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Artist asks council where city’s acquired windmill went after staff says it was destroyed
Summary
Artist and former councilor Mike Vaughn asked Coos Bay officials where a windmill sculpture the city acquired from Morgan Vet Clinic ended up; city staff said the piece was removed from city shops and appears to have been sent for scrap and destroyed. Councilors said they will adopt a clearer process for decommissioning public art.
Mike Vaughn, an artist and former city council member, told the Coos Bay City Council that a windmill sculpture he created and that had been acquired by the city after sale from Morgan Vet Clinic is missing and that he believes the sculpture has been disposed of.
Vaughn said he discovered the windmill “laying in the weeds” after asking about plans to install it near Front Street and was told by public works it was not part of the construction contract. “My question is, where is it?” Vaughn asked the council.
Nicole, city manager, told the council she had discussed the matter with Vaughn and that staff’s understanding is that the windmill “was down at city shops, and it has since been removed” and that it “would have been a scrap metal taken to a scrap [facility], and we do use Shingle House.” Nicole also said staff had offered to return the piece to Vaughn and that the city considered the piece for possible siting but decided the windmill did not fit the Front Street master-plan’s historic character.
Mayor Benetti summarized the city’s understanding and asked for confirmation that the city had destroyed the piece after offering to return it to Vaughn; Nicole replied that the city’s understanding was that the sculpture had been removed and disposed of. Vaughn said he had tried multiple avenues to relocate the sculpture locally, including the parks commission and ODOT, and that offers to site it had not resulted in a placement.
Council members said they will adopt a clearer process for decommissioning or disposing of public art in the future and suggested aligning that process with the art museum’s acquisition and deaccession procedures. Councilor Lucinda De Novo thanked Vaughn for his contributions to the community and said the council would consider an improved process to avoid similar outcomes.
No formal motion or vote was recorded on the windmill matter during the meeting; councilors instructed staff to follow up and said they would work with the museum on a formal deaccession process going forward.
