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MINUTES OF THE CHANDLER ARTS COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, May 19, 2026 5:00 PM Commissioners Present: David Wilkinson, Shachi Kale, Liz Taylor, Ramon De La O, Darrell Dick, Mahfam Moeeni-Alarcon, Mikayla Qian Commissioners Absent: Rosanna Lantigua Staff Present: Peter Bugg, Hanley Ange, Niki Tapia CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 5:01 PM by Peter Bugg UNSCHEDULED /SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES / CALL TO PUBLIC APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) David made the motion to approve the minutes from April 21, 2026. Darrell seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. DISCUSSION ITEMS a. AJ Chandler Park – Ostrich Sculpture a. Peter reviewed for the new commissioners that this project is meant to memorialize the Ostrich Festival and has a budget of $50,000. Peter shared Matt Babcock’s sculpture proposal of a powder-coated aluminum structure in the I-beam style with one mother ostrich and eight baby ostriches on top of an egg-shaped pedestal. City would provide the pedestal, and the artist would create the sculpture and provide light fixture specifications. David shared that he likes the sculpture but is concerned that people won’t understand it or it won’t be readable as an ostrich; he asked if the plaque would provide context. Peter said that it can. Shachi agreed with David and said that Matt’s previous artwork more obviously represents other animals, and this one is hard to read as being an ostrich. She also wondered if this sculpture would be a safety hazard since there are many holes that kids could climb through. Liz shared that she likes the vibrant color of the sculpture and that the legibility of the baby ostriches is better than the mother’s. Mahfam asked what the maintenance of this project looks like given Arizona’s dust and sun-bleaching. Peter said it will get wear and tear, and the commission would oversee determining the maintenance. David asked if the sculpture is tall enough for the wide-open space of the park. Peter responded that the height is likely determined by budget and is a limiting factor. Peter suggested that all these concerns could be alleviated if the position of the ostrich’s neck is switched to go upward, a plaque with context is included, and perhaps a AR photo opportunity is integrated. Given the concerns of the commission and internal city staff, Peter suggested he reaches back out to Matt to alter the composition of the design to increase legibility of the ostrich. b. 2026-2027 Projects a. Our proposed projects are AJ Chandler Park Ostrich, Traffic Management Center, 3 projects at the Forensic Service Building, another 6-8 traffic control boxes, and a possible mural contingent on funding. ACTION ITEMS a. Approve Chair and Vice-Chair a. Peter suggested neither Mikayla nor Ramon are Chair or Vice-Chair since they are so new, but everyone else is eligible. David asked what the responsibilities of these roles are and Peter explained them. After some discussion, everyone agreed Shachi Kale should be the commission’s Chair and David Wilkinson should be the Vice-Chair. Darrell made the motion to nominate Shachi as Chair and David as Vice-Chair. Mahfam seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. b. Approve RFQ for Community Art Engagement Projects a. Peter explained that funding from this project comes from the General Public Art Fund and funding was approved. There are four projects that we would like four artists for. These projects take place at community engagement events and usually result in an artwork made by the artist and community members. Shachi approved the RFQ as written. Liz seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. c. Approve RFQ for pre-qualified artist list a. After explaining the difference between an RFQ and an RFP, Peter explained the need for a pre-qualified artist list. This list will typically be used for projects with faster turnaround times so artists can be quickly paired with projects. Darrell asked once the list is created, what is the process for pairing artists with projects. Peter answered that we will receive the applications, 2 or 3 commissioners will serve on a panel to review them with the goal of creating a large list, and the list will be presented to the commission for final adjustments. The list will be a living document used in the future in discussion with commissioners when considering artists to be paired with quicker projects. Shachi asked if this list will be updated by an annual call and Peter answered that we’re not sure how often this call would occur, but artists would not be “kicked off” the list each year and required to apply again. Shachi asked if artists could be categorized by medium when they apply, and Hanley will make the application form have this categorization integrated. David asked how this call will be promoted and Peter answered it will be on the AZ Commission on the Arts page, our website, our Instagram, etc. Hanley asked if this list will be public-facing or just internal, and Peter answered he will have to discuss this with leadership but we could have an opt-in or opt-out of having this info public on application form. David motioned to approve the call with some slight fine-tuning of language. Darrell seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. BRIEFING ITEMS a. Ongoing public art projects I. Traffic Box reception i. Liz shared that the reception was lovely with ASU students and artists in attendance. The tour visited all the boxes and interacted with James Angel’s augmented reality feature on his box. Liz said the boxes really brighten up the areas they are installed in. II. Housing Murals i. Opening reception is on Tuesday June 9, @ 9am. III. Geoffrey Gross relocation i. Moving along and the sculpture will be moving to the Museum campus in July or August. IV. Forensics i. This project is still slowly moving along. Three projects will be completed for this new building. After some discussion with Jeff Zischke, his budget will be altered to have different artist and design fees. V. Traffic Management Center i. Moving along slowly but surely. This project won’t break ground until November. A contract for the artist is in the works. VI. Ostriches i. Serrano’s ostrich has been moved to its new home at Espo’s restaurant. b. Maintenance projects I. Two of the traffic boxes were wrapped with the wrong side facing the street. This was our miscommunication with the install team. To rewrap these boxes, Signarama gave us a quote of roughly $1218 total. This will be an official action item in the next meeting. MEMBERS COMMENTS / ANNOUNCEMENTS Shachi announced that after 3 years, her dog park metal panels commissioned by the City of Scottsdale were finally installed at Thompson Peak Park in North Scottsdale. She also announced she is doing a workshop for the city of Tempe Arts and Culture to demystify the public art process for anyone who is looking to start doing public art projects. CALENDAR a. Next regular meeting will be June 16 – in-person INFORMATION ITEMS Current Exhibitions a) Is there Wi-Fi in Heaven? Grieving in the Digital Age – March 28 – June 6, 2026 – Vision Gallery. Upcoming Exhibitions and Events a. Off the Clock: Artwork by City of Chandler Employees – May 23 – July 25, 2026 – CCA Gallery. b. Make and Take: DIY Fan – May 30, 11a – 3p – Vision Gallery c. June 6 – Make and Take: Dinosaur Visor – 11a – 3p – Vision Gallery d. Unlovable – June 13 – August 15, 2026 – Vision Gallery. ADJOURNMENT a) AT 6:06PM Peter Bugg adjourned the meeting. ________________________________ ____________________ Shachi Kale, Chair Date