A structural issue with the concrete facades at R.E. Olds Park has continued to keep Oldsmar’s first public art project on indefinite hold.
When the Oldsmar City Council approved the city’s first public art project in January, officials had hoped the project would be completed in time for the city’s special centennial edition of its annual Oldsmar Days festival at the beginning of April.
Yet here we are three weeks later, and USF artist Lakeema Matthew has yet to apply one brushstroke towards her colorful mural, which will depict important people and images from Oldsmar’s 100-year history.
It isn’t a lack of effort on anyone’s part that’s keeping the city’s first public art project from getting off the ground, but a structural defect with the concrete facades at the waterfront facility.
“The blocks are separating, and they’ve got some water in it,” Leisure Services Director Lynn Rives explained during the city council meeting on Feb. 16. “So what they’re gonna do is bring them back together, and they’re gonna pin them.”
When he was asked for an update on the status of the repairs this week, City Manager Bruce Haddock reported that officials have not yet been able to find someone that’s able to fix the problem.
“We’ve had a difficult time finding a contractor that can do the repairs to those walls,” Haddock said during the City Council meeting on Tuesday night.
“The first contractor thought he could, and I think when he came out and looked at the job he said, oh, I don’t think I can do this. So we need to find someone who can execute that plan.”
The unforeseen delay has been disappointing to not only Matthew, but to the person who played a major role in bringing the project to life, former City Council member Linda Norris.
Norris, who termed out of office in March, said Matthew has been ready to go since getting the green light.
“She already bought the paint, supplies and materials needed to do the job, and now she’s just waiting to get the word that she can start,” Norris told Oldsmar Connect on Friday.
“She knows this is going to be a career building job for her, so she hasn’t tried to find any other work because she wants to be able to start the mural at a moment’s notice.”
Norris, who took Matthew into her home when she was hired for the job, said she recently learned the project might be back on track sooner than expected.
“I talked to Bruce after the meeting, and he said if the contractor they are talking to now can’t do the job, they’re going to get city employees to do the work under the supervision of the structural engineer,” she said.
“So the good news is, they have a backup plan.”
Norris also revealed that as they wait out the park repairs, she has a special project for Matthew to work on that will keep her occupied in the interim.
“Lakeema’s going to start working on a project to paint a mural on the side of my barn,” she said, adding, “influential people from Oldsmar will be depicted as spirit animals in the mural.”
“She’s like a daughter to me, and I’m trying to support her any way I can,” Norris said of the 26-year-old Matthew.
“She has a strong faith in God, and she knows there’s nothing she can do about this delay. It is what it is. But we’re trying to make the best of it.”
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