Public Art Commission Bylaws

Bronze egg dressed in a green hat with a purple shirt and blue pants
Article I.  Name

The name of this agency shall be the Public Art Commission of the City of Ames, Iowa. This Agency is created by action of the Ames City Council through Resolution Numbers 91-82 and 93-118.

Article II.  Purpose and Powers

The purpose and powers of this commission are prescribed in Resolution 91-82, adopted March 26, 1991.

Article II.  Members

The Commission is set at fourteen members as established by Council Resolution 12-288, adopted June 12, 2012. All members of this Commission shall be residents of Ames, Iowa. In addition, the Mayor of the City of Ames appoints a standing city official as the ex-officio city liaison, without vote.

Article IV.  Officers and Their Duties
Section 1.  Officers.

The elected officers of the Commission shall consist of Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Past Chair. The officers serve as members of the Executive Committee.

Section 2.   Elections.

The election of officers shall take place at the earliest possible meeting following City Council approval of new members in April. Nomination of officers shall be made from the floor and the election shall follow immediately thereafter. The candidate receiving a majority vote of the Commission shall be declared elected. In case of a tie, a toss of a coin determines the election.

Section 3.  Terms of Office.

The term of office is one year. All officers take office at the close of the meeting when elections are held and shall hold office for one year, or until their successors are elected and take office at the next regular election. An officer may not be elected to serve for more than two consecutive terms.

Section 4.  Vacancies.

In the case of a permanent vacancy in the office of the Chair, the Vice Chair shall become Chair. Vacancies in other offices (including the Vice Chair but not the immediate Past Chair) are filled by the Commission at the next regular meeting following the vacancy of the office.

Section 5.  Officers and Duties
  1. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Commission and shall have the duties normally conferred by parliamentary procedure. The Chair, or duly appointed substitute, shall present recommendations to the City Council for formal consideration at council meetings.

  2. The Vice-Chair shall preside in the Chair's temporary absence with the same duties and responsibilities as the Chair. See Article IV. Section 4 above for the Chair’s permanent vacancy.

  3. The Secretary shall maintain a public record of all approved Commission meeting minutes and provide draft minutes of each meeting for formal approval to the Commission at least five days prior to the following meeting. The Secretary shall conduct correspondence not specifically assigned to other officers or committees.

  4. The Treasurer shall maintain financial records and coordinates disbursement of all Commission funds by City Staff in accordance with the approved budget. The Treasurer shall make monthly reports to the Commission and prepare the proposed annual budget request to the Commission for its consideration and approval. The approved proposed budget request is formally delivered to City Council for its consideration and approval.  The Chair or duly appointed substitute shall present the Commission’s budget and expenditure recommendations to the City Council meetings as the Commission’s decisions.

  5. The Immediate Past Chair, if still a duly appointed commissioner, serves in an advisory capacity and liaison from the immediate past Executive Committee to the current officers and Executive Committee. 

Article V.   Meetings, Voting and Attendance
Section 1.   Regular and Special Meetings.

Regular Commission meetings shall be held monthly in person and/or electronically. Special meetings may be called at the discretion of the Chair.

Section 2 .  Meeting Times.

Changes of meeting times are determined by a majority vote of the Commission. These include both standard monthly meeting times and special meetings.

Section 3.   Quorum.

No less than one-half of members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum and votes from a majority of the Quorum are required to transact business.

Note: For a formal recommendation to the City Council, there must be a majority of the Quorum voting either “aye” or “nay” on the matter under consideration.

Section 4.  Voting. 

All Commission members shall cast a vote of aye, nay, or abstain on each item of business transacted by the Commission. The Chair is considered a member of the Commission with the same voting responsibilities as other members.

 Section 5.  Open Meetings.

All meetings must be in compliance with the Iowa Open Meetings Law, Chapter 21 of the Iowa Code.

Section 6.  Meeting Attendance
  1. Commission members are expected to attend all regular and special meetings of the Commission. If a member is unable to attend a Commission meeting, the member shall notify the Chair prior to the meeting.

  2. The Chair and Secretary shall review the commissioner meeting attendance at the end of each calendar year. Failure to attend at least two-thirds the sum of regular and special Commission meetings during the year may be grounds for a recommendation by the Chair to the Mayor of the City of Ames for removal of the appointee from the Commission. If the recommendation is approved, the Mayor is responsible for appointing a new commissioner for the remainder of the vacant term of office.

  3. Pursuant to Iowa Code, Section 21.8, members unable to attend in person can be brought into the meeting via electronic methods. The minutes shall record that it is not possible to have all members in person, therefore, NAME is attending electronically.

Article VI.  Standing Commission Committees and Other Committees

The Standing Commission committees include the Executive, Outreach, Public Relations, and Collections Management Committees. The Commission elects the Executive Committee. The Chair appoints the other standing committee members.

Special committees of the Commission may be formed upon majority decision of the members. Ad hoc committees may be appointed at the Chair’s discretion.

Article VII.  Meeting Agenda and Order of Business
Section 1.  Agenda.

The agenda shall be prepared by the Chair and delivered to the Commission at least five days prior to the meeting.

Section 2.  Order of Business.

The order of business at regularly scheduled Commission meetings shall start with the Call to Order followed by the Consent Agenda, Public Forum / Guests, Chair’s Report and Comments, City of Ames Liaison Comments/Updates, Status Updates, New and Continuing Business, For the Good of the Order and Adjournment. 

Article VIII.  Public Participation
Section 1. 

All citizen comments to the staff, written, or verbal, relating to formal agenda items shall be presented to the Commission before or during discussion of the item.

Section 2.

The public shall be allowed to participate in the discussion of the said item by commenting during the pro or con discussion of the item. Thereafter, a short rebuttal time shall be allowed to provide for only new information.

Article IX.  Parliamentary Authority

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the Commission in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order the Commission may adopt.

Article X.  Amendment of Bylaws

These Bylaws can be amended at any regular meeting of the Commission by a two-thirds vote, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing at the previous regular meeting.

Standing Rules
  1. The Bylaws shall be reviewed and renewed annually in February of each year.

  2. Regular monthly Commission meetings are scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm on the first Tuesday of the month (effective April 2022). Meetings are open to the public. 

 

Adopted March 5, 1993
Amended March 2, 2005; January 6, 2016; and April 5, 2022

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