NATIONAL CALL  TO ARTISTS

FOR  NEW  FIRE  STATION IN  WARD  6 

OF  THE  CITY  OF FORT MYERS,  FLORIDA

REQUEST   FOR   QUALIFICATIONS

Name:    Station 17 Public Artwork

Budget:  $50,000

Submissions Deadline:  Midnight EST, Friday, Tuesday November 30, 2021

OVERVIEW

The City of Fort Myers Public Art Committee is requesting artists to submit their qualifications for a representational three-dimensional outdoor artwork for a new fire station serving the City of Fort Myers.

FACILITY DESCRIPTION

Station 17 is a Missile Level E Essential Facility that is equipped with an emergency generator with a 72-hour operating timeframe. The station houses a staff of eight plus the shift captain with an App Bay that has the capacity for six emergency vehicles including a fully Advanced Life Support (ALS) fire engine with a minimum of three personnel, one of which is a paramedic. During tropical cyclones and other emergency activations (including natural and manmade disasters, disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies), the facility will house overflow and secondary or satellite Emergency Operations Center functions and accommodate other City assets needed in order to manage and coordinate emergency responses. There is also a separate detached storage/multiuse facility with a fuel dispensing station. [N.B.: Under the 2020 Florida Building Code, Missile Level E refers to enhanced impact protection and represents a 9lb 2x4 shot in a prescribed pattern at 80-ft/second at glazed surfaces.]

Station 17 also contains an essential training and educational component. The App Bay contains a training wall and platform quarters for in-house upkeep and firefighters’ skill training. The station will enable all members to effectively train on a sustainable schedule with apparatus bay improvements, including training props and related features. Additionally, the building contains a Multiuse & Educational Room for the community’s benefit. [An architectural rendering of the station is appended to this Call so that interested artists can conceptualize what the Station will look like and the architectural features it will possess.]

SERVICE AREA

Station 17 will provide fire and EMS services to all residential developments along Six Mile Cypress Parkway that are located south of Colonial Boulevard and north of Daniels Parkway, as well as the southbound lanes of I-75, responding to calls within the City’s six-minute response model ninety percent (90%) of the time. [An aerial map is appended to this Call so that interested artists can see Station 17’s precise location within the City of Fort Myers and intended service area.]

DESCRIPTION OF SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD

A number of gated communities are located on Six Mile Cypress Parkway and served by Station 17, including Heritage Palms Golf & Country Club, Brookshire Lakes, Marbella on Cypress and Marbella Townhomes. The largest of the three, Heritage Palms Golf & Country Club, is a member- owned gated community with 1,662 residents. Established in 1999 and completed in 2006, it is encompasses over 800 acres and features two 18-hole golf courses designed by Azinger & Lewis that are surrounded by single family homes, luxury twin villas, 2-story verandas and 4-story Terrace Condominiums. In addition, its 38 acre fresh water lake also serves as the Club’s aqua range.

PROJECT SCOPE

The Fort Myers Fire Department prefers a representational three-dimensional artwork of sufficient size, scale and composition to be visible to passing motorists and pedestrians. Although representational, the sculpture or sculptural installation may possess modernist stylings or flair. The Fort Myers Fire Department and Station 17 would like the piece’s design to accommodate small groups who may gather for memorial events such as 9/11 commemorations and observances for fallen firefighters and police.

SITE DESCRIPTION

Station 17 is located on and fronts Six Mile Cypress Parkway. The Architectural Site Plan for Station 17 offers a number of possibilities for the artwork’s location, including the area outside the multiuse and educational room, at or alongside the flagpole and at the parking lot that faces Six Mile Cypress Parkway. [The Architectural Site Plan is appended to this Call so that interested artists can visualize possible locations for the artwork.]

ARTIST CRITERIA

• Artists must meet at least two of the following criteria in order to have their submissions considered:
• Completed other public art commissions of a similar scale.
• Received awards, grants or fellowships.
• Had works included in major private, corporate or museum collections.
• Had at least one solo exhibition at an American Association of Museum’s accredited institution within the past five years.

BUDGET

Funding is provided by the City of Fort Myers Public Art Fund. The total budget of $50,000 includes materials, engineering, fabrication, permitting, transportation, travel, installation, insurance, documentation, contingencies and the artist’s/artist team’s fee. While it will be the artist’s responsibility to provide engineering for footers, anchor bolts and concrete or other pad, the Station 17 building contractor will form and pour the pad and footers for the sculpture and provide electrical service for any backlighting or up-lighting that the artist wishes to include in the sculpture’s design. LED is preferred.

DEADLINE

Midnight EST, Tuesday, November 30, 2021. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. Applications not meeting the submission guidelines will not be considered. However, the City of Fort Myers Public Art Committee reserves the right to extend this deadline, if necessary.

