The concrete facade at R.E. Olds Park need to be repaired, according to officials, delaying the City of Oldsmar’s first public art project.
When the Oldsmar City Council voted to approve the city’s first public art project in January, officials stated they wanted to have artist Lakeema Matthew’s colorful mural painted at R.E. Olds Park in time for the Oldsmar Days centennial celebration in April.
Thanks to an unforeseen setback, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
A structural issue with the concrete columns that bookend the park’s bandshell has put a halt to the project before it even started, leaving the artist, and the start of the project, in limbo.
“The blocks are separating, and they’ve got some water in it,” City Leisure Services Director Lynn Rives explained at the conclusion of the Feb. 16 council meeting.
“So what they’re gonna do is bring them them back together, and they’re gonna pin them.”
Rives said that after a structural engineer provided an estimate, the city would hire a contractor to repair the damage.
The news was met with disappointment by Council member Linda Norris, who almost single-handedly willed this project into existence, thanks to her passion for public art and her insistence on sticking with a partnership with USF despite numerous setbacks.
“It stinks because ‘Keema is all ready to go,” Norris recently told Oldsmar Connect. “She has all the paint and the equipment and she’s been eager to start the project.”
“And I’ve been ready to help her, since I’m about to term out of office next month,” she added. “I’ve been looking forward to having something to help occupy my free time and keep my mind off not being on the council anymore.”
Norris added she is not sure when work can begin since officials aren’t even sure how long it will take to repair the columns.
But, ever the optimist, she did find a silver lining in the gloomy news.
“It’s better we found out about this now, before ‘Keema started to paint, rather than after the project was completed,” Norris said. “I would hate to see the project fall apart after all the hard work that has gone into it.”
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