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Commission approves mural for New Hampshire parking garage; funding split between grant and parking budget
Summary
The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission unanimously approved a mural by local artist Mona for the north interior wall of the New Hampshire parking garage. The project will be funded with a $5,000 Douglas County Community Foundation grant and $5,000 from the parking department budget; the parking department will prepare and maintain the wall.
The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission on Jan. 8 unanimously approved a proposal to paint a mural on the north interior elevator wall of the New Hampshire parking garage.
The mural will be painted by artist Mona (surname not specified in the meeting) and will be installed on a wall that parking staff estimated is seen by about 90,000 individual trips through the garage. The commission vote was 5-0 in favor.
Commission Chair Daniel B. Smith introduced the item after Brad Harrell, parking manager for the city, said graffiti in downtown garages has imposed recurring costs on the parking enterprise fund. Harrell said the department sought a grant and an artist to make the project more competitive. The city won a $5,000 grant from the Douglas County Community Foundation; the overall prep and prime work for the wall was estimated at $10,000, with the parking fund covering the remaining $5,000.
Harrell told the commission the parking department will clean and prime the wall and use an ambassador program — one staff member assigned to downtown beautification — to handle periodic maintenance and quick responses to vandalism, reducing the need for outside contractors. He said the department has funds for ongoing garage maintenance and will coordinate with the artist before any future touch-ups to avoid damaging the work.
Artist Mona described the proposed design as largely representative of the sketch provided to the commission, with additional local iconography (gazebo, arch and other familiar elements) planned for the wall area near the elevator. The design uses bold color, with a possible dark-blue sky element under consideration. The mural is intended to be publicly visible; Harrell said the chosen wall is centrally located where vehicle traffic enters the garage.
Commission members praised the selection of an experienced local muralist and the partnership between parking, transit and arts stakeholders. Commissioner Alicia (full name not specified) noted neighbors had been contacted and Explore Lawrence had provided input; Harrell confirmed that staff had collected emails or letters of support from adjacent stakeholders and that some parties had conveyed verbal approval.
The commission recorded a roll-call vote after a motion to approve; commissioners voting in favor were Tim (surname not specified), Alicia (surname not specified), Kelly (surname not specified), Matthew (surname not specified) and Chair Daniel B. Smith. The motion passed unanimously.
Implementation details: the parking department will prepare (clean and prime) the wall and supply maintenance through its ambassador program; the parking fund will contribute $5,000 and the Douglas County Community Foundation grant will provide $5,000 toward the estimated $10,000 prep/prime scope. The artist's original bid was discussed as approximately $12,000, and Harrell said the department will coordinate with the artist on preservation steps.
The commission and staff discussed the mural program as a pilot that could lead to additional murals in other garages or alleyways; Harrell said officials hope to install one or more murals annually pending future funding and approvals.
