Jen Perry, Chair

Katie Gasper, Vice Chair

Colleen Andrus

Sam Colston

Public Art Commission

Meeting Minutes

Dana Frazee

Inger Hiller

KC Neel

Thursday, June 12, 2025

4:00 PM

Central Service Center

1400 Caprice Drive

Castle Rock, CO 80109

This meeting is open to the public. All times indicated on the agenda are approximate. Three or more Council

members may also attend this meeting, during which the items listed herein will be discussed.

If you are unable to access any portion of these materials due to a disability as defined under Colorado House Bill

21-1110, please call us at 303-663-4440, email the Town’s accessibility team at accessibility@CRgov.com or

submit an accommodation request form at www.CRgov.com/A11yRequest.

CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL

Vice Chair Katie Gasper called the meeting to order at approximately 4:02 p.m.

Staff Liaison Maia Yates was in attendance, as was Council Liaison Ryan

Hollingshead. KC Neel attended as a member of the public.

4 -

Present

Vice Chair Katie Gasper, Commissioner Colleen Andrus, Commissioner Samuel Colston,

and Commissioner Dana Frazee

2 - Chair Jen Perry, and Commissioner Inger Hiller

Not Present

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

PAC 2025-011

Approval of the Minutes

Vice Chair Katie Gasper motioned and Dana Frazee seconded the approval of the

May 8, 2025 meeting minutes; the motion passed unanimously.

"I move to approve the minutes of the May 8, 2025 Public Art Commission meeting."

AGENDA ITEMS

PAC 2025-012

Selection of Chair and Vice Chair

Vice Chair Katie Gasper motioned to appoint Jen Perry to serve as Chair, which

was seconded by Dana Frazee, and Dana Frazee motioned to appoint Katie

Gasper to serve as Vice Chair, which was motioned by Colleen; both motions

passed unanimously.

"I move to appoint Jen Perry to serve as Chair of the Public Art Commission and

Katie Gasper to serve as Vice Chair from June 2025 through May 2026."

4 -

Yes:

Vice Chair Gasper, Commissioner Andrus, Commissioner Colston, and Commissioner

Frazee

2 - Chair Perry, and Commissioner Hiller

Not Present:

PAC 2025-013

Review and Approve the Bylaws

Dana Frazee motioned and Vice Chair Katie Gasper seconded the approval of the

bylaws; the motion passed unanimously.

"I move to approve the Bylaws of the Public Art Commission as presented."

4 -

Yes:

Vice Chair Gasper, Commissioner Andrus, Commissioner Colston, and Commissioner

Frazee

2 - Chair Perry, and Commissioner Hiller

Not Present:

PAC 2025-014

Continuing and New Discussion Items for Strategic Initiatives

Members continued discussing new and continuing strategic items from the Public

Art Plan.

Melanie Schambach, a local artist who recently moved to Castle Rock, shared a

video with Staff Liaison Maia Yates to present to the commission during the

meeting due to being out of state. She shared her artistic approach, which centers

on participatory formats that engage communities in the creation of large-scale

collaborative paintings. Her process begins with posing a central question that

invites participants to reflect and respond through visual storytelling. Each painting

becomes a collective artwork composed of hundreds of individual contributions,

with a unifying image that encapsulates the shared responses and community

narratives.

Melanie brings a rich cultural background to her work, with roots in Colombia,

Germany, Canada, and beyond. She recounted a personal story of her

grandmother, who volunteered teaching salsa to soldiers, leading to a

cross-cultural love story and move to Colombia. In her teens, Melanie lived in

Guatemala City, where she was deeply impacted by the visible disparities in

wealth and opportunity. These life experiences have inspired her commitment to

art as a means of connection, healing, and social impact.

For the past 25 years, Melanie has lived in Canada and completed collaborative

paintings in communities around the world. She described the powerful effect of

shared storytelling in building community and fostering empathy, love, and

friendship.

Melanie is now proposing to self-fund a collaborative painting project in Castle

Rock. She has approached the Town to explore how best to launch the project

and is seeking support with logistics, space, and community engagement. Her

vision is to invite people of all ages and backgrounds from Castle Rock and

Douglas County to reflect on the question,“What if we really believed in the power

of imagination?”

She plans to host approximately twelve community events, where she will lay the

canvas on the floor, provide paint palettes, and allow participants to contribute

freely. Informational signage will be displayed to explain the project. Over time, the

canvas will evolve into a visual tapestry of diverse inputs, practices, and

messages. The final artwork, painted on transportable canvas, will be exhibited

during the winter months.

Melanie emphasized that the painting will belong to the public and serve as a gift to

the community in the spirit of generosity. She is committed to documenting each

contributor to recognize their role in the project and foster a sense of ownership

and connection.

Her goal is to engage an average of 10 people per event and involve over 100

individuals throughout the course of the project.

Maia, Vice Chair Katie Gapser and Dana Frazee planned to coordinate a follow-up

meeting with Melanie to further discuss the project and see if the Town and/or Tri

Arts Project could be a good fit for program facilitation.

Maia also provided an update that Town staff were awaiting contract details from

the vinyl wrap vendor, but hope to have the new artwork, "Complete Racoonery,"

installed by the end of the month at the Festival Park restroom facility. KC Neel

expressed urgency regarding completing the installation in June due to the

scheduled events taking place for the holiday the first week of July. Colleen Andrus

inquired how the Town would communicate the artwork to the public, and Maia

explained that we typically coordinate with the Communications Division to feature

projects on social media channels. Colleen expressed that the Castle Pine

Connections may like to feature a story and offered to provide a connection to

someone she knows who works at the newspaper. KC also suggested sharing the

art and timing of the project with the Downtown Merchants Association to see if

they could further assist with outreach on their channels as well.

Staff provided an overview of the sculpture enhancement project adjacent to Town

Hall near Wilcox Street and the Sellars Gulch Bridge. At the May meeting, it was

suggested to potentially replace And The Wheels Go Round, which is the

sculpture currently installed, with Sweet Tooth. After some discussion, it was

confirmed that the commission would like to relocate the bear sculpture to the site

and potentially relocate And The Wheels Go Round to the roundabout at Wilcox

and South streets. Members directed Maia to inquire with Town staff regarding the

feasibility of the placement of art in the roundabout. KC suggested that the

sculpture could be enhanced with lighting if featured in the roundabout as well.

Staff provided an update that installations had been completed for Douglas County

Art Encounters. County partners are now working on preparing plaques and

information for distribution prior to news release announcements across the

region. Staff also shared feedback received that the bear sculpture at Third and

Perry should be turned to face the traffic and not pedestrians on the sidewalk.

Members confirmed that switching the sculpture's direction would be appropriate

and directed staff to complete the change.

Staff provided an update on the scheduled social media and newsletter outreach

for May. The Town's various social channels featured the Art Encounters

installations and were very well received by the public. The Parks and Recreation

Department's email newsletter featured the Art and Culture Grant Program. June

outreach is planned to feature the installation of the vinyl wrap at Festival Park.

Staff confirmed with the commission that the Art and Culture Grant Program had

been formally approved by Town Council and that the application was open.

Members decided to finalize the grant rubric and evaluation panel at their July

meeting.

Regarding the proposed sculpture series of three giant cows called The Big Drive,

staff noted that they had a meeting scheduled the following day with Development

Services to review the zoning at Rock Park Open Space to assess the site as a

potential installation location.

Lastly, staff reminded the commission that submissions for the Tiny Art Quest