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AIPP board approves $106,000 for Juan Cristóbal Nápoles Fajardo monument at Shenandoah Park; board adds conditions and calls for PAC review
Summary
The Art in Public Places Board voted 5–1 to spend $106,000 from the AIPP fund on a monument to Cuban poet Juan Cristóbal Nápoles Fajardo (El Cucalambé) by artist Nilda Comas at Shenandoah Park, and rescinded a prior Fairlawn allocation to free funds for the commission.
The Art in Public Places Board approved a resolution allocating $106,000 from the AIPP fund to commission a monument to Cuban poet Juan Cristóbal Nápoles Fajardo, known as El Cucalambé, to be installed at Shenandoah Park, 2111 SW 19th Street. The board also rescinded a prior resolution that had allocated funds for a different park and directed staff to identify replacement funds for Fairlawn Park.
Indra, planning department staff, presented the proposal and said Commissioner Manolo Reyes requested the monument for his District 4. Indra said the project budget combines previously allocated funds with $50,000 the commissioner secured through capital reappropriation, bringing the total to $106,000. The division recommended rescinding resolution AIPPR22020 (the prior Fairlawn allocation) and reallocating those funds to Shenandoah Park.
Indra described the proposal: a bronze, life‑size sculpture by artist Nilda Comas seated on an existing precast concrete bench, with an integrated blue‑and‑gold mosaic inscribed with the poet’s name and dates and mosaic tiles bearing quotes from the poet. Indra said the artist was selected under code criteria that permit a direct purchase or use of a prequalified artist roster and that Comas previously completed public commissions for the city.
Board members raised concerns about process and oversight. Several members said they were surprised there had been no open call to artists for the commission and asked whether the Public Art Committee (PAC) should review the design and selection. One board member suggested the PAC must review and approve the project; another noted that code allows direct purchase for prequalified artists but said PAC review would still be appropriate given the project’s prominence.
As additional conditions, the board asked staff to seek replacement funds so Fairlawn Park can still receive a public‑art project and directed that the PAC review the Shenandoah commission and community/district input. Indra told the board PAC review and conditions were workable; staff recommended leaving condition‑setting authority with PAC to keep the schedule moving because the item had been before the board for some time.
On a roll call, the motion passed 5–1. The clerk stated the vote as: Christina Crable — Yes; Odalys de Urie — Yes; Gary Feinberg — No; Maria Napoles — Yes; Juan Valadez — Yes; Francisco Heritas — Yes. The clerk also noted the decision is final unless an appeal is filed within 15 days.
The board agreed staff will return with any updates on PAC review, renderings and confirmation of funds identified for Fairlawn.
