Commission moves toward centralized asset inventory; members discuss scope and budget

Commission members argued for a centralized asset-management approach to track public art, monuments and artifacts across departments. Multiple speakers said that collections and public artworks are currently scattered across departments and community groups and that a single repository would improve preservation and public access.

Diane Johnson and other participants said an inventory effort had been started previously and pointed to budget lines for an asset-management initiative. "That funding was to have someone to actually do that," one participant said, referencing a previously discussed allocation of about $900,000 to fund the position or contractor to manage the inventory. Commissioners proposed forming a smaller working subgroup to produce bullet points and draft a resolution to ask the city for centralized authority and funding; they agreed to add the item under 'new business' for the next meeting and to flush out exact responsibilities and buckets of work.