Title
Wake Transit Art Funding Eligibility Policy
Bret Martin, MPO Staff
Body
At the direction of the Wake County Transit Planning Advisory Committee (TPAC), an Art & Culture Workgroup coordinated by the City of Raleigh was created to help inform the development of a policy for integrating art into projects supported by Wake Transit tax revenues. The purpose of the policy that was ultimately developed is to identify projects that are eligible to use Wake Transit funds for art, set funding parameters, guide Wake Transit project sponsors through the process of requesting art funding and reporting expenditures, and to provide program staff with the information necessary to implement the policy. The TPAC recommended approval of the policy to CAMPO and to the GoTriangle Board of Trustees at its August 11th regular meeting. The TPAC-recommended Wake Transit Art Funding Eligibility Policy document is provided as Attachment 1.
Although the TPAC recommended the attached policy, the TPAC’s vote on a recommendation of the policy was not unanimous, with one dissenting vote coming from the Town of Apex’s voting membership. In the event that a TPAC vote is not unanimous for items that are subsequently forwarded to the CAMPO Executive Board and GoTriangle Board of Trustees, the adopted TPAC bylaws require both the majority and minority perspectives on the matter be provided to both governing boards. Following are the majority and minority perspectives from the TPAC’s consideration of the Wake Transit Art Funding Eligibility Policy:
Majority Perspective: It is worth making a decision and setting expectations now to allow investment in art integration for the most visible and permanent passenger-facing facilities so transit facilities that are being designed and built now can benefit from the identity, culture, aesthetic, and place-making effects of art.
Minority Perspective: Given Wake Transit’s financial challenges, making a decision and setting expectations to commit $6.4 million over the next 10 years to art integration may not be the most responsible use of funds, especially since the public has expressed interest in and prioritized other investments that we are not funding.
CAMPO staff provided an overview of the TPAC-recommended Wake Transit Art Funding Eligibility Policy at the Executive Board’s September 15th regular meeting. At the Executive Board’s October 20th regular meeting, CAMPO staff will provide a very brief summary of the TPAC-recommended policy before the Executive Board holds a public hearing and considers approval of the policy.
The TPAC-recommended policy was released for a CAMPO-administered public comment period on September 17th. The comment period will remain open through October 19th. Any public comments received will be provided to the Executive Board at the Board’s October 20th meeting.
Requested Action: Action
1) Conduct a public hearing; and
2) Approve the Wake Transit Art Funding Eligibility Policy, pending no adverse and actionable public comments.