The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 07/20/2021 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 092, 2021, APPROPRI Agenda Item 8 Item # 8 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY July 20, 2021 City Council STAFF Nina Bodenhamer, City Give Director Ingrid Decker, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 092, 2021, Appropriating Unanticipated Philanthropic Revenue Received by City Give to Construct a Plaza at Sugar Beet Park for the Hand that Feeds Sculpture Project. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to request appropriation of $67,850 in philanthropic revenue received by City Give for the Capital Projects Fund, Park Planning & Development, Community Services per the intent of the donors: Mujeres de Colores and the Downtown Development Authority. The funds are designated for the construction and installation of a plaza for The Hand That Feeds, a bronze sculpture commemorating Mexican and Hispanic laborers who worked the sugar beet fields of Northern Colorado, that Mujeres de Colores intends to donate to the City. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION In October 2020, the City partnered with Mujeres de Colores to accept, through Art in Public Places, the proposed donation of a bronze sculpture entitled “The Hand That Feeds,” through adoption of Resolution 2020-096. The Hand That Feeds will commemorate, preserve, and honor Mexican and Hispanic laborers who worked the sugar beet fields of Northern Colorado. It pays homage to the people who played a critical role in Fort Collins’ and Larimer County’s sugar beet history. The Hand That Feeds is funded thro ugh the generosity of community giving with a projected budget of $284,750. As envisioned by our community partners, the donation of art includes the design and construction of a plaza within Sugar Beet Park. The hard costs (materials, construction, and landscaping) to be incurred by the City for the development of the plaza total $67,850, which is included in the total project budget. The City recognizes the immeasurable contribution of Mujeres de Colores, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, as they have brought this shared public art to fruition through co-creation, time, passion, and fundraising. Artist Frank Garza has been creating indoor and outdoor sculptural installations for 21 years. Many of Garza’s artwork is community themed, culturally themed, or historically themed, with a strong use of symbolism and his distinct style of realism. He has successfully completed exterior public art pieces that include municipal projects in Denver, CO (City Council Office, Department of Motor Vehicles), Greeley, CO, (History Museum), and Evans, CO, (Library, Community Center, Police Station). The City Manager recommends the appropriation described herein and determined that this appropriation is Agenda Item 8 Item # 8 Page 2 available and previously unappropriated from the Capital Projects Fund and will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Capital Projects Fund to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues and all other funds to be received in the Capital Projects Fund during this fiscal year. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS This Ordinance will appropriate $67,850 of unanticipated philanthropic revenue in the Capital Projects Fund for design, construction, and installation of a plaza at Sugar Beet Park for The Hand That Feeds sculpture. The funds have been received and accepted per City Give Administrative and Financial Policy. ATTACHMENTS 1. Resolution 2020-096 (PDF) 2. Art in Public Places:The Hand That Feeds (PDF) ATTACHMENT 1 Project: The Hand That Feeds This monument is meant to commemorate, preserve and honor the history of the thousands of Hispanic and Mexican people who came to work in the sugar beet ﬁelds surrounding Fort Collins, Larimer County and Colorado. Today sugar beet producƟon is a small part of Colorado's economy, but in the twenƟeth century it was the most important agricultural acƟvity in the state. Area farmers relied on sugar beets as an important cash crop, however, each harvest required thousands of non- unionized ﬁeldworkers. Successful beet culƟvaƟon required periods of such intense drudgery that farmers had to ﬁnd wage-laborers to expedite the work. Farmers and sugar companies acƟvely recruited Mexicans and Chicanos, and the region drew many migrants. The sugar beet industry, which started in Colorado in 1899, was the largest employer of Hispanics in Colorado by the late 1920s. Their employment was as agricultural hand laborers, performing low-skilled, tedious work at the irregular demands of seasonal agriculture. These individuals are oŌen leŌ out of Colorado histories, yet they contributed the bulk of human energy