Carson City sub-committee to tackle cultural master plan

Cultural Commission members began the task of updating an arts plan to make it an arts and cultural master plan for Carson City, naming a three-member subcommittee Tuesday.

One goal, with a six-month update timeline, is to provide a plan that would help secure grants for public art and culture in the community during the upcoming makeover of the downtown.

Public art places will be included in the downtown design but money for it generally will have to come from grants or other private sector sources.

Members named to the subcommittee were Terri McBride, Danielle Cook and Barbara D’Anneo. Among their charges is to use marked-up suggestions from all members regarding possible update ideas. They are also researching such things as changed demographics, what has been done in recent years, other relevant documents, including the latest Brewery Arts Council (BAC) plans, and outreach to the Native American and Hispanic communities.

The city’s Board of Supervisors on May 21 accepted the commission’s earlier recommendation a Creative Capital Plan for the community from 2002 be an underpinning document to serve as the master plan, but included the proviso it be updated to reflect current conditions and it be done in six months.

The commission decided Tuesday it can work more quickly with a subcommittee making recommendations to the full commission.

“The idea is we get this job done,” said Supervisor Karen Abowd, the governing board member who sits on the commission. She said if special meetings are needed, for example to hear from BAC representatives or others, that can be done. Discussion included whether to update numbers cited for finances in the 2002 plan, with D’Anneo initially urging that, but other commissioners said for the master plan the idea is to provide broad policy and goal guidelines.

Among other agenda items, the board heard a report from John L. L’Etoile, the Nevada Department of Transportation’s senior landscape architect. It was on art and aesthetics planned from the last leg of the I-580 freeway bypass on which construction began Monday.

He cited art and landscaping that will incorporate Native American, Basque, pioneer era and wildlife themes along the freeway from Fairview Drive to Spooner Junction.