Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 01/09/2025

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positive impact on the economy. Eventually, she believes that art will help give more visibility to other voices in the community. Public art provides empathy and history to the community. It allows people to know the community better. In general, there is strong public support for art. However, a vocal minority asks why we spend money on it. Sit is her belief that visitors find public art entertaining, and that they believe it is exciting to locate art pieces in the community. When she has had conversations with visitors to the Arts Center, they often comment that they love the aesthetics on the main street and that it looks charming, feels welcoming, and is accessible. She believes that there is a lot of awareness of art in the community, but it could always be more. She believes that we can always tell our story better. She thinks the community can create more public spaces, expand the art programs, and do more to encourage related activities. She sees the public benefit of public art being the value and meaning it brings to public spaces. It brings importance to that space, makes it feel important, and gives it a presence that these spaces are good and people are intended to be there. She believes that the main beneficiaries of public art are the individuals that experience it. In addition, businesses benefit by people moving around, going into local businesses, and having a positive experience when they are in the city. Those that do not benefit as much include minority groups in the city. She states that we need to do better at learning how to connect and reach-out to minority populations. She said that the Arts Center receive funding from the city that amounts to about $1 per person. The city has other costs of administering and maintaining the public art. Citizen Arts Commissioners and Artists This respondent holds a position as a member of the public arts commission, and is a former arts educator. She believes that public art offers additional opportunities for leisure appreciation and adds to the pleasure of the community. She believes that public art is an 102