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Middleton arts committee selects Milligan Studio’s 'Portage' for Lake Street Park sculpture
Summary
The Middleton Arts Committee voted to select Milligan Studio’s Portage (a 15-foot glass-and-stainless-steel design) for a public sculpture at the Lake Street boat launch, asking staff to confirm maintenance, repair costs, snow mitigation and possible slight width reductions before final installation.
MIDDLETON — The Middleton Arts Committee voted to select Milligan Studio’s proposal ‘‘Portage’’ for a public sculpture at the Lake Street Park boat launch, the committee decided at its meeting. Vice chair Meg moved to select Portage ‘‘with the clarification on maintenance, cleaning, size, and snow accumulation,’’ and the motion was seconded; the motion passed by voice vote.
The committee considered two submissions from Milligan Studio (Alan Scott Milligan and Nicole Mary Milligan of Minneapolis) — a dichroic-glass-and-stainless-steel design (presented in two concept variants, including ‘‘Bounty’’) — and a separate proposal called ‘‘Healing Waters’’ from Mark Fisher, which used primarily metal and invoked Indigenous themes.
Committee members and staff focused discussion on durability and site fit. Sebastian Norbeck, who led the presentation, described the Milligan concepts as featuring glass that ‘‘will come down through the glass and cast, reflections, refractions on the ground around it,’’ and said the studio offered to provide documentation of anchoring details, maintenance recommendations and spare parts. He told the committee the larger Milligan option is roughly 15 feet tall and that the studio would ‘‘send these around after the fact’’ with written answers to follow-up questions.
Members pressed for specifics about vandalism and repairs. ‘‘If a piece breaks, how much is it to fix it or how hard is it to fix?’’ Meg said when she introduced the motion outlining the follow-up topics the committee wanted resolved. Jolene asked whether the glass elements would be modular and how dealers or the artist would replace broken components; committee members asked for written maintenance instructions and examples of repaired works.
Staff also relayed a parks director concern about Portage’s width: the parks director favored the Portage design but warned the stated 15-foot width might conflict with a nearby tree. Staff said the city could request a modest reduction (to about 13–14 feet) if needed and that budget revisions would follow any change in materials or dimensions.
After debate and roll-call expressions of preference, multiple members publicly voiced support for Portage; Jolene and one other member preferred the alternative labeled Bounty. The committee chair announced the motion passed. Staff will notify Milligan Studio of the selection and return with written answers about cleaning supplies, recommended protective coatings, repair-part availability and a final site plan that addresses tree clearance and footing requirements. The committee discussed an anticipated park opening roughly in April 2025 but did not set a final unveiling date.
The committee’s next steps are to confirm maintenance materials and schedules, request cost estimates for potential repairs or replacement parts and finalize the sculpture’s footprint to avoid conflicts with onsite trees before approving installation details.
