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, September 8, 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  
Staff: Mark Fraire, Augusta Brulla  
Call to order at 8:04 a.m.  
4 -  
Present  
Chair RODERICK RITCHERSON, MARY KLEHR, MARCIA MIQUELON, and FRAN  
PULEO MOYER  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
1. 2023  
MIN-255  
[MINUTES FROM THE 08/04/2023 ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS  
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING]  
Attachments: 2023 MIN-255  
A motion was made by Commissioner Puleo Moyer to approve the minutes from  
the 8/04/2023 Executive Committee meeting, seconded by Vice Chair Klehr.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
2. Approve August 9, 2023, commission minutes for recommendation to full commission  
A motion was made by Vice Chair Klehr to approve the minutes from the 8/09/23  
commission meeting for recommendation for approval by the full commission,  
seconded by Commissioner Puleo Moyer.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
C. September Commission Meeting Discussion Topic(s)  
1. Grants review overview/process  
Commissioner Curet will give a brief overview of 2023 Cycle 2 grant approval process.  
2. Other  
Commissioner Klehr recommended tentatively scheduling a discussion on youth arts  
during the November commission meeting led by Vice Chair Klehr, Commissioner Parks  
Snider, and Commissioner Yudice.  
D. Cycle 2 Grants Preparation  
1. Review number of total vs approved applications  
- 49 of 51 project grant applications were approved by Dane Arts staff for review by the  
grant review panel.  
- One project grant application was not approved, and one was withdrawn by the  
applicant.  
2. Grants pool budget review/approval/recommendation (action item)  
- The total proposed 2023 Cycle 2 grant budget is $97,000 which includes $77,277  
remaining from the 2023 grant budget and $19,723 from the youth equity fund.  
- Grant requests for 2023 Cycle 2 totals $225,100.  
- $2,500 out of the $97,000 total budget will be offered to grant panelists for their service  
in reviewing the applications. 25 panelists will be offered a $100 honorarium each for  
their service.  
A motion was made by Commissioner Puleo Moyer to approve a total of $97,000  
for the 2023 Cycle 2 grant budget for recommendation to the full commission,  
seconded by Vice Chair Klehr.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
3. Review/approve/recommendation of youth focused dedicated dollars (action item)  
Requests claiming an equitable opportunity for youth to participate total $146,756 while  
non-youth requests total $66,277.  
4. Review number of capital and other applications  
- Two Short Order applications requesting a total of $1,990 and four Capital grant  
applications requesting a total of $10,077 were received.  
- Short order grant applications will be reviewed by grant panelists while capital grant  
applications will be reviewed by the Executive Committee.  
5. Determine available dollars for capital grants and other applications (action item?)  
- Short order and capital grant awards will be allocated from the 2023 Cycle 2 budget.  
- Awarding all grant applications from the yearly grant budget rather than private funds  
demonstrates an accurate request to available funds ratio.  
- Short order and Capital grants have been funded from Lussier funds in the past few  
cycles. For consistency going forward, Director Fraire proposes funding all grant requests  
from the yearly grant budget.  
- Criteria for scoring the short order and capital grants is the same as project grants,  
however, the application for Short Order and Capital grants is shorter than the Project  
grant application.  
- Chair Ritcherson proposed including Capital and Short Order grants in Commissioner  
Curet’s discussion about grant process during the September commission meeting.  
- The decision on the final Capital grant budget will be postponed until the October  
Executive Committee meeting.  
- Vice Chair Klehr will take the lead on reviewing the Capital Grant applications and  
recommended that the Executive Committee review all Capital grants and discuss budget  
allocation during the October Executive Committee meeting.  
6. Update on panel review teams  
All grant panelists have been secured and five panel review dates are scheduled:  
- Panel 1: Music, Arts in Education - 8:30 AM – 11 AM, Monday, September 18, 2023  
- Panel 2: Dance, Arts in Education, Local History - 8:30 AM – 11 AM, Wednesday,  
September 20, 2023  
- Panel 3: Visual Arts, Theater – 8:30 AM – 11 AM, Tuesday, September 26, 2023  
- Panel 4: Multidisciplinary – 8:30 AM – 11 AM, Wednesday, September 27, 2023  
- Panel 5: Music – 8:30 AM – 11 AM, Tuesday, October 3, 2023  
- Chair Ritcherson will chair the September 20th panel, Vice Chair Klehr will Chair the  
Sept 26th and 27th panels, and Commissioner Puleo Moyer will chair the October 3rd  
panel.  
- A commissioner is still needed to serve as chair on the September 18th grant review  
panel.  
7. Review assignment of chairs/co-chairs for handbook (action item)  
- Requirements for commission members to chair grant review panels will be a topic of  
discussion during the September commission meeting.  
- Chair Ritcherson would like to include serving as a grant panel chair to the requirements  
of serving on the commission.  
- Serving as a co-chair may be part of the training process for future grant panel chairs to  
encourage commissioner participation.  
E. Friends of Dane Arts Update  
- The purpose of Chair Ritcherson’s ten questions presented during the August Executive  
Committee meeting was to identify the specific needs for a Dane Arts Friends group.  
- Chair Ritcherson and Director Fraire will continue to discuss proposed questions and  
present Dane Arts friends group bylaw recommendations to the Executive Committee and  
full commission for consideration and approval.  
F. Farewell to Olivia  
1. Process for replacement  
Supervisor Xistris-Songpanya will attend the September Commission meeting for a final  
farewell.  
2. Prospects  
Prospects and succession process will be discussed during the September Commission  
meeting.  
G. ED Report  
- Dane Arts staff will begin setting up the DABL Outdoor Art Festival at the Farley Center  
in Verona.  
- The festival takes place on Saturday, September 9th and will include over 30 visual  
artists, two musical groups, and local food vendors.  
- The Dane Arts 2024 Calendar reception is scheduled for October 23rd at the Shannon  
Lounge at the Memorial Union.  
- Planning is in process for the third business of art conference scheduled for March,  
2024.  
- The retail price of calendars will increase to $15 from the current price of $12.  
- There have been many inquiries from Dane County departments and outside community  
groups about incorporating art into their programming in various capacities.  
H. Future Meeting Items and Dates  
1. Develop September 13, 2023, Commission Meeting Agenda:  
-roll call, establish quorum,  
-approve August 9, 2023, meeting minutes (action item)  
- presentation group will be replaced by Commissioner Curet’s grant discussion  
-September discussion topic-grants prep/review//applications/panel chair assignments,  
chair/executive committee report, Areas of Focus updates  
-Executive Director’s report, upcoming events  
I. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda  
Vice Chair Klehr is confirming Chair Ritcherson’s term end date and will report back to  
the Executive Committee.  
J. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
None.  
K. Adjourn  
A motion was made by Commissioner Miquelon to adjourn.  
Meeting adjourned at 9:01 a.m.  
Minutes respectfully submitted by Augusta Brulla pending commission approval.