On Monday night, Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann wanted to hear a clear message from the members of the Hermiston City Council – are they in favor of the city developing a public art plan?
The council had just listened to a presentation by Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan on a concept for a public art plan for Hermiston. Many cities across the country have public art plans, but they are mostly larger cities. Few cities the size of Hermiston have public art plans, said Morgan. His research showed there are, however, some similar in size to Hermiston with public art plans, including Moscow, Idaho.
Public art plans often utilize local artists to produce works that reflect the heritage of the city and can enhance a community’s livability – something that is a priority with Hermiston leaders.
But enough questions by the councilors about defining “public art,” who would decide what pieces go where, and how much it would cost prompted Drotzmann to seek verbal commitment to pursue a public art plan from the council. The recent rejection of a proposed landscaping ordinance was fresh on his mind.
“I don’t want to go down the path of the landscaping ordinance only to find it doesn’t have the full support of the council,” Drotzmann said.
Morgan said the city has already applied for a $4,500 Arts Build Communities grant which the city would match. Morgan estimated the use of city staff to oversee the plan at around $4,000 more.
The plan would be developed by the city’s Community Enhancement Committee, which would seek input from the public about the types of art to be displayed and where. Morgan said the idea is not to randomly place widely disparate works of art throughout the city, but to adhere to some sort of theme.
“Public art works best when it has a tie-in back to the community,” he said.
In the end, the mayor got his wish as they council voted unanimously to give the Community Enhancement Committee the green light to pursue the plan.
