Fremont City Council Meeting: 05/20/25 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Landscape Architecture
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Agreements and Contracts
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5451) DOC ID: 5451 A
Updated: 5/15/2025 3:19 PM by Dina Lewis A Page 1
APPROVE AND AWARD PUBLIC ART CONTRACTS FOR CENTRAL PARK COMMUNITY CENTER - Consider Art Review Board and Parks and Recreation Commission Recommendations for Public Artwork at the Proposed Central Park Community Center; Authorize the City Manager or Her Designee to Execute Art Contracts for Amounts Not to Exceed $464,000; and Find that No Further Environmental Review Is Required Pursuant to pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15183
Contact Persons:
Name: Tara Bhuthimethee Kim Beranek
Title: Parks Planning and Design Manager Community Services Director Div/Dept: Landscape Architecture Community Services
Phone: 510-494-4738 510-494-4330
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: Staff is recommending that City Council approve two proposed permanent public art proposals for the new Central Park Community Center (CPCC) and two backup proposals. One of the proposals is for an indoor suspended glass and light sculpture, titled “Dappled Space,” by artist Michele Gutlove. A second proposal by Yelena Filipchuk and Serge Beaulieu (aka HYBYCOZO), for an outdoor lighted sculpture, is also recommended for award. Staff recommends that City Council authorize staff to execute contracts for an amount not-to-exceed $324,000 for public art for Phase 1 of the CPCC, and additional not-to-exceed $140,000 in contracts if Phase 2 of the CPCC is also awarded, for a total not-to-exceed amount of $464,000.
Design of the new Central Park Community Center is currently underway and is projected to go into construction in early 2026 and open in mid to late 2027. In accordance with the Art in Public Places Program Policy, one percent of the project’s engineer’s estimate ($330,000 for Phase 1 and $140,000 for Phase 2, for a total of $470,000) was set aside for public art.
Funding for public art was previously appropriated with the original CPCC project, and an amount of up to $470,000 was reallocated on February 11, 2025 for public art. After a nationwide call for artists, proposed public art was unanimously recommended by both the Art Review Board and the Recreation Commission for Council consideration.
BACKGROUND: The City of Fremont has in place a public art policy of which its mission is “To promote community access to art, integrate it into daily life and create community interest that will enrich the economic vitality and cultural vibrancy of the City, creating a unique identity for Fremont.” To that end, the Art Review Board serves as the advising body to select art and artists for recommendation to the Recreation Commission to be recommended to the City Council.
Art in Public Places Program Policy: The Art in Public Places Program Policy (Policy), which was last adopted by City Council in 2016, gives guidance and provides procedures for funding, selecting, and locating public artwork within the City. The Policy requires that one Council Staff Report (ID # 5451) Meeting of May 20, 2025 Updated: 5/15/2025 3:19 PM by Dina Lewis A Page 2
percent (1%) of funds from the estimated construction cost of new public buildings and park projects with an estimate of $1M or more be used for public art.
The Policy also sets the procedure for selecting public artwork, requiring the Review Board to provide at least two options to the approval body unless selection of a single piece of artwork is appropriate due to its distinguished nature or other specific circumstances. In accordance with the Policy, the Art Review Board recommended two art proposals for award, and two backup art proposals for Recreation Commission consideration, who in turn provided their recommendation to City Council.
Central Park Community Center Project: On July 9, 2024, the City Council approved an initial construction phase of the Central Park Community Center, at the corner of Paseo Padre Parkway and Stevenson Boulevard, based on the secured funding for Phase 1.
Phase 1 of the CPCC is slated to be an approximately 12,000sf building with a large, welcoming lobby, staff spaces, and rooms for exercise/dance, enrichment, arts and crafts, and a conference room. Outdoor improvements include an outdoor patio extension of the exercise rooms, patios at the enrichment and arts and crafts rooms, an entry plaza, outdoor living room, connecting pathways, a new circle drive, and an expansion of the existing parking lot adjacent to the Teen Center. As Phase 1 has been estimated at $33M, the 1% art allocation per the Policy is $330,000.
Phase 2, which has not yet been funded, consists of a 9,400sf addition to the Phase 1 project, including a 400-person Event Hall, commercial kitchen, event terrace, and ceremonial lawn. Phase 2 has been estimated to be an additional $14M. If Phase 2 is awarded, an additional $140,000 will be available for public art, for a total of $470,000.
On February 11, 2025, the City Council approved the reallocation of up to $470,000, or 1% of the Engineer’s estimate of the construction cost of the Central Park Community Center, to Public Art.
