Minutes - September

MINUTES OF THE
CHANDLER ARTS COMMISSION MEETING
TUESDAY, September 16, 2025
5:00 PM
Commissioners Present: Rosanna Lantigua, Darrell Dick, David Wilkinson, Mahfam
Moeeni-Alarcon
Commissioners Absent: Martin Galindo, Shachi Kale, Julie Ray
Staff Present: Peter Bugg, Hanley Ange
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM by Mahfam Moeeni-Alarcon
UNSCHEDULED /SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES / CALL TO PUBLIC
Jayvyn Brantley, student journalist at ASU attending to report on today’s meeting for a
class assignment
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a) David made the motion to approve the minutes from August 19, 2025.  Rosanna
seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
ACTION AGENDA
a. Select finalists for Forensic Services Building
I.
Staff wanted to wait for more information from internal stakeholders to make
a decision. Darrell motioned to table until next time. Mahfam seconded the
motion. Motion passed unanimously.
b. Recommend finalist for Traffic Management Center
I.
Peter reviewed which artists submitted proposals and did a quick rundown
of what each submission proposed. Darrell asked if the traffic control
building will be built on the vacant lot facing the street or if it would be in the
government building complex surrounded by a concrete wall. It will be in the
complex so not viewable from the main road, but many members of the
public will be going in and out of the building for various reasons. Rosanna
asked for clarification between Heidi’s two proposals and Peter shared that
both are ceramic but one is free standing and one is wall mounted. Peter

shared Paige’s mural proposal and shared that due to family emergencies,
her proposal is lacking more specific information. The traffic management
building was open to Paige’s style and bright colors, but wanted the imagery
to represent what happens in the building. Peter shared Eli Richard’s
proposal of wall-mounted sculptural letters adorned with roadway imagery
and signals with a cluster of free-standing traffic light sculptures. Mahfam
asked if both of these aspects are included in the whole budget and Peter
said yes they are. Mahfam explained why she prefers Eli’s proposal. She
liked how dynamic the installation would be and the attention-grabbing
aspects of the designs. Darrell agreed with Mahfam, but expressed
concerns about scale and visibility. Peter shared the scale of Heidi’s and
Paige’s installations to show the various scales proposed across all three
artists. Rosanna expressed she preferred Paige’s mural. Mahfam said she
doesn’t prefer it since murals are so common. Peter shared that he doesn’t
feel that Paige’s mural design reflects what the traffic management center
is looking for and the imagery feels disconnected. David asked if Eli’s pieces
would be lit by the building and expressed concerns about them being in the
dark. Peter said that the lighting that will already exist on the exterior wall
may be able to be adjusted, but no promises. Darrell and David express
concerns about how tall the exterior walls will be and how it dwarfs Eli’s
proposed wall-mounted sculptures. Rosanna said that Paige’s proposal is
lacking the color her murals usually have and commissioners agree. David
asked if we could give Paige a second chance at proposing a design since
she’s being dealing with family emergencies. Peter responded that the
commission should still make a recommendation. Darrell, David, and
Mahfam prefer Eli’s proposal. Rosanna is okay with Eli being the
recommended artist. Darrell motioned for Eli Richard to be the
recommended artist for the traffic management center. David seconded.
Motion passed unanimously.
c. Approve funding for quilt boxes
I.
Peter reviewed with the commissioners what the quilt boxes are and why
the Vision Gallery needs them to securely store the art quilts that are part of
the City’s portable public works collection. Darrell asked how the quilts and
artworks are requested for display throughout the City and Peter provided
clarification. David motioned to purchase the quilt boxes. Rosanna
seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
DISCUSSION
a. Review artwork for acceptance into city collection
a. Peter shared that a woman named Ann Marie DeMarco reached out and
asked if her photographs of Salt River horses could be donated to the
Tumbleweed Rec Center. Peter suggested we can put this on the action
items for next meeting. Peter also shared that we don’t typically accept
artwork like this. David asked why and Peter shared that we don’t have
a lot of storage space so we are typically more selective of what is
accepted. Peter also shared that the work isn’t Chandler specific and

doesn’t relate to the Tumbleweed Rec Center. The Rec Center wanted
guidance on acquiring them or not. This will be discussed further next
meeting.
b. Hartford Neighborhood Mural
a. Peter provides more information on what this mural is. This mural would
be in the Hartford neighborhood. Peter scouted and proposed four
locations and Neighborhood Services selected a wall that is located in a
park around 388 N Nebraska St. David asked about how murals like this
have been funded in the past and how locations have been chosen and
Peter used the Espo’s mural as an example of how this process has
typically gone.
BRIEFING ITEMS
a. Ongoing public art projects
I.
Goodyear Canal project is at a standstill due to changes in Chandler city
management. With a new City Manager and some other top-level staffing
changes, Peter wants to make sure this project progresses with all these
changes in consideration.
II.
Galveston Neighborhood sign is installed and looks great. There will be a
big reception on November 6 from 3:30-6:00pm to celebrate the new sign,
the park remodel, and other improvements to the neighborhood. All
commissioners are invited.
III.
Traffic control boxes – recent traffic control boxes that have been wrapped
in vinyl have all been removed due to scheduled maintenance of the boxes.
We are working on remedying this.
IV.
2025-26 Vinyl wraps – contracts are under way for all eight artists. All eight
artists accepted and are attending a kickoff meeting on October 6 to start
this collaborative project.
b. Maintenance Projects
c. Deaccessioning artwork
I.
We will discuss more deaccessioning artworks at another meeting when
there is less on the agenda
MEMBERS COMMENTS / ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mahfam shared that her cousin Leyla completed the tallest mural in Arizona. Darrell
shared that he spent 4 hours on a grants panel the other night and was happy to report
that all the grants were at least somewhat funded. Peter shared that he was in Idaho last
month and saw an artwork by an Arizona-based artist Bobby Zokaites in person.
CALENDAR
a. Next regular meeting will be October 21 via Microsoft Teams
INFORMATION ITEMS
Current Exhibitions

a) August 23 – November 2, 2025 – So Fun! An Exploration of Maximalism –
Vision Gallery
b) August 9 – November 8, 2025 – Con Cariño Siempre: Ariana Enriquez – CCA
Gallery
Upcoming Exhibitions and Events
a. “So Fun!” Day – October 4, 10a – 4p, Vision Gallery
b. Make and take: DIY Spider Webs – October 18, 11a – 1p, Vision Gallery
c. Art Quilts 30: Palette Cleanser — November 8, 2025 - January 10, 2026 -
Vision Gallery
d. Rice is Me: Anh-Thuy Nguyen - November 15, 2025 - February 7, 2026 - CCA
ADJOURNMENT
a) At 5:46 PM Mahfam Moeeni-Alarcon adjourned the meeting.
________________________________ ____________________
Julie Ray, Chair
Date