needed to convert beets into sugar. Without their labor, the sugar beet industry and other labor-intensive agricultural industries in Colorado would not have prospered. Through Proposed Art DonaƟon: The Hand That Feeds ATTACHMENT 2 their sweat and toil, Colorado became the largest sugar producing state in the United States in 1909. The work was long and hard, sunup to sundown. There were no age limits to who could work the beet ﬁelds, consequently ﬁve-year-old children and grandparents were out in the hot sun doing the back-breaking work of thinning and topping beets from dawn to dusk. An average family would work an area the size of a football ﬁeld, receiving the sum of $10.00 a day for their work. The standard tool for working the sugar beets was the short-handled hoe. The short-handled hoe required workers to stoop over as they used it to culƟvate crops. Working with the short- handled hoe had long term consequences for agricultural laborers. Many growers believed short-handled hoes made workers more careful and kept crops from being damaged. The bosses also liked the short-handled hoe because they could tell at a glance whether the farm laborers were working or resƟng. The hoe became a symbol of the exploiƟve working condiƟons as it took a big toll on the backs of so many. Campaigns by United Farm Workers and others helped outlaw the use of the hoe in 1975. OverƟme, Great Western Sugar Factory developed three Spanish colonies in the Fort Collins area (Andersonville, Alta Vista, and Buckingham—or Tres Colonias) to house many of the workers. The colonies surrounded the sugar beet factory. As the workers seƩled into their community, they were no longer just sugar beet workers, they were also church members, gardeners, customers, ball players, and community acƟvists. Residents from different states and countries fostered lasƟng relaƟonships. Neighbors shared resources and contributed to the local dynamic. The Spanish-speaking “colonies” actually colonized a bit of Fort Collins and made something new. Funding: Mujeres de Colores (a 501c3 organizaƟon), partners, and community will be fundraising to underwrite this project. Proposed Ɵme line for project InstallaƟon 5-8 months from approval DescripƟon of the Artwork Bronze Sculpture with Stone Base: This monument pays homage to the people who played a criƟcal role in Fort Collins’ and Larimer County’s sugar beet history. The sculpture tells the story of the sugar beet worker: xThe Short-Hoe: Represents the back-breaking work required by the sugar beet workers. xThe Hand: Represents the very people who carried out that work—Hispanic and Mexican—who came to this area to work the beet ﬁelds despite poor working condiƟons, low pay and discriminaƟon. Eventually seƩling in Fort Collins to become part of the fabric of our community. xEngraved Names: The names engraved on the sculpture will honor the founders of Tres Colonias—the original sugar beet workers. An addiƟonal plaque will include the names of donors for the project. xPhoto/Storyboard: A free-standing photo/storyboard will provide a short history of the role these people played in the sugar beet industry. Sugar Beet Park— PotenƟal Art DonaƟon Concept Sugar Beet Park—PotenƟal Art DonaƟon Concept (cont.) Total Es Ɵmated Time to CompleƟon = 8 months **City of Fort Collins esƟmates an addiƟonal $59,000 for the construcƟon and landscaping of the plaza and $8,850 for maintenance of the plaza (3 years) and cleaning & maintenance of the bronze sculpture. ArƟst Background and QualiﬁcaƟons and Project Details: (See aƩached resume.) ArƟst Frank Garza has been creaƟng indoor and outdoor sculptural installaƟons for 21 years using wood, aluminum, steel, fabric, porcelain, glass, polycarbonate and even LED lighƟng. He strives to make each project unique yet complimentary to the surroundings. Many of Garza’s murals are community, culturally or historically themed with a strong use of symbolism and his disƟnct style of realism. His career has allowed him the experience of working closely with city planners, architects, engineers, construcƟon crews, community leaders, and all levels of administraƟon. He has successfully completed many exterior public art pieces that include municipal projects in Denver, CO (City Council Office, Department of Motor Vehicles), Greeley, CO, (History Museum), Evans, CO, (Library, Community Center, Police StaƟon), Thornton, CO, (City Infrastructure Maintenance Center), and Denver Health. Garza was recently selected to create an outdoor sculptural installaƟon for the new City Center South in Greeley, CO. For The Hand That Feeds Bronze Sculpture, Garza will be using Art CasƟngs of Colorado based in Loveland. They are a full-service foundry with over 45 years of experience and will be making the mold, pouring, casƟng, chasing, welding, paƟna, and