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Committee forwards Art in Public Places rewrite; councilors demand arts-commission role and maintenance plan
Summary
The committee voted to send a revised Art in Public Places ordinance to first reading after public commenters and arts commissioners pushed to preserve art funding, require arts-commission participation on selection panels and clarify that maintenance of existing works will be planned and funded separately.
A Federal Way committee on Tuesday forwarded a rewritten Art in Public Places ordinance to the council’s first reading after public commenters and arts commissioners pressed for clearer rules about funding and selection.
The Finance, Economic Development and Regional Affairs Committee moved the revision after a presentation from staff explaining the changes. The draft removes maintenance, refurbishment and renovation from qualifying expenses and sets a $350,000 threshold of new construction for triggering a 2% art allocation. It also clarifies that contingency authorizations would be excluded when calculating the art contribution, and makes the Arts Commission the default selection body if council does not appoint a project art selection team.
Why it matters: supporters said the rewrite resolves long-standing ambiguity and reflects past practice; opponents and some commissioners warned the changes could reduce upkeep funding for artworks and urged a formal role for the Arts Commission in selection and oversight.
Arts commissioners and public commenters urged explicit arts-commission participation. Tom Bristol, who said he has chaired the Arts Commission this year, told the committee he supported modernizing the ordinance but asked, “since maintenance is being removed as an eligible art in public places expense, maybe what funding source does staff anticipate using to preserve the city's existing public art collection?” (Tom Bristol). Karen Brigado, a longtime Twin Lakes resident who has spoken on the item at previous meetings, urged council to restore language that had previously included “renovation, repair and remodel” and to consult the Arts Commission before finalizing changes (Karen Brigado).
Staff response and funding limits: Parks staff said repairs and vandalism responses would continue to be handled from the Parks operations budget on a case-by-case basis and that there is no dedicated maintenance line for public art today. Staff projected that the $350,000 threshold would generally capture new construction while excluding smaller internal projects such as building walls inside city hall.
Selection-team membership: several council members asked that the ordinance explicitly require arts-commission membership on project selection teams. After discussion the committee directed staff to include language requiring at least two Arts Commission members on the project art selection team.
What’s next: The committee voted unanimously to forward the ordinance for a first reading on 07/07/2026.
The committee’s discussion and the public comments make clear two follow-ups for council to resolve before final adoption: identifying a funding mechanism for maintenance and adding explicit language establishing Arts Commission membership on selection panels.