Artwork Selection Process: On December 18, 2024, the Art Review Board provided direction on a Draft Call for Artists for new public art at the Central Park Community Center. A two-phase selection process and a schedule were recommended to get artist(s) on board for integration with the Community Center design team during the Construction Documentation phase of the project. Multiple areas in and around the CPCC building were identified for potential artwork, allowing for outdoor sculpture, indoor suspended sculpture, and interior or exterior wall art (See Exhibit 5). No theme was identified.
A Call for Artists was published on January 6,2025 using the CaFÉ system (an online national call for artists application tool) and remained open until January 31, 2025.
On February 19, 2025, the Art Review Board reviewed 244 artist applications and recommended fourteen artists to receive a $500 stipend, per the Policy, to develop proposals within four identified Art Types including “Indoor Suspended Sculpture,” “Wall Art (indoor or outdoor),” “Outdoor Sculpture,” and “Other.” The stipends were paid from the overall project art budget.
The artists met virtually with the design team on March 6, 2025 to learn more about the process, the project, and to ask questions about the building and site. Proposals were submitted by April 4, 2025.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5451) Meeting of May 20, 2025 Updated: 5/15/2025 3:19 PM by Dina Lewis A Page 3
On April 16, 2025, the Art Review Board reviewed proposals received from twelve artists.
After lengthy discussion weighing the merits of the different proposals, five artists were selected to be interviewed.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: On April 30, 2025, at a Special Meeting of the Art Review Board, the Board interviewed Virginia Kistler, Michael Szivos of SOFTlab, Talley Fisher, Yelena Filipchuk and Serge Beaulieu of HYBYCOZO, and Michele Gutlove. The interviews included a five-minute presentation, followed by ten minutes of question and answer.
Staff’s review of the art proposals included input from multiple departments, including Community Services, Public Works, Maintenance, and Information Technology Services (ITS). ITS was consulted due to the technology involved in the Szivos/SOFTlab proposal (which was selected as a backup/Phase 2 for the Outdoor Sculpture). The Maintenance Department expressed concern regarding indoor suspended art due to the obstruction of interior lighting and ceiling access, and the required maintenance of the art which extends beyond standard building maintenance. However, proposals for larger suspended art with fewer parts/pieces were favored over suspended art with many small parts dispersed across the ceiling.
In a unanimous vote, the Art Review Board recommended the following:
In the category of “Indoor Suspended Sculpture,” a commission be awarded to Michele Gutlove for her proposal, “Dappled Space,” a series of glass sculpture suspended from the lobby ceiling, along the walls. The Board praised the proposal’s inviting ethereal qualities and durability and longevity of materials. See Exhibit 1.
If a contract agreement cannot be reached with the first-choice artist for suspended sculpture, an alternative proposal was recommended in Talley Fisher’s proposal of multicolored perforated metal, “Suspended Sculpture Concept 1,” inspired by California’s Coast Live Oak trees. See Exhibit 2.
The Art Review Board also recommended that in the category of “Outdoor Sculpture,” HYBYCOZO’s “Proposal A,” be awarded a commission. Proposal A consists of a group of three shiny, perforated metal seed pod forms located at the entry plaza which would welcome visitors dropped off from the vehicular circle. The Board enjoyed the light play of the sculptures and the novel, immersive experience the piece will offer to the community.
See Exhibit 3.
If a contract agreement cannot be reached with the first-choice Outdoor Sculpture artist, the Board recommends that Michael Szivos/SOFTlab be awarded for a re-worked “Clockwork” proposal. The Board requested that if he is awarded, the piece be designed to be outdoors, similar to some of the pieces he shared during his interview. See Exhibit 4.
If Phase 2 of the CPCC is awarded and up to an additional $140,000 becomes available for art, the Board recommends that Michael Szivos/SOFTlab be awarded for a redesigned outdoor proposal. However, if no agreement can be reached, the Board recommends that the Phase 2 art balance be awarded to HYBYCOZO for additional art within the Outdoor Living Room or other area.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5451) Meeting of May 20, 2025 Updated: 5/15/2025 3:19 PM by Dina Lewis A Page 4
On May 7, 2025, the Recreation Commission asked several questions regarding the maintenance of the first-choice suspended art by Michele Gutlove, who recommended that her art be maintained annually or every two years to remove dust (likely to allow light to pass through the glass and produce the full artistic effect of the dichroic glass). Due to the complicated nature of maintaining the art, and the maintenance of the art being tantamount to its effectiveness, the Recreation Commission requested that funds be identified to maintain the art.
