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St. Petersburg delays action on Sunshine City Mosaic contract amendment, sets return date
Summary
Council deferred a proposed reinstatement and second amendment to the Artonomy LLC agreement for the Sunshine City Mosaic at Sunset Park to the June 5 meeting after artists and staff described production delays; administration will return with tightened contract language and a July 31 completion date.
Celeste Davis, the city’s director of Arts, Culture and Tourism, presented the council with a request to reinstate and amend a previously approved $50,000 agreement with Artonomy LLC to complete the Sunshine City Mosaic at Sunset Park. The project — described by artists as roughly 172 feet long, about 800 square feet and made of roughly 15,000 individual tiles — has encountered production delays tied to specialized equipment and recent hurricanes.
"We are 98% cut, assembled, and ready for install," said George Retkisch, a member of the Artonomy team, summarizing the artists’ status and asking the council for more time to complete the final on-site work. Laura Spencer, the project’s designer and manager, told the council the work requires a specific water-jet cutter whose availability has limited production: "This water jet is owned by MGA Sculpture Studios ... our access is limited to after MGA's work hours and as long as the equipment is functional."
Council members pressed for clarity on timelines and process. Celeste Davis explained that administration needs to align the agreement’s installation language with what will actually occur on site. She noted that the most recent target dates are a fabrication completion by May 31, on-site installation beginning June 1, and a final completion date of July 31.
Council Member Gina Driscoll, who gave the invocation at the start of the meeting and represents the district containing the park, thanked the artists and asked for certainty on a return date. After questions about the May 15 language in the agreement and the possibility of default if installation had to begin immediately, Driscoll moved to defer the item to the June 5 council meeting so administration and the artists could finalize contract language. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously with one council member absent.
Administration and legal agreed to revise the agreement’s fabrication and installation wording so the city can avoid repeated returns to council. The council directed staff to bring a redlined amendment for action on June 5 that reflects the artists’ remaining on-site work and protects the city’s contractual position. The motion to defer carried without objection.
The council action: the item was deferred to the June 5, 2025 council meeting; administration will return with amended contract language and a recommended single final amendment that staff and the artists expect will avoid further requests.
The council did not vote to award additional funds at this meeting; Celeste Davis said $40,000 of the $50,000 agreement has been paid and $10,000 remains outstanding.
Next steps: Administration will meet with the artists to produce contract language that (according to staff) distinguishes fabrication completed off-site from the handful of pieces that must be cut and fitted on site, and will present the revised amendment to council on June 5.
