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Mural advocates urge Palatka to protect and expand public art; commission hears calls for ordinance and budget increases
Summary
Members of the Connolly Snyder Mural Committee and arts advocates pressed the commission to adopt protections for murals, expand funding beyond the downtown CRA to North Side neighborhoods, and consider ordinances to preserve public art.
Speakers at the July 10 public-comment period urged the Palatka City Commission to enact protections and steady funding for public art and murals.
Allegheny Kitchens, a member of the Connolly Snyder Mural Committee, described the group's origin and said the committee was formed to make Palatka “the mural city of Northeast Florida,” to honor local history and to attract tourists. John Alexander, the committee chairman, said murals are used in guided tours with QR-code content and that the group seeks city help to protect existing murals and expand murals onto the North Side, including proposals to use portable mural panels where walls are not available.
Shelley Shanker of the Arts Alliance told commissioners some municipalities allocate a percentage of municipal budgets to public art and recommended the city consider similar measures when finalizing the budget. Public commenter Steve Crowley urged a dedicated ordinance and suggested modest funding; he said public art establishes “the quality of life in a community.”
Speakers asked that the city consider an ordinance to protect murals, commit more Community Redevelopment Agency funding to public art and explore placing murals on the Jenkins Building to highlight Black history. Several commissioners expressed support for increasing the CRA arts allocation during budget deliberations, though no ordinance was proposed or adopted at the workshop.
Commissioners asked staff to consider the mural requests in budget discussions and to examine options for protecting public art.
