Art in Public Places
— by Jeffrey Wisniewski — 22 February 2010 — No comments yet »
During tomorrow’s meeting, the City Council will hold its first public hearing on the creation of an Art in Public Places program. The new ordinance would “charge a 1% fee at the time of issuing a building permit” for new development projects in the city, and its proceeds would be earmarked for the installation of “sculpture, murals, mosaics, fountains, and paving designs” using “steel, bronze, stained glass, concrete, wood, ceramic tile, stone, and other suitable materials.” The program’s funds would also be used to maintain the art as well as “purchase or lease sites where the artwork would be installed.”
There will be plenty of opportunity for public art in the coming phases of the Waterfront and New Town Center and this program will provide a vehicle for the City to pay for and maintain the pieces. The program could also help install, say, a veterans tribute monument on Hercules Point.