Fiscal Note
Funding of $85,600 is included in the 2025 adopted Capital Budget of the Planning Division's Percent for Art Aggregate Fund (project #15043) for the public art component of the Madison LakeWay project. Additional funding privately raised by the Madison LakeWay Partners will also be used towards this project. No additional City appropriation required.
Title
Establishing the Ad Hoc Madison LakeWay Public Art Selection Committee (District 4, District 6, District 13, and District 14)
Body
WHEREAS, multiple plans adopted by the Common Council over the last twenty years, including the Public Art Framework and Field Guide for Madison, Wisconsin (2002) (the “Public Art Framework”), the Madison Cultural Plan (2013), and the Comprehensive Plan (2018), recommend that the City integrate and fund public art as part of City capital projects as a primary way to introduce public art into the life of the community; and,
WHEREAS, the City owns the area known as the Madison LakeWay (formerly known as the Lake Monona Waterfront), which includes 1.7 miles of Lake Monona shoreline and 17 acres of lakefront property, extending from S. Blair Street on the north, counterclockwise along the Lake Monona shoreline to E. Lakeside Street on the south, and consists of all or portions of Law Park, the John Nolen Drive Causeway, and Olin Park; and,
WHEREAS, in early 2022, Madison Parks launched the Lake Monona Waterfront Design Challenge - a competition to create a visionary, inclusive, and environmentally focused master plan for the Madison LakeWay, the City’s foremost public lakefront; and,
WHEREAS, in April 2024, the City approved the Design Challenge winner’s master plan for the Madison LakeWay; and,
WHEREAS the Madison LakeWay has included, from its inception, the addition of public art in every phase of the development of the project as a primary way to integrate public art into the life of the City; and
WHEREAS, Madison Arts program staff will administer the public art component of the Madison LakeWay project, working closely with Parks Division staff, using funding from the Percent for Art allocation for this project approved by the Common Council on August 5, 2025 (File #88894, Enactment # RES-25-00430) as well as funds privately raised by the Madison LakeWay Partners; and,
WHEREAS, the City will issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to seek qualified artist(s) to submit their statements of interest and qualifications as the first phase of the artist selection process; and,
WHEREAS the Public Art Framework requires public input and information sharing as part of all major public design projects, a broad spectrum of the community will be invited to open meetings throughout the selection process.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ad Hoc Madison LakeWay Public Art Selection Committee (the “Committee”) is hereby established and shall include seven (7) members as follows:
One (1) Alder, representing District 4, 6,13, or 14 of the City of Madison,
One (1) Member or recent past member of the Madison Arts Commission
One (1) Board of Parks Commissioner or BPC President designee
Two (2) Representatives of Madison LakeWay Partners
Two (2) Public artists/Public art professionals; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that members of the Committee shall be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Common Council; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Committee shall review submitted proposals with support from the Planning, Purchasing, and Parks Divisions and make recommendation(s) on their preferred artist(s), design(s), infrastructure, and other aspects of the Madison LakeWay Public Art Projects to the Madison Arts Commission for approval; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development is hereby authorized to pay design and other related fees necessary to support this process from the Percent for Art Allocation and private funds raised for this purpose and accepted by the City; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Common Council shall review final designs and authorize the execution of contract(s) over $50,000 with the artist(s) prior to fabrication and installation; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Committee shall be dissolved upon Council approval of final design proposals.