The alley-beautification project will proceed without the sculptures after staff and the contractor could not resolve a dispute with the artist, URD staff told board members.

“We really tried to mediate the situation. It was just a conflict that just couldn't be resolved,” said Ellie, economic development staff, explaining that personality and performance issues between the artist and the construction company led to the decision to remove the sculpture element from the contract.

Why it matters: the sculptures were a visible and anticipated piece of the public-art element for the alley project. Staff said they intend to finish the bulk of the alley improvements by June 30 and will use funds not spent on sculptures to consider a separate call for art without tying the piece to the original construction contract.

Staff said the contract payment will be reduced by about $30,000 for the removed sculpture work and that removing sculptures from the contract could make a future art call simpler and quicker because the URD would not need to re-bid the entire construction package. “We will pay the contract down $30,000 for the sculptures. We won't pay for the sculptures that have been removed,” Ellie said.

Board members asked about next steps, maintenance and unresolved issues such as trash management in alleys. Staff proposed a post-project review to document lessons learned, consider patchwork contracting versus single-contractor strategies, and engage property owners on long-term maintenance solutions.

Next steps: staff will complete remaining contracted work by June 30 where possible, hold a postmortem on procurement and project delivery, and consider a separate call for art to commission sculptures in the future.