installaƟon. Garza has already had two meeƟngs with the owner and received esƟmates of cost and Ɵme. The armature will be created by Duchateau Sculpture Services. Gary Duchateau will be milling a larger scaled replica with blue EPS foam. Garza will take possession and begin up to 6 weeks of clay overlay—creaƟng the ﬁne details prior to delivery to the foundry. There will be a high level of coordinaƟon with the arƟst and the foundry to assure quality and to ensure that engineering and safety of the piece is documented throughout the enƟre process including installaƟon. ArƟst Resume: Frank Garza Examples of Previous Work Spectrum 2018 Greeley, CO: 7 murals in outdoor walkway connecting two downtown plazas. Each installation piece is comprised of fabricated aluminum frames, UV printed Polycar- bonate Stacks, LED lighting, and Acrylic Murals. Each piece is 10’H x 10’W. Glass Piece ArƟst Frank Garza, who originally studied sculpƟng in college, began painƟng murals when he was offered a job shortly out of school. He is best known as an installaƟon arƟst, creaƟng free- standing, 2-sided sculptural murals, working with glass, wood, and metal fabricaƟon. Size has never been an issue; many of his pieces are as tall as a building. Over the years, Garza has been successful in many mediums as a ﬁne arƟst; he sees sculpƟng large 3-dimensional art as a natural progression of his career. Journey, Sculptural mural, 16’H x 12’W. Sculptural mural, 18’H x 36’W. Art CasƟngs of Colorado: Examples of Previous Work Garza has chosen Art CasƟngs of Colorado to take his iniƟal concept and manage all 12 steps of the project from the mold making, to the waxing, to the metal pouring, to the paƟna and ﬁnally installaƟon. Since 1972, Art CasƟngs of Colorado has been the trusted choice of arƟsts around the country and around the world. They have a reputaƟon as one of the cleanest, most efficient bronze art foundries in North America, and have earned the conﬁdence of scores of arƟsts who rely on them for excepƟonal quality and service year aŌer year. -1- ORDINANCE NO. 092, 2021 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING UNANTICIPATED PHILANTHROPIC REVENUE RECEIVED BY CITY GIVE TO CONSTRUCT A PLAZA AT SUGAR BEET PARK FOR THE HAND THAT FEEDS SCULPTURE PROJECT WHEREAS, on October 20, 2020, the City Council adopted Resolution 2020-096, approving the acceptance of the proposed donation of a bronze sculpture, entitled “The Hand that Feeds” (the “Artwork”) to be placed at Sugar Beet Park (the “Park”); and WHEREAS, the donor of the Artwork, Mujeres de Colores (the “Donor”) has worked with the City’s Park Planning and Development staff to develop a plan for a plaza the City will install as part of the display of the Artwork at the Park; and WHEREAS, the Donor and the Downtown Development Authority have donated to the City $67,850 for materials, construction and landscaping for the plaza, and this Ordinance would appropriate those funds for expenditure for such purposes; and WHEREAS, this appropriation benefits the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of Fort Collins and serves the public purpose of making improvements to a public park; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9 of the City Charter permits the City Council, upon recommendation of the City Manager, to make supplemental appropriations by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year, provided that the total amount of such supplemental appropriations, in combination with all previous appropriations for that fiscal year, does not exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues and all other funds to be received during the fiscal year; and WHEREAS, the City Manager has recommended the appropriation described herein and determined that this appropriation is available and previously unappropriated from the Capital Projects Fund and will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Capital Projects Fund to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues and all other funds to be received in that Fund during this fiscal year. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That there is hereby appropriated from unanticipated philanthropic revenue in the Capital Projects Fund the sum of SIXTY-SEVEN THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS ($67,850) for expenditure in the Capital Projects Fund to construct a plaza at Sugar Beet Park for The Hand That Feeds sculpture project. -2- Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 20th day of July, A.D. 2021, and to be presented for final passage on the 4th day of August, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Interim City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 4th day of August, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk