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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRPS-06-108 - Downtown Art Project - "The Moon and I" - Encroachment Agreement with KDBAl K KR Corporate Services REPORT Report To: Mayor and Members of Council Date of Meeting: July 4, 2006 Submitted By: Jennifer Sheryer Assistant City Solicitor Prepared By: Jennifer Sheryer Assistant City Solicitor Ward(s) Involved: Wards 1 & 6 Date of Report: June 27, 2006 Report No.: CRPS-06-108 Subject: DOWNTOWN ART PROJECT - "THE MOON AND I" - ENCROACHMENTAGREEMENT WITH KITCHENER DOWNTOWN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDATION: "Subject to the necessary City staff approvals, that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute an Encroachment Agreement, satisfactory to the City Solicitor, with Kitchener Downtown Business Association to legalize an art project entitled "The Moon and I" that will encroach on the City's King Street West road allowance and Centre Block property." REPORT: There is an ongoing downtown initiative to increase lighting both in public area and on private buildings. The Kitchener Downtown Business Association (KDBA) sees "The Moon and I" project as an art piece symbolic of the increased lighting initiative. The encroachments would consist of an illuminated suspension cable with attached cube running across King Street West approximately mid-way between Ontario Street and Young Street. The project would be attached somehow to the concrete pad on the Centre Block property adjacent to King St. W. and also to privately owned buildings with the owner's consent. The KDBA would like the encroachment agreement to allow the project to be in place from early July to November 1, 2006 initially and may approach Council in subsequent years to obtain further encroachment agreements. Attached is Schedule "A"illustrating the proposed project and encroachments. Marty Schreiter has provided us with the synopsis below, written by John MacDonald, Architect, which explains the project. "The installation is located across King Street West, roughly mid-way between Ontario and Young Streets. It consists of two primary elements, one each side of the street, joined by an illuminated suspension cable. The south side element (S) is a translucent cube suspended from the cable, while the north side element (N} is constructed on the ground. The piece attempts to foster interaction, interest, and resonance with its context, both historic and present. It seeks to connect with notions of: - the moon and stars, our observance of them with eye and instrument, our interest in celestial events, our wishes, and our sense of ourselves in relation to the universe, our sense of centre and connection beyond - the night environment as a special place of appearance and possibility - civic celebration as exemplified by the "For the People" illuminated banner across King Street on the occasion of Kitchener's connection to the Niagara power grid, and a long civic tradition of celebration through the act of spanning a ceremonial route. - a relation between work and power, and Kitchener's sense of its industrial self - street theatre and the playful tradition of "zanni" and harlequin - fireworks and civic celebrations of light - party decorations, streamers, lanterns - children's optical toys, optometry, eye exams - the place of infrastructure in ordering civic life, and its manifestations as signal poles, lights, service wires, fibre-optical cabling, and signage The northern element (N) consists of a galvanised steel Region signal pole installed at a leaning angle and surrounded by a glowing fabric "fenced off" area. At the base of the pole is a coloured spotlight that projects toward the large blank wall of the convenience store. The top of the pole might have an illuminated crescent moon shape "head". The spotlight shines through a large toothed industrial wheel shape, followed by a fabric "lens" upon which the shadow of this wheel is projected, followed by a platform upon which a passerby might wish to turn the crank of the wheel to initiate movement within the piece. When the passerby takes this action, their efforts are added to the shadow projected on the large wall behind, at a grander scale perceptible from the streetscape. The signal pole forms one end of support (together with its guy wires) for the "light beam" that spans the street. The cable consists of four strands of galvanised wire twisted around a polyethylene conduit. This assembly is then covered with decorative strings of lights to create a luminous arc across the street. The light beam separates into four lines of support that reach the walls of buildings adjacent the site, at a point overhead of the south sidewalk and at the entrance to the patio of The Still. These trails are illuminated with decorative strings of light, preferably red, orange, and green. A fabric cube is suspended over the sidewalk from the separation point. The interior of the cube is illuminated so that its shape is perceptible from a distance along King Street. The interior of the cube has several rotating shapes that alternately reveal and mask coloured short words that can be projected on the four sides of the cube and are seen from the streetscape. Turning the crank on the north side of the street works a pulley system within the light beam's conduit, and causes the rotational strobe effect." The project may include some sort of musical accompaniment. The encroachment agreement will provide that any music played as part of the art feature will not violate the City's noise by- law. A webcam was also proposed as part of this project. Legal staff are not comfortable with this aspect of the project in the absence of a thorough review of privacy and consent issues. KDBA understands that the webcam will not be authorized by the City's encroachment agreement for this year and can not be part of the art feature supported by the City. KDBA may pursue installation of the camera on private property and taping on private property but that would be its private pursuit separate from this project. The encroachment request will be circulated to the Enforcement, Zoning, Traffic and Parking, Downtown Development, and Engineering Divisions for their approval. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: N/A COMMUNICATIONS: N/A CONCLUSION: Subject to the necessary City staff approvals, the City will enter into an encroachment agreement with KDBA for any encroachments relating to the downtown art project "The Moon and I" but will not provide any authorization for use of a webcam as part of the project at this time. JENNIFER SHERYER Assistant City Solicitor JS:sh cc: L. MacDonald J. McBride S. Wright