Capitol Building Advisory Committee (01/18/2013)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

CAPITOL BUILDING ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Date:	01/18/2013	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:35 PM to 02:36 PM	Eddins	*
		Green	X
Place:	SCR 354	Hullinghorst	X
		Lee	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Markwell	*
	Senator Newell	Nichols	X
		Patterson	*
This Report was prepared by		Rosentrater	E
	Kori Donaldson	Sill	*
		Walter	X
		Contiguglia	X
		Newell	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Approval of November Minutes Explanatory Plaque Language for Armenian Garden Donation of Bust of Former Speaker Bev Bledsoe Update on AT&T Cellular Antennas Discussion about Permanent Location of Presidential Portraits Discussion about Proximity of Radiators to Building Artwork		Pass Pass Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Pass Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only

01:36 PM -- Approval of November Minutes

The committee was called to order. A quorum was present.


BILL:	Approval of November Minutes
TIME:	01:36:45 PM
MOVED:	Green
MOTION:	Moved to approve the summary of the committee's November 16, 2012, meeting. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Contiguglia
		VOTE
	Eddins	Excused
	Green
	Hullinghorst
	Lee
	Markwell	Excused
	Nichols
	Patterson	Excused
	Rosentrater	Excused
	Sill	Excused
	Walter
	Contiguglia
	Newell

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 5 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

01:37 PM -- Explanatory Plaque Language for Armenian Garden

Mr. Ken Allikian, representing the Armenians of Colorado, presented the proposed language for an explanatory plaque that will accompany the replica khachkar placed in the Armenian Garden. Committee members received a copy of the proposed language (Attachment A). Senator Newell suggested the addition of a comma in line 5, after Djulfa. Mr. Allikian agreed to the proposed change. He next gave a brief background about the process of donating the replica khachkar and about designing renovations to the garden. Ms. Green suggested a few additional changes to the proposed language. Specifically, in lieu of repeating "This" at the beginning of first three sentences, she suggested replacing "this" with "the" in at least one instance. Mr. Allikian agreed to change the "This" at the beginning of the second sentence to "The." He then continued to discuss the support provided by Colorado at the time of the Armenian genocide. Ms. Contiguglia asked whether "Coloradoan" or "Coloradan" is the most commonly used term. Mr. Nichols answered that "Coloradan" is currently being used by state officials. Ms. Green suggested replacing "event" with "genocide" at the beginning of the second sentence. Committee discussion ensued on the topic of when the garden will be renovated and the replica khachkar and explanatory plaque placed in the garden. The committee also discussed the timing of a joint resolution authorizing the gift of the replica khachkar for placement on the State Capitol grounds.

Attachment A.pdf


BILL:	Explanatory Plaque Language for Armenian Garden
TIME:	01:45:35 PM
MOVED:	Walter
MOTION:	Recommend the explanatory plaque language, with the changes as discussed, to the Capital Development Committee for inclusion in the Joint Resolution authorizing the gift of a replica khachkar. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Walter
		VOTE
	Eddins	Excused
	Green
	Hullinghorst
	Lee
	Markwell
	Nichols
	Patterson	Excused
	Rosentrater	Excused
	Sill
	Walter
	Contiguglia
	Newell

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:

01:46 PM

Following the vote, Ms. Kori Donaldson, Legislative Council Staff, and Mr. Lance Shepherd, Department of Personnel and Administration, responded to questions about the portion of the garden renovation costs that will be paid by the state and a pending agreement between Capitol Complex and the Armenians of Colorado about how the garden will be maintained in the future.

01:48 PM -- Donation of Bust of Former Speaker Bev Bledsoe

Former Representatives Don Eberle and Frank DeFilippo, and Ms. Diane Reese, representing the Board of Directors of the Carl Beverly Bledsoe Memorial Fund, Inc., spoke about the effort to erect a permanent memorial to former Speaker of the House Bev Bledsoe in the State Capitol. Committee members received a letter dated September 18, 2012, from the members of House leadership in support of the effort, and a briefing document summarizing the purpose of the memorial fund group (Attachments B and C, respectively). Mr. Eberle explained that the memorial fund group is a 501(c)(3) organization and that it is collecting money to commission a bust of the former speaker to place in the antechamber of the House of Representatives near the existing tablet listing the names of all the Speakers of the House. He also spoke about the a planned memorial service for Speaker Bledsoe, and about the possible role of the advisory committee in the selection of the bust design. Mr. Eberle also talked about the involvement of Speaker Bledsoe's widow with the project. Mr. DeFilippo said he served with Speaker Bledsoe for three terms and spoke about Speaker Bledsoe's love for the State Capitol building. Mr. DeFilippo added that the memorial fund group is very sensitive to the importance of preserving the history and character of the State Capitol building.

Attachment B.pdf

Attachment C.pdf

01:58 PM

Senator Newell reminded the committee that it does not have a role in approving or denying the proposed bust because it will not be located in a public area of the building. Mr. Nichols suggested that while committee approval might not be necessary, it may be helpful during fundraising for the memorial fund group to mention that it sought the CBAC's input. Mr. Eberle reiterated that the memorial fund group will be responsible for all costs associated with the purchase, placement, and maintenance of the bust.

02:00 PM -- Update on AT&T Cellular Antennas

Mr. Shepherd returned to the table to provide an update about the installation of AT&T cellular antennas in the building. He said he expects a contract between the Governor's Office of Information Technology and AT&T will be signed by the end of month, and that equipment for the project will be purchased by mid January. Mr. Shepherd said he expects that installation of the antennas will begin in mid March and that the installation crews will work evenings and weekends. He also spoke about the supervision he expects to provide as the project manager during the installation. Mr. Shepherd said the goal is that the new system will be operational by June 2013. Ms. Contiguglia asked about the appearance of the cellular antenna equipment. Mr. Shepherd, Ms. Eddins, and Mr. Patterson all provided input about the appearance of the cellular antennas. Senator Newell reminded the committee that the placement of the cellular antennas in the building is not a committee decision item.

