LANCASTER, Pa. — Controversy continues to swirl in the Lancaster arts community over a proposed public art installment in the city.
The New Lancaster Rainbow is the name given to the proposed installment that would be placed on the side of the Christian Street Garage, overlooking Ewell Plaza on North Queen Street.
Local artists aren’t happy about it.
More than 20 people showed up to the Lancaster Parking Authority meeting on Thursday, where the board was set to vote on accepting the $1.5 million dollar bid.
"We as the artists that have helped to redevelop the city and bring it to the prosperity level that it is should have input on this very expensive project," said April Koppenhaver, founder of Mulberry Art Studios on N. Mulberry Street.
The façade is designed by Miami-based R&R Studios.
It’s been in the works since 2018, and the Parking Authority originally budgeted $600,000 for it.
That cost swelled in recent months, when Benchmark Construction Co. of Brownstown put in the lone bid.
LPA says the city is requiring it to complete the installation as part of the Christian Street garage project
"I feel bad for the parking authority," added Koppenhaver. "From the start, it was not their project and yet they’re entwined in it."
In a letter to the Parking Authority, the city explained the community was engaged throughout R&R Studios' concept design process and this design received the most community votes.
But local artists say their concerns haven’t been considered, and beyond being way over budget, The New Lancaster Rainbow doesn’t showcase the unique artistic culture of Lancaster.
"These rainbow tubes, they’ve done them in other parking garages in other cities. It’s not unique to our city," explained Koppenhaver.
“It’s the size of three billboards, we’re all going to have to look at it and it’s going to have to be repainted every ten years," added another artist who attended Thursday's meeting.
They say that the consistent need for long-term maintenance is also concerning.
"I don’t think it matters particularly that Benchmark is local when they’ve more than doubled the amount," said Jackie Snyder, another Lancaster-based artist. "They want at least $1.5 million and it’s entirely possible the cost could go up.”
The Parking Authority says $1.2 million of that will be covered by a bond, but it still has to figure out where to come up with the rest of the money.
"The Parking Authority has the opportunity to pull this back and I don’t know why they don’t take it," said Snyder.
The Parking Authority voted to postpone its decision on the proposed bid until a future meeting.
FOX43 reached out to the Mayor's office on Thursday morning to discuss the proposed art project but was told the mayor was unavailable for an interview.
We followed up with an email and did not hear back as of Thursday afternoon.
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