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Keep Saginaw Beautiful proposes murals at Bailey Boswell overpass; council favors phasing and native‑flower theme
Summary
A Keep Saginaw Beautiful board liaison presented a proposal to add murals to nine overpass pillars at Bailey Boswell and Saginaw Boulevard. Artist quotes ranged from about $115,000 to $300,000 depending on coverage; council members expressed support for a phased approach (start with 2–4 pillars) and for a theme of native North Texas flowers.
Luisa, staff liaison to the Keep Saginaw Beautiful board, brought a proposal asking council to consider public‑art murals on the pillars of the Bailey Boswell overpass near Saginaw Boulevard. She said the board narrowed location and themes based on visibility, gateway function and traffic exposure.
Luisa presented three tentative design directions—native North Texas flowers, trains and grain, and a rustic Texas/wild‑West motif—and showed examples ranging from stylized low‑coverage designs to high‑coverage hyper‑realistic wraps. She told council the quotes the board collected from four artists put the project cost for full coverage of nine pillars in the approximate range of $115,000 to $300,000, depending on scope and equipment.
Councilmembers generally favored phasing the work (start with two or four pillars nearest Saginaw Boulevard), discussed maintenance and anti‑graffiti coating options and asked staff to incorporate a "Welcome to Saginaw" treatment where TxDOT and right‑of‑way allow. Finance staff noted the Keep Saginaw Beautiful unallocated funds are limited (staff cited about $139,463), which supported the council's interest in phasing rather than funding all nine pillars at once.
Council asked staff to return with refined costs, community outreach on theme selection and final renderings before formal approval. The board and staff said they would seek additional collaboration and possible county contributions for gateway‑adjacent pillars.