The Recreation Commission then voted unanimously to recommend the first and second choice artists as described above, with an additional recommendation to allocate annual maintenance funding from the Public Art fund (PWC8686) for the first choice indoor suspended art piece.
Public Art Schedule: The following is an approximate schedule of the steps until artists’ integration into the design team:
May 20 City Council review and award of contracts to selected artists May-June Negotiations and contract execution
June/July Integration into CPCC design team
This schedule allows for the artists to be selected and brought on board the project team during the construction documentation stage of the site and building design. Getting the artists on board at this time will ensure better coordination and integration into the project and an overall cost savings in art installation and for the project overall.
FISCAL IMPACT: The public art funding for this project in the amount of up to $470,000 is included in the funds previously appropriated to the Central Park Community Center (PWC9087) and was reallocated to the project’s public art by City Council on February 11, 2025. During the art selection process, a $500 stipend was paid to twelve artists from the project’s art budget, totaling $6,000.
If only Phase 1 is funded, the total allocated amount for public art is $330,000, or 1% of $33M Engineer’s estimate. The total amount available for contracts would be $324,000 ($330,000 - $6,000). If Phase 2 of the CPCC is funded at an estimated $47M, an additional $140,000 would be available for public art, for a total of $470,000. However, since $6,000 was spent toward the development of the proposals, a total of $464,000 would be remaining for award.
Annual maintenance for the indoor suspended art will be paid for through public art fees out of the Public Art fund (PWC8686).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15183, projects that are consistent with the development intensity established by existing zoning, specific plan or general plan policies for which an EIR was certified do not require additional environmental review, except as might be necessary to examine whether there are project-specific significant effects which are peculiar to the project or its site. This provides a streamlined review of such projects and reduces the need to prepare repetitive environmental studies.
An Environmental Compliance Checklist (Exhibit “A” from the 2/11/2025 staff report) was prepared for the proposed Central Park Community Center project which demonstrates that Council Staff Report (ID # 5451) Meeting of May 20, 2025 Updated: 5/15/2025 3:19 PM by Dina Lewis A Page 5
the project qualifies for review under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15183 and does not need additional environmental review since the General Plan EIR (State Clearinghouse No. 2010082060) adequately addressed the project’s potential environmental effects.
On February 11, 2025, City Council made a finding that no further environmental review is required for the CPCC pursuant to Section 15183 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines as the project would not result in new or substantially more severe significant environmental effects than what was analyzed in the General Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (State Clearinghouse No. 2010082060) previously prepared and certified, as analyzed in the Environmental Compliance Checklist shown in Exhibit “A” of the February 11, 2025 staff report for the Central Park Community Center.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Exhibit_1_Michelle Gutlove - Dappled
• Exhibit_2_Talley Fisher
• Exhibit_3_HYBYCOZO
• Exhibit_4_Michael Szivos_Clockwork
• Exhibit_5_CENTRAL PARK COMMUNITY CENTER PUBLIC ART
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Approve the first choice artist, Michele Gutlove, and second choice artist, Talley Fisher, for the indoor suspended sculpture art piece; and first choice artist, HYBYCOZO, and second choice artist, Michael Szivos/SOFTlab, for the outdoor sculpture at the Central Park Community Center; and authorize staff to use available funds in the Public Art fund (PWC8686) toward the annual maintenance of the first choice indoor suspended art piece.
2. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute art contracts with the first choice artists, Michele Gutlove and HYBYCOZO, in amounts not-to-exceed $324,000.
3. Should the City be unsuccessful in negotiating a contract with the first-choice artist, authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute an art contract with the second choice artist, Talley Fisher and/or Michael Szivos/SOFTlab in amounts not-to-exceed $324,000.
4. Should Phase 2 of the CPCC be funded, authorize the City Manager, or designee, to award Michael Szivos/SOFTlab or HYBYCOZO a contract not-to-exceed an additional $140,000, for total art contracts not-to-exceed $464,000.
5. Find that no further environmental review is required pursuant to Section 15183 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines as the project would not result in new or substantially more severe significant environmental effects than what was analyzed in the General Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (State Clearinghouse No. 2010082060) previously prepared and certified, as analyzed in the Environmental Compliance Checklist shown in Exhibit “A” of the February 11, 2025 staff report for the Central Park Community Center, and a finding that this action reflects the independent judgment of the City.