Wow, an City Attorney(?) answer to a quetion not related to the Arts program is rewritten by the Mayor, a former real estate agent, as a justification and in reply questions surrounding the Arts issue? Wow, did the City Attorney give him a fill-in-the-blanks form to use? Did he look it up on some internet legal advice site? So the answer is, no, the City Attorney hasn’t written any specific legal guidance for the Ann Arbor Arts program vis a vis local artists then. Why not? Maybe it’s time to examine the number of highly paid staff in the City’s Attorney’s office then if the Mayor has to recycle. Lol.

My apologies. John Hieftje sent this brief email last week, in response to my query about the origin of his previous email (see above comment #19) outlining the basis for not giving preference to local artists in Percent for Art projects:

Originally yes, it was from the attorneys office. The analysis is nothing new, it has been around for years. I modified it slightly for a resident who wrote specifically about art.

It’s puzzling that the mayor describes the analysis as nothing new. The Chronicle has covered all monthly meetings of the public art commission for three years, as well as some of their retreats, and this has never been mentioned – even during discussions specifically about whether to give preference to local artists.

I also talked with Malverne Winborne about the artist selection rubric he’s working on (see comment #11). He sent me updated drafts of both the artist RFQ (request for qualifications) review protocol, and the artist interview protocol. [.pdf of RFQ protocol] [.pdf of interview protocol]

The recent versions of these documents – which he plans to present at an upcoming AAPAC meeting – don’t include any criteria for local artists. He told me that this was based on feedback from other commissioners at the March 1, 2011 meeting. He didn’t get the sense that a majority of commissioners supported including that category in their selection. He had not been informed about any legal issues related to it.

So if an opinion from the city attorney’s office on the legality of giving preference to local artists is “nothing new,” it appears there’s been only a very small circle of people who knew about it. And for some reason, no one felt this information was important to share directly with the public art commission – the people who are charged with recommending artists for Percent for Art projects. As I said: Puzzling.

This (and not only this) part of the mayor’s email certainly sounds like a legal opinion. But let’s not fool ourselves into believing that the rules are supposed to apply to those in power, even at the local level. What they can get away with on behalf of those whom they truly serve, they do. What they can’t, they change the rules to allow. No different than the Obama/Bush/Clinton/Bush/Reagan/etc. administrations.

But public art is such an innocuous issue, right? Complacency is inculcated during the practice runs.

Mary, if you haven’t already, please ask the mayor WHICH “attorneys”. Just for fun, of course. Thanks.

A very competitive contest.

The goal posts are moved a bit in the firstand last paragraph of Mayor Hieftje’s response by consideration of an outright prohibition of non-local artists. I can’t recall anyone suggesting more than a preference for qualified local artists. City code specifically allows local preference in procurement and contracting:

“The City may establish and maintain a bid discount process for the procurement of goods or services based on locality or environmental policy.” ch14 1:322

I imagine there might be reasons that art selection and typical procurement activities differ legally, but the clearest restrictions against local preferences based on the three constitutional concerns seems (after some quick googling) to be in the area of hiring. We’re clearly not hiring artists as city employees for percent for art projects – we’re contracting for services. The preference in scoring proposed by Mr Winborne’s rubric seems to me like the sort of contractor selection device that has been allowed by courts to promote some local benefit and is analogous to the bid discount concept of the city code. Of course, it would be great to hear from someone with actual legal knowledge:)

From Ohio’s Percent for the Arts program (begun in 1990):

“The Ohio Percent for Art Program is open to artist’s nationwide, but it is the determination of the Percent for Art Advsiory Selection Committee, in consultation with the Ohio Arts Council, whether a project will be open to artists nationwide or Ohio only.”

From Phildadelphia’s Percent for the Arts program (begun in 1959):

“The Percent for Art program issues a “Call for Artists” application for each eligible project, which outlines the project details and submission procedures. General requirements include submitting images of past work, resume(s), and a statement of intent. All Percent for Art projects are open to professional artists and/or artistic teams. Residency requirements vary by project.”

From Montana’s Percent for the Arts program (begun in 1983):

“Please note: Unfortunately, the Montana Arts Council does not have the capacity to accept applications from, and contract with, artists living outside of the United States and therefore these artists are not eligible for Montana Arts Council Percent for Art projects.”

However Montana’s Percent for the Arts program FAQs had this …

“If my proposal is successful, how do I prove Montana residency? A list of acceptable documents for proof of Montana residency is available from the Department of Justice.”

… so I looked for a sample application and found this:

“Montana Tech Natural Resources Building (MBMG-Petroleum Engineering Bldg, Montana Tech) Butte.
While the application deadline is now past, information about the application process for this project is offered below for reference.
Eligibility: The call for artists was open to all Montana residents. “

I am now a bit confused. This also begs a question. Did Mr. Dreiseitl reach out to AA because he saw this great opportunity being advertised or did AA reach out to him?

I’ve asked that question and am waiting for a response.