Edgewater board outlines email vote and subcommittee approach for community mural 'wings'

The Edgewater parks advisory group discussed how to select community-submitted designs for a planned mural (referred to in the meeting as the "wings"). Members agreed to have reviewers reduce entries to finalists, scan and circulate the finalists electronically, then hold a final vote by email so winners can be announced in time for EdgeFest.

The plan is to ask each board member to nominate a set of top designs (several suggested a top-three or top-five shortlist), have staff collect those nominations, and then either hold a short workshop or form a subcommittee to finalize the selections. Tiffany, a board member who led much of the discussion, said she was "happy to do that, with someone" and volunteered to help manage the review process.

Board members emphasized avoiding a rushed decision during the meeting itself. One member raised a possible conflict of interest after a reviewer appeared to know many of the student submitters; the group discussed documenting selections and letting reviewers recuse themselves if appropriate. The board also agreed the staff would update online forms and post revised dates so the public understands how and when finalists will be announced.

The board did not take a final vote on specific designs at this meeting. Instead it set an operational plan: members will submit shortlists by email, staff will assemble finalists and distribute them for a subsequent email vote, and winners will be announced in coordination with EdgeFest.

Next steps: board members were asked to submit their shortlists by the midweek timeframe discussed at the meeting, staff will update the parks page with the new schedule, and the board will complete the final selection by email as described.