TIMETABLE

• Deadline for Submissions:  midnight EST Tuesday, November 30, 2021.
• Evaluation of Submissions/Selection of Finalists: Tuesday, December 21, 2021.
• Virtual Presentation of Designs by Finalists/Selection of Winner: Tuesday, February 15, 2022.
• Approval by Fort Myers City Council:  Monday, March 7, 2022.
• Delivery/Execution of Public Art Agreement:  on or before April 1, 2022
• Fabrication and Installation: June 1 – August 31, 2022

SELECTION PROCESS

The application and selection process will be managed by the City of Fort Myers Public Art Committee, which includes arts professionals and community representatives. In addition to the PAC’s members (both voting and alternates), the Selection Committee for this project will include a designee of BSSW Architects, a designee of Station 17/Fort Myers Fire Department and an at-large member of the surrounding community.

Applications not meeting the submission guidelines will not be considered. All others will be evaluated by the Selection Committee in public session based upon the following criteria:

1.     Artist’s/artist team’s process and work is compelling and relevant.

2.     Artist’s/artist team’s professional experience demonstrates a developed and successful body of site-specific public art projects of a similar scope and scale, or the ability to understand site-specific design as demonstrated by visual documentation.

3.     Artist/artist team is capable of producing an artwork that is compatible with the building design and the landscaping plan that will be installed at the site and will be of a size, scale and scope that will be readily viewable by motorists driving by the site on Six Mile Cypress Parkway.

4.     Artist’s/artist team possesses professional experience in completing public art projects within promulgated timelines and budget, as well as the sustainability of the project.

5.     Artist/artist team is capable of producing an artwork that is durable notwithstanding the rigors of Southwest Florida’s subtropical climate, which is characterized by intense UV sunlight, high humidity, copious rainfall and periodic tropical storms and hurricanes. In amplification of the preceding sentence, preference will be given to artists/artist teams whose previous body of work demonstrates that their work requires minimal periodic maintenance and consists of materials and components that are readily available if conservation or restoration is necessary. The artwork will be required to comply with Florida Building Code provisions, particularly those that address hurricane force winds. The finished artwork may not require disassembly in adverse weather.

6.     The artist’s/artist team’s body of work reflects diversity in style, scale, media and traditional and contemporary art forms

From the submittals received, the Selection Committee will select up to three finalists. Each finalist will be paid a $500 design fee (which is not part of and will not be subtracted from the budget specified above) and will be given between six (6) and eight (8) weeks to produce an electronic proposal for virtual presentation to the Committee in open session, together with a prefabrication review that identifies the materials the artist intends to use, expected longevity, fabrication techniques, installation methods and long-term preventative maintenance strategies. Stakeholders who live and work in the surrounding community will be invited to attend the presentations and voice their preferences and concerns. Thereupon, the Committee will select the winning design based upon:

A.   artistic merit;

B.    how well the design is expresses the mission of a Missile Level E Essential Facility fire station and captures the spirit of the work performed by firefighters, paramedics and associated personnel);

C.    suitability of the design to the site (including scale and visibility from Six Mile Cypress Parkway);

D.   suitability of materials given Southwest Florida’s harsh subtropical climate;

E.    anticipated durability and longevity of the proposed artwork;

F.     the artwork’s annual maintenance requirements;

G.   artist’s/artist team’s experience incorporating artwork into the built environment; and

H.   artist’s/artist team’s demonstrated ability to complete projects on time and within budget.

The Fort Myers Public Art Committee serves in an advisory capacity to the Mayor, City Manager and City Council. Therefore, once the artist/artist team and design has been chosen for this project, it will promptly recommend to City Council that it award the final contract to the winner. The Fort Myers City Council reserves the right to accept or reject the artist/artist team and design chosen by the Selection Committee. If City Council approves the artist/artist team and design, a Public Art Agreement will be prepared by the City’s legal department for submittal to and execution by the artist/artist team. That contract will provide that the artist/artist team will retain all reproduction rights under the Copyright Act of 1976 (17 U.S.C. sections 101 et. seq.) However, the artist/artist team will be required to contractually agree not to make an exact duplicate or a duplicate that is substantially similar to the artwork, or permit others to do so, without the prior written consent of the City of Fort Myers and Public Art Committee, which may be withheld with or without cause The artist/artist team will also be required to grant permission to the Public Art Committee, the City of Fort Myers and the Fort Myers Fire Department to make photographs or other two-dimensional reproductions of the artwork for non-commercial purposes, including but not limited to reproductions to be used in promotional materials, catalogues or media publicity, provided these rights are exercised in a tasteful and professional manner. The artist/artist team must also agree to record an audio describing and explaining their design for the City’s free mobile phone app, Otocast, and otherwise participate in the creation of narrative for such app.

If City Council rejects/fails to approve the winning artist/artist team and its design or the City of Fort Myers and the winning artist/artist team are unable to come to terms in a mutually-acceptable contract, the Public Art Committee reserves the right to choose instead the second place finalist followed by the third place finalist, or start the submittal process over again.

