Dane County  
Minutes - Final Unless Amended by  
Committee  
Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission Executive Committee  
Consider:  
Who benefits? Who is burdened?  
Who does not have a voice at the table?  
How can policymakers mitigate unintended consequences?  
Friday, November 3, 2023  
8:00 AM  
Hybrid Meeting: Attend in person at the City County  
Building in Room 421; attend virtually via Zoom.  
A. Call To Order  
Present: Chair Ritcherson, Vice Chair Klehr, Commissioner Puleo Moyer, Commissioner  
Miquelon  
Staff: Mark Fraire, Augusta Brulla  
Call to order at 8 a.m.  
4 -  
Present  
Chair RODERICK RITCHERSON, MARY KLEHR, MARCIA MIQUELON, and FRAN  
PULEO MOYER  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
1. 2023  
MIN-373  
[[MINUTES FROM THE 10/13/2023 ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS  
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING]  
Attachments: 2023 MIN-373  
A motion was made by Vice Chair Klehr to approve the 10/13/2023 Executive  
Committee meeting minutes, seconded by Chair Ritcherson.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
2. Approve October 18, 2023, commission minutes for recommendation to full  
commission  
A motion was made by Vice Chair Klehr to recommend the 10/18/2023  
commission minutes for approval by the full commission, seconded by  
Commissioner Puleo Moyer.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
C. Grant Cycle 2 Wrap Up  
1. Grantees notified  
All grant awardees were notified and paperwork is in process for 2023 Cycle 2 awards.  
2. News release  
A press release with full 2023 Cycle 2 grant award details has been drafted and will be  
released soon.  
3. Overall assessment  
- Two grant applications were found to be ineligible when reviewed by Dane Arts Staff.  
This is consistent with previous cycles.  
- Five review panels were scheduled, each with 4 – 5 panelists. Each panelist reviewed  
10-12 applications.  
- Panelists were satisfied with the number of applications and the allotted time to review  
them.  
- Dane Arts staff and Commissioner Curet are working on a WebGrants software update  
and will update previous panelists on changes made to the process.  
- Commissioner Klehr proposed the following updated language regarding panel chairing  
requirements within the Commissioner Handbook:  
- See p. 17, under "Evaluation and Awards...and the Commission’s Role" Original  
language: Commission members are expected, or at least strongly encouraged, to attend  
and/or moderate one or more of these meetings if at all possible.  
- Proposed language: Commission members share responsibility for attending and  
moderating these meetings.  
- Chair Ritcherson stated that the Commission Handbook language may be changed  
effective immediately without necessitating approval by formal vote.  
- Dane Arts staff continue to work on simplifying grant applications, starting with a major  
WebGrants update and expanding to application questions and format.  
D. Recap Calendar Reception  
- The October 23rd 2024 Calendar Reveal was well attended and ran smoothly.  
- One of the selected artists suggested having an exhibition of featured artists during the  
reception in future years.  
- During the reception, calendar sales were equal to the 65-70 attendees.  
E. Poster Reception Emphasis  
- A Dane Arts 2024 Poster Reveal and Commissioner Meet and Greet is scheduled for  
the evening of Monday, January 29th at Arts + Literature Laboratory.  
F. Vacant Seats Update  
1. Interview candidates  
A list of potential Dane Arts Commission candidates has been generated.  
2. Nominate by end of 2023  
3. Executive committee  
Chair Ritcherson would like to have two potential candidates identified by the end of  
2023, which will be discussed with Director Fraire.  
Director Fraire will defer to County Executive Parisi in the appointment of a County  
Supervisor to the Dane Arts Commission.  
G. Major 2024 Commission Focus  
1. November agenda--Area of Focus (looking back, looking forward)  
Commissioners will be asked to recap their area of focus during 2023 and discuss goals  
for 2024.  
2. What’s in it for me  
Commissioners will be asked to share why they are serving on the commission and what  
they hope to personally gain from their service.  
3. June/November meetings  
Chair Ritcherson suggested thinking about meeting at an alternative location in person in  
June and November 2024.  
H. Meeting with Madison Arts Commission Chair  
Chair Ritcherson met the Chair of the Madison Arts Commission and plans to continue a  
discussion on how the county and city can collaborate.  
I. ED Report  
- Dane County and Dane Arts are about to issue a press release on the recent Arts and  
Economic Prosperity study results.  
- The 2024 Business of Art Conference (March 7 – 9) is in planning stages led by a group  
of four additional arts administrators. The theme of the conference is “Fuel for the Fire:  
Imagine. Create. Execute.”  
- Local artist T.L. Luke is designing the save the date card for the conference.  
- Next week, Dane Arts welcomes Tito Medina to Madison, Nov 9 – 11.  
- Dane Arts staff continue work on other programs such as the Greater Madison Music  
City Project and incorporating arts StartingBlock Madison.  
- Director Fraire submitted a budget request to the County Board of Supervisors to fully  
fund the Cultural Affairs Specialist position.  
- Currently 50% of the Cultural Affairs Specialist position is afforded by private funds. If  
fully funded by the county budget, the remaining private funds would be distributed  
directly back into the community via arts and culture activities.  
- Director Fraire is in the process of scheduling a meeting with County Executive Joe  
Parisi to touch base before his retirement in May 2024.  
J. Future Meeting Items and Dates  
- Proposed dates for 2024 Executive Committee and Commission meetings were  
reviewed.  
- Dane Arts staff proposed the default Commission meeting time of 8:30 a.m. every third  
Wednesday of the month, pending approval by the Commission. The Executive  
Committee meetings would be held at 8:30 a.m. the preceding Friday.  
- The only exception is October 2024 when these meeting times are not possible due to  
religious holiday conflicts. The Executive Committee agreed to reschedule the October  
2024 Commission meeting on October 9th and the Executive Committee meeting on  
October 1st.  
- Chair Klehr proposed that during the November 8th Commission meeting the discussion  
topic of supporting youth arts in Dane County could be discussed during areas of focus  
updates.  
1. Develop November 8, 2023, Commission Meeting Agenda  
-roll call, establish quorum  
-approve October 18, 2023, meeting minutes  
-presentation group: Clyde Mayberry, The House Urban Arts, Inc.  
-chair/executive committee report (recap cycle 2 grants review, 2024 meetings, major  
2024 commission focus, focus of January poster reception  
-individual Areas of Focus recap  
-Executive Director’s report  
K. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda  
None.  
L. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
None.  
M. Adjourn  
A motion was made by Commissioner Miquelon to adjourn.  
Meeting adjourned at 8:42 a.m.  
Minutes respectfully submitted by Augusta Brulla pending Commission approval.