HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-01-25; City Council; ; Transfer of General Fund Public Art Funds to the General Capital Construction Fund for a Transportation Art Project at the Chestnut Avenue Interstate 5 Underpass (Capital Meeting Date: Jan. 25, 2022
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Scott Chadwick, City Manager
Staff Contact: Suzanne Smithson, Library & Cultural Arts Director
suzanne.smithson@carlsbadca.gov, 760-602-2011
Richard L. Schultz, Cultural Arts Manager
richard.schultz@carlsbadca.gov, 760-602-2086
Subject: Transfer of General Fund Public Art Funds to the General Capital
Construction Fund for a Transportation Art Project at the Chestnut
Avenue Interstate 5 Underpass (Capital Improvement Program Project
No. 6098)
District: District 1
Recommended Action
Adopt a resolution to approve the appropriation and transfer of $150,000 in public art funds
from the General Fund to the General Capital Construction Fund to be used for transportation
art at the Chestnut Avenue Interstate 5 underpass (Capital Improvement Program Project No.
6098).
Executive Summary
The City Council identified the Chestnut Avenue Interstate 5 underpass as the city’s preferred
location for enhancements as part of Build North Coast Corridor, a California Department of
Transportation and San Diego Association of Governments project that includes highway, rail,
environmental and coastal access improvement projects along the Interstate 5 and rail corridor
through Carlsbad. (Resolution No. 2019-209).
These enhancements came with the opportunity for the city to enhance this site with a
transportation art element. There is $100,000 budgeted for the project, Capital Improvement
Program, Project No. 6098, in the General Capital Construction Fund. Staff researched similar
transportation art projects and determined a larger budget is required to support the project at
this location. Staff are now seeking the City Council’s approval to transfer an additional
$150,000 from the public art budget in the General Fund to the General Capital Construction
Fund, to be used for this project. These additional funds will enhance the scale and scope of this
transportation art project, elevating the caliber of artist and the artwork.
Jan. 25, 2022 Item #1 Page 1 of 5
Budget transfers between funds and appropriations to the Capital Improvement Program
require the approval of the City Council in accordance with the annual budget resolution
(Resolution No. 2020-127 for the fiscal year 2021-22 budget). A resolution approving the
appropriation and transfer of $150,000 in public art funds from the General Fund to the
General Capital Construction Fund to be used for transportation art at the Chestnut Avenue
Interstate 5 underpass (Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6098) is attached as Exhibit
1.
Discussion
The Chestnut underpass serves as a link between the neighborhoods around Holiday Park on
the east side of the freeway and Pine Avenue Park west of the freeway, in the Barrio. Art serves
as a connector, bringing communities together, sparking lively conversations and cultivating
joy. An art installation at this currently undistinguished freeway undercrossing will connect
these two neighborhoods in a unique manner and become a local landmark. The city will ask
artists to submit initial design concepts that would honor the past. These concepts will be
developed further with the community’s input.
This transfer of funds will also increase the city’s eligibility to apply additional state funding to
the project. Staff are proposing to apply for a grant under the Clean California Local Grant
Program, sponsored by Caltrans, for as much as $125,000 in matching funds for this
transportation art project. If the city is awarded this grant, staff will return to the City Council
for approval to accept the funding at a later date. Without the transfer, the city would be
eligible for no more than $50,000 in matching funds from the state.
The city funding and the state grant may result in a total budget of $375,000 to be devoted a
Carlsbad-centric transportation artwork in District 1.
This will be the first transportation art project for the City of Carlsbad’s Library & Cultural Arts
Department, and department staff will be working closely with Public Works staff, along with
Caltrans and SANDAG.
This transportation art project aligns with the city’s Arts & Culture Master Plan, approved by
City Council in June 2018, and the city’s Art in Public Places Program guidelines.
Options
Staff provide the following options for the City Council’s consideration:
1. Adopt a resolution to transfer $150,000 from the General Fund public art operating
budget to the General Capital Construction Fund for Capital Improvement Program,
Project No. 6098.
Pros
• These will result in a higher quality of public art in this highly visible location.
• Helps set a standard for top-tier public art in Carlsbad.
Cons
• By designating public arts funds for this transportation art project, the balance of
funds available for other public art projects would be reduced.
2. Maintain status quo with the current allocated $100,000 associated with the Chestnut
Avenue project.
Pros
• Those funds would remain available for other public art projects.
Jan. 25, 2022 Item #1 Page 2 of 5
Cons
•The aesthetic and physical quality of the public art in this prominent location
would be limited.
•The city would not be able to take full advantage of the state matching funds
available for this public art project.
Fiscal Analysis
Transferring $150,000 from the General Fund public art operating budget to CIP Project No.
6098 will increase the budget for the art project from $100,000 to $250,000. If funding is also
received from Clean California Local Grant Program, an additional $125,000 could be made
available. Together, the funds result in a total potential budget of $375,000 for transportation
art at the Chestnut underpass in District 1.
Next Steps
Staff will work with the city’s Finance Department to transfer funds from the General Fund’s
public art operating budget to Capital Improvement Program Project No 6098. Staff will also
submit a Clean California Local Grant Program grant application, sponsored by the California
Department of Transportation, for up to 50% of matching funds in the amount of $125,000. If
the city is awarded this grant, staff will return to the City Council for approval to accept the
funding.
Environmental Evaluation
This action does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental
Quality Act under Public Resources Code section 21065 in that it has no potential to cause
either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical
change in the environment.
Public Notification
Public notice of this item was posted in keeping with the state's Ralph M. Brown Act and it was
available for public viewing and review at least 72 hours before the scheduled meeting date.
Exhibits
1.City Council resolution
Jan. 25, 2022 Item #1 Page 3 of 5
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-030
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD,
CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE APPROPRIATION AND TRANSFER OF
$150,000 IN EXISTING PUBLIC ART FUNDS FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PROJECT NO. 6098 IN THE GENERAL
CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION FUND TO BE UTILIZED FOR TRANSPORTATION ART
AT THE CHESTNUT AVENUE UNDERPASS COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT
PROJECT
EXHIBIT 1
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California has determined that a
transportation art installation at the Chestnut underpass will serve as a connector between two historic
neighborhoods on either side of Interstate 5 (Resolution No. 2019-209); and
WHEREAS, on June 8, 2021, with the Capital Improvement Program budget adoption, the City
Council approved $100,000 from the General Capital Construction Fund for the design of the art
element associated with the Chestnut Avenue underpass as part of Capital Improvement Program,
Project No. 6098; and
WHEREAS, additional funds can be made available by transferring $~50,000 from the General
Fund public art operating budget to the Capital Improvement Program, Project No. 6098 in the General
Capital Construction Fund; and
WHEREAS, staff will be applying for a Clean California Local Grant Program grant,for up to 50%
of matching funds in the amount of $125,000; and
WHEREAS, these additional funds will enhance the scale and scope of the transportation art
project at the Chestnut Avenue underpass site.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, as
follows:
1. That the above recitations are true and correct.
2. That the Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services is authorized to transfer and
appropriate $150,000 from the General Fund public art operating budget to the Capital
Improvement Program, Project No. 6098 in the General Capital Construction Fund.
3. That the city staff is authorized to apply for a Clean California Local Grant Program grant,
for up to 50% of matching funds in the amount of $125,000.
Jan. 25, 2022 Item #1 Page 4 of 5