RIGHT TO WITHHOLD COMMISSION

In addition to the foregoing, the Public Art Committee reserves the right to withhold the commission award if the Selection Committee fails to find a satisfactory artwork. The Public Art Committee also reserves the right to increase or decrease the budget based upon the submission of the chosen artist.

ALL DECISIONS FINAL

All decisions by the City of Fort Myers City Council, Public Art Committee and Selection Committee are final. Persons responding to this Call to Artists/RFQ do so at their sole expense and risk. No artist/artist team responding to this Call/RFQ is guaranteed the award of a commission or agreement as a result of submitting the items specified above under Submission Requirements or by virtue of being chosen as a finalist or the winning design.

FORT MYERS FIRE DEPARTMENT

The Fort Myers Fire Department was formed in May 1901 after a fire destroyed the home of the town’s druggist and the town learned the following day of the vast destruction that occurred in the City of Jacksonville when a wind-fueled fire in a mattress factory caused the destruction of 146 city blocks and the 2,368 buildings they once housed. The day after it was formed, the new volunteer fire department responded to its first structure fire. Battling a house fire with hand-conveyed buckets, the firefighters were unable to save the home, although they were able to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings, including the Baptist Church. Realizing that bucket-brigades were no match for large fires, that August the department purchased its first fire engine, a used Button hand pumper they dubbed the Ole Andrew Jackson because its wooden brakes were made from hickory.

By 1905, City Council was paying the volunteer fire department $10 for each fire extinguished and had purchased a new hand/horse drawn Waterous fire engine with a 12-horsepower gasoline fire pump. The engine was put to its first real test in 1914 when the Lee County Packing House and the steamship Thomas A. Edison were destroyed by fire. Although the volunteers could not save the packing house or steamship, they did prevent gasoline storage tanks on Ireland’s Dock from exploding and leveling the business district. In June, a side-wheel steamer by the name of the Planter burned to the water line, and later that year, the town’s most devastating fire destroyed eleven buildings, including its newest hotel, three rooming houses, a grocery store, restaurant and a number of retail shops. This series of fires alarmed the town’s citizenry, prompting City Council to purchase the city’s first motor driven fire engine, a 105-horsepower, 6-cylinder Type 12 triple-combo 750-gallon-per-minute American LaFrance pumper costing $9,500.

On September 13, 1920, the City appointed its first paid fire chief and authorized him to hire 6 full-time firefighters at the monthly wage of $10 per month. In 1922, the city installed a Gamewell Fire Alarm System and placed 20 call boxes around the city. The Fort Myers Fire Department has grown steadily since that time, and pioneered the pilot program in 1972 that eventually led to the creation of the Fort Myers Fire Academy.

PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE

The City of Fort Myers’ public art program is administered by a 9-member Public Art Committee, which consists of 7 voting members and 2 alternates. Members serve for three year terms, are not compensated, and must either be a resident of the city, work in the city, or be a member of an arts board or committee that is located in the city. The Public Art Committee oversees the commissioning, review, installation and maintenance of public art within the City. The Committee is advised and served by a Public Art Consultant, who functions as an independent contractor.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information about this project or the City’s public art program, please visit www.cityftmyers.com/publicart. Fort Myers City Hall is located at 2200 Second Street, 4th Floor, Fort Myers, FL 33901. For assistance, please contact Donna Lovejoy, Public Art Liaison, Administrator Services Manager, Public Works by telephoning 239-321-7217 or emailing dlovejoy@cityftmyers.com. Questions may be directed to Thomas Hall, City of Fort Myers Public Art Consultant at 239-691-2292 or tom@artswfl.com.

Application Requirements

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Your submission must include:

• Letter of Interest: Brief letter of interest to include how your prior work relates to or qualifies you for this project.
• Images:  Up to 10 digital images of prior work and projects with a similar budget. [For example, please do not include images of a $2,500 or $500,000 artwork since such examples are not similar to or responsive to the budget for this project.]
• Image List:  A description of each image that includes title, date of completion, material(s), size and project budget.
• Resume:  A current resume of no more than three pages with emphasis on public art experience. Please include your contact information.

You are to submit the foregoing on the CAFÉ’ site (www.callforentry.org) at no charge. This online application process requires that all images and materials be submitted in digital format. For digital image requirements, please visit CAFÉ’s Image Prep section. There is no cost to the artist/artist team to upload this material on CAFÉ’. [Because the Selection Committee will be given access to the information uploaded to CAFÉ’ in the course of the Selection Process described below, it is not possible to accommodate requests for alternative methods to make submissions for the Committee’s consideration.]

Eligibility Criteria

ELIGIBILITY

Artists who reside in the United States and U.S. territories are eligible to apply. All applicants will be considered regardless of race, gender, gender variance, sexual orientation, national origin, age, religion, marital status, political opinion or affiliation, or mental or physical ability. We encourage minority artists living in the United States and U.S. territories to apply.