LAKELAND, Fla. — Lakeland commissioners are prioritizing putting more art in public spaces.
- Commission voted to allocate 1 percent of city construction project funds to public arts
- 30 percent of allocated funds per year will be for maintenance of public installations
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During a policy workshop meeting February 14, commissioners voted 6-1 to form the Art in Public Spaces Advisory Committee as a subcommittee under the Mayor’s Council on the Arts. The committee has existed in ordinance for several years but had no members.
Commissioners also voted to allocate one percent of city construction project funds to public art, with the cap of $100,000 annually. If there are no city projects, the $100,000 would come from the general fund.
“To have some opportunities to come together and have some really cool sculptures and have some really cool art incorporated, I think would really be special,” said Commissioner Stephanie Madden.
Madden felt the $100,000 annual cap was not sufficient, however, so she was the dissenting vote.
Artists like David Collins said it’s a great start, and he hopes private companies building in Lakeland will also allocate money in their building funds toward public art.
"The $100,000 is a hundred thousand more than we started with," he said. "And you compound that over 10 years and it's a million dollars worth of art."
The committee would also create a master plan for art in public spaces, oversee the public art fund and recommend which works of art the city should purchase. The members of the committee would be appointed by the Mayor.
Thirty percent of the annual $100,000 allocation would go toward maintenance of public art.
City attorneys will now restructure the current ordinance in place and bring it back to commissioners for their approval at a future meeting.