Committee approves temporary closure of six parking spaces for "It's Okay" mural in Ambrose Lot

The government operations meeting approved a staff recommendation to temporarily close six parking spaces on the north side of the building at 13 South Second Street (City Lot F, Ambrose) to allow painting of an art mural reading "It's okay to not be okay." The work is planned to start Sunday, Aug. 17 and finish by the end of Sunday, Aug. 24, weather permitting; daily work hours were presented as 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

A representative of the Saint Charles Arts Council appeared in the meeting record to describe the mural and its purpose. The representative said the mural will include the phrase "it's okay to not be okay" and additional messaging: "pause, reach out, wait a minute, share, and be kind to your mind," and will reference hailfolks.org and Kayla's Hope Foundation. The representative identified Kayla's Hope Foundation and said the project is related to mental health awareness; the representative also said Ruthie Lehman is leading the mural project.

Council member Munn moved the recommendation and was seconded by Gam; a roll call vote recorded yes votes from the members present and the item passed. The staff presentation and the public representative said no additional city services were requested in the staff recommendation; the presentation did not specify any city-funded cost for the closure.

The committee did not discuss permit conditions, insurance, or traffic-control details in the recorded transcript; if such conditions are required by city policy, they were not documented in the meeting record. The transcript recorded expressions of support for the mural from committee members and the council voted to approve the temporary parking closure as requested.