With Councillor Neil Krog appearing just in time to allow quorum, Grand Forks city council met Friday morning at a special meeting to discuss the mural project.
With a much lower cost than originally proposed, city council unanimously approved the mural project.
Benson Musaev of the mural committee presented council with a $6,000 total budget for the mural which will cover four sides of two buildings (washroom and lift station) at City Park. The original cost was set at $20,000.
“They had originally included some fees to the artists which they removed from the budget,” said Mayor Brian Taylor. “That was the understanding from the beginning—that it would be done voluntarily. We really appreciate the volunteer part of it.”
Taylor said many council members objected to the original cost which included payment to the artists.
Taylor said he expects the artists to begin the mural project immediately. “I think they’re going to get started as soon as they can,” he said. “We’re talking about this meeting, this special meeting, which was called because they didn’t want to wait.”
The artists are expected to have the drawings ready for council approval at the next council meeting, which is on Aug. 18.