it would include a recount of the previous year’s items. 10. Discussion and possible action on Rainey Street District Special Revenue Fund. Chair Silva recounted the resolution passed by the City Council on the Rainey Street Historical District Fund. Manager Rojas read the resolution out loud for the record. No motion taken. There was a request for a staff report at the next meeting 11. Arts - Joint Cultural Committee liaison report 3 Member Maga Rojas provided an update from his attendance at the Joint Arts Commission meeting held on June 11. Jaime Castillo stepped down as chair. Meetings would continue in the future. 12. Transportation Vice Chair Goujon mentioned meeting with The Trail Foundation to discuss possible future collaborations with the MACC. 13. Phase 2 Project Discussion was had with regards to the members of the working group. A meeting was requested in the future. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Chair Silva asked that the working group membership be revisited. Seconded by Vice Chair Goujon. Chair Silva also asked for a presentation on the Rainey Street Historical District Fund. Vice Chair asked that under Staff Briefings, Elizabeth Ferrer provide in person. Supported by Member Maga Rojas. Member Salas asked that Ricardo Soliz be brought back for a staff briefing update on the alley way vacation project. ADJOURNMENT Member Gonzales motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:16 pm. Member Salas seconded. Motion passed (6.0) 4