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Council delays $392,000 mural-lighting project after concerns about cost and design
Summary
Public-works staff proposed $392,007.82 for lighting and CCTV to illuminate and protect nine Mixmaster underpass murals and one City Hall lot mural; council members questioned cost, power routing and procurement and agreed to continue the item so members can review design alternatives.
Director of Public Works Shahid Abbas presented a design and cost estimate for lighting and security to protect nine murals at the Mixmaster underpass and one mural in the City Hall parking lot. The design shown was prepared by Salus O'Brien and includes nine poles with integrated CCTV cameras; staff said the $392,007.82 figure includes contingencies and project management costs and that equipment procurement could be done separately to shorten construction time.
Council members pressed on several points: whether the poles would be solar- or grid-powered (Director Abbas said they would be powered from existing traffic-signal power), how many bids had been received (staff said the construction solicitation had just been advertised and they had not yet received bids), and where the largest costs resided (power connection and CCTV integration were identified as primary cost drivers). One council member observed that the Arts in the Public Place fund would be the proposed funding source and warned the project could consume a large portion of that fund.
Several council members said they wanted to see the detailed design before committing funds. One member compared informal prior estimates of tens of thousands of dollars with the current engineering estimate approaching $400,000 and urged exploring more cost-effective lighting options. The mayor agreed and proposed continuing the item so council members could review the design and consider alternatives; the council agreed to continue the item to the next meeting.
Ending: staff will provide design materials and follow up with other jurisdictional contacts (including Commerce staff previously involved) to identify lower-cost options; the council postponed final allocation of funds pending that review.
