Public art exemption goes to Missoula City Council for vote – Council keeps public art requirement

Public art: Is there room to wiggle?

That’s an oversimplification, but the basic question is being raised in the city of Missoula – and it gets a public airing Monday night.

"Missoula is the arts superstar of Montana. It is really part of our identity."

At issue is a request to allow the City Council a way to exempt some civic building projects from the city’s "Percent for Art" requirement, which sets aside 1 percent of construction costs for artwork for certain city building projects.

The first major test of this rule happens to be Missoula’s rebuilding of city swimming and wading pools. Estimates for the voter-approved aquatics package came in more than $2.2 million over budget, which has city officials scrambling to scale down and reshape designs to save both money and the entire project.

By MEA ANDREWS of the Missoulian

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/articles/2005/06/13/news/local/news03.txt

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Related Stories:

Hearing set on changes to art ordinance http://missoulian.com/articles/2005/06/13/news/local/news08.txt

Whither 1% for Public Art? http://www.matr.net/article-14926.html

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Council keeps public art requirement

By GINNY MERRIAM of the Missoulian

Public art is part of the soul of Missoula, and it shouldn’t be sacrificed when a project goes over its budget, citizens told the Missoula City Council on Monday night.

"We are a city where culture matters," said artist Dana Boussard.

City Council members agreed, and turned down by a 9-3 vote Councilman Jerry Ballas’ proposal to revise Missoula’s public art ordinance, which mandates that 1 percent of certain public building projects go to public art. Ballas proposed allowing projects to be exempt from the ordinance with a two-thirds vote of the City Council. He made the proposal specifically for the city’s Aquatics Project, which came in $2.3 million over budget and has suffered other aesthetic cuts.
Ballas, an architect, said his proposal was meant to help the city balance the budget in a project where even some toilets were cut.

"This ordinance is not about art," he said.

But the majority of council members said they had to vote the public’s will.

"I remember when the public art ordinance was passed," said Lou Ann Crowley. "And there was a groundswell of public support."

"Now we’re in trouble in another area," she said. "Every time we get in trouble, are we going to go rob the 1 percent for art?"

Public testimony agreed. The public art ordinance, passed in 2002, is in its infancy, said Missoula restaurateur Peter Lambros.

"The risk of weakening the ordinance for decades is not worth the gain," he said. "I ask you to think long-term on this."

Many people argued that Missoula’s cultural uniqueness is an economic plus. Visitors come because of the city’s cultural amenities, they said.

The arts in Montana generate $233 million a year, more than timber and mining combined, said Geoff Sutton, who works developing arts commerce for the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity.

"It makes economic sense," he said.

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/articles/2005/06/14/news/top/news01.txt