02:09 PM -- Discussion about Permanent Location of Presidential Portraits

Ms. Donaldson reviewed some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with the current and former location of the Presidential Portrait Gallery. Committee members received a memo about the history of the Presidential Portrait Gallery, the role of the advisory committee in overseeing the gallery, and a discussion of the current and former location of the gallery, prepared by Legislative Council Staff (Attachment D). Ms. Sill said she thinks it is commendable that the Presidential portraits were hung on the first floor of the Capitol building rather than placed in storage for the duration of the dome renovation project. She also expressed her hope that the Clinton Library returns the portrait of President Clinton to the building so that it can be included in the gallery, but said that the committee may also consider commissioning a new portrait of President Clinton. Ms. Sill next cited a list of reasons that she believes that the Presidential Portrait Gallery should return to the third floor rotunda at the conclusion of the dome renovation project, including: (1) the first floor should be used for Governor's portraits; (2) the viewing is better and more dramatic in the rotunda; (3) the original intent was to paint murals in all of the Capitol rotundas, and in lieu of murals, it is appropriate to hang artwork; (4) the lighting in the rotunda is excellent; and (5) there is more space in the rotunda. Ms. Markwell said there is an "awe effect" when the portraits are viewed in the rotunda. Ms. Contiguglia said it is important that the collection stay under the guardianship of the committee. Mr. Lee said there are no steam radiators in the third floor rotunda, and that it will be easier to expand the portrait collection in the third floor rotunda because the portraits can be stacked three high. Mr. Nichols said that the portraits are more visible to visitors in the rotunda. Discussion ensued on the topic of what parts of the building are viewed during building tours. Senator Newell shared feedback she has received from school children about the current and former location of the portrait collection. Mr. Patterson said it was important to the Governor's office that the portraits not be placed in storage during the dome renovation project, but that the Governor's office doesn't have an opinion about where the portraits should be located in the future.

Attachment D.pdf


BILL:	Presidential Portraits
TIME:	02:17:25 PM
MOVED:	Sill
MOTION:	Return the Presidential Portrait Gallery to the third floor rotunda at the conclusion of the State Capitol Dome Renovation project. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Green
		VOTE
	Eddins
	Green
	Hullinghorst
	Lee
	Markwell
	Nichols
	Patterson
	Rosentrater	Excused
	Sill
	Walter
	Contiguglia
	Newell

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

02:17 PM

Following the vote, the committee discussed the return of the President Clinton portrait from the Clinton library. Ms. Eddins agreed to work with former Representative Paul Weissmann to see if the portrait can be returned to the collection now rather than at the conclusion of the dome renovation project since the other portraits are being displayed and are not in storage, as was originally contemplated.

02:21 PM -- Discussion about Proximity of Radiators to Building Artwork

Ms. Donaldson explained that someone had recently raised a concern about the proximity of a steam radiator to a portrait hanging on the first floor of the building. She said that the committee discussed this issue in 2006 after the Colorado Historical Society expressed concern about the proximity of the portrait of Henry C. Brown to a steam radiator. The portrait is on permanent loan from the historical society. Mr. Lee said he is not aware of what radiators are cause for concern and explained that the steam radiators are the only source of heat for the common areas of the building. He suggested that an assessment is needed to determine what radiators should be turned off in order to protect the building's artwork. Ms. Contiguglia explained that fluctuating heat levels are damaging to canvasses. She suggested that if a radiator is turned off to protect an item of artwork, a tag should be placed on the radiator with an explanation as to why it is turned off. Mr. Patterson explained that there are currently issues with inadequate heat on the first floor and said that it is important to strike the right balance between what is good for artwork and creating a comfortable workplace. Senator Newell said it is important to know how many pieces of artwork are being impacted because of their proximity to steam radiators. Ms. Donaldson said she could locate the artwork and steam radiators in the building, but that she did not have the technical expertise to determine whether the artwork is at risk. Ms. Sill suggested diverting the heat using some sort of cover on the steam radiators. Mr. Lee agreed that diverting the heat might be an option, but said it would negatively impact the historic appearance of the radiators and the building. Discussion ensued about assessing the location of the existing radiators in relation to the building's artwork in order to determine potential risk. Ms. Donaldson and Mr. Lee agreed to work with someone from the Colorado Historical Society to complete an assessment before the committee's February meeting.

02:28 PM -- Updates

In response to a question from Ms. Contiguglia, Mr. Patterson said that the state key will be relocated in order to return the bust of Governor Knous to a western-facing niche on the first floor of the building as soon as he procures the right materials needed to move the key, which is very heavy. He said he hopes the move will be completed before the committee's next meeting.

Representative Hullinghorst said she was looking forward to serving on the committee.

Ms. Eddins told the committee that members of the House staff have started conversations about removing the acoustical tile in the House chambers in order to return the chambers to its original state. She said there is a letter of agreement to this effect between the House and the Department of Personnel and Administration. Discussion ensued about the project, including plans to mitigate noise pollution in the chamber once the acoustical tile is removed, and the completion of a study revealing that there is no asbestos in the tiles. Mr. Shepherd returned to the table to discuss the project. He explained that the final stage of the project will restore an original skylight in the ceiling of the House chambers.

02:35 PM

The committee adjourned.