GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT
DATE: September 13, 2024
TO: GEORGEANNE WHITE, City Manager
FROM: BRIAN BARR, Director
General Services Department
SUBJECT: UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OF SCULPTURE CONSERVATION STUDIO FOR THE
CONSERVATION TREATMENT PROGRAM FOR CITY OWNED ARTWORK
The purpose of this memorandum is to memorialize the unique qualifications determination and to provide authorization to bypass the City’s standard Request for Proposal (RFP) process set forth in Administrative Order 6 -28, so that the General Services Department may award a nonprofessional service contract to Sculpture Conservation Studio (“SCS”) for the cost based maintenance of artworks located on Fulton Street, Mariposa Mall, and the Convention Center.
The City of Fresno invested roughly $1.8 million to restore various pieces of artwork in preparation to re-open Fulton St . The dedication for the re -opening was on October 21, 2017, at which point the artworks and fountains were in good condition. However, due to calcium and other minerals in the water and rain, dust, vehicle, and other forms of pollution, the condition of the artworks has degraded quickly.
Due to the time sensitive nature of the maintenance needed to keep the artworks in good condition, staff looks to bypass the lengthy RFP process and propose that SCS be the provider of maintenance services to the art works located on Fulton Street, Mariposa Mall, and the Convention Center. The General Services Department has outlined a two -year schedule for the conservation of 2 8 pieces, 15 in FY2025, and 13 in FY2026. In the first year GSD has projected to spend $275 ,000 on the 15 conservation projects and will be seeking council approval.
In 2015, Sculpture Conservation Studio was sub-contracted to complete the cost-based maintenance, restoration, and relocation of the 32 artworks. This project was complex and required a high degree of skill and care to adequately preserve the artwork. In 2019 Sculpture Conservation Studio was again contracted to evaluate the condition of t hese pieces and perform recommended maintenance. Due to this history of quality performance and their familiarity with the artwork, Sculpture Conservation Studio has been determined to be uniquely qualified to perform this maintenance and conservation.
Docusign Envelope ID: A5EC0EFD-0E37-43E2-8834-83FA85E5D7F5 SCS’s Principal Conservator, Andrea Morse, has been a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, AIC, since 1994. Ms. Morse has over 25 years of conservation experience with an emphasis on public art a nd museum surveys. From 1975 to 1993, she was a member of the conservation staff at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Department of Objects Conservation. In 1997, Ms. Morse joined Sculpture Conservation Studio as President and Principal Conservator. Since then, she has overseen the majority of the studio’s surveys and projects, including the Fulton Street project, specializing in the large-scale outdoor sculpture projects. The work Ms. Morse and her team have done on the Fulton St. artwork conformed to the strictest conservation standards and guidelines by the AIC and with the United States Department of Interior’s Standard for Historic Buildings. It should be noted that an attempt to locate a conservator with credentials similar to Ms. Morse within 100 miles of City Hall was executed by the Department of Public works in 2018 and no candidates were found.
For all the reasons above, GSD recommends that Sculpture Conservation Studio be recognized as uniquely qualified to perform the services required.
Approve Request
Deny Request
_______________________________
Georgeanne White, City Manager Date
Docusign Envelope ID: A5EC0EFD-0E37-43E2-8834-83FA85E5D7F5 X
9/17/2024