Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Art Mural topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council rejects staff’s mural recommendation, directs staff to negotiate restoration with original artist
Summary
Port St. Lucie council voted to reject the Public Art Advisory Board’s recommended mural and asked staff to negotiate a refresh of the existing mural with the original artist, including student participation and coordinated design elements.
Port St. Lucie — At a Jan. 21 workshop the City Council rejected staff’s recommendation for a new mural design at City Hall and directed staff to negotiate with the original artist to refresh the existing mural and to pursue student participation and related design consistency across the municipal campus.
The council heard a multi-step selection process overview from Bethany Grubbs, who said an RFQ/RFP produced three finalist artists and that the Public Art Advisory Board ultimately recommended a revised concept by Jeremy Jarvis. Grubbs summarized the selection sequence, public input on themes (family, diversity, nature and the city’s brand palette), and the board’s November recommendation.
Council reaction: Several council members said none of the three revised proposals clearly conveyed Port St. Lucie’s identity; concerns included color palette, overly busy compositions and use of faces at large scale. Councilwoman Evelyn Pickett said the recommended design did not clearly depict the Sandhill Crane or the city’s “Heart of the Treasure Coast” brand element and noted a preference for avoiding large faces that appear cartoonish at mural scale. Other members favored a single, flowing composition and use of the city’s existing branding elements.
Decision and direction: The council voted to reject the staff’s recommendation. Council then approved a separate motion directing staff to negotiate with Shannon Wiley (the original mural artist) to refresh the existing mural, if permissible under procurement rules and prior agreements, and to explore participation by local student artists and incorporation of design elements consistent with the parking garage artwork. Staff said they have been in contact with Shannon Wiley, who previously indicated interest in restoring the work and noted improved anti-fade materials currently available.
Why it matters: The murals and public-art decisions shape the municipal campus’s public identity and affect procurement, maintenance and future replacement expectations. Staff and the city attorney’s office noted existing contractual considerations and recommended building minimum-term language into future public-art contracts so replacement expectations are clear.
Action: Council made and carried two motions by voice vote: (1) to reject the staff recommendation of the Public Art Advisory Board and (2) to authorize staff to negotiate with the original mural artist to refresh the mural with potential involvement of local art students and to coordinate design elements with the parking garage/seawall treatment. Exact roll-call tallies were not recorded in the transcript.
Next steps: Staff was instructed to return with procurement- and contract-compliant proposals to implement the refresh and to address expectations about mural duration in future agreements.
