Brookhaven City Council has voted to redirect $400,000 from the new city hall’s art budget to pay for the construction and design of sidewalks.
Brookhaven Arts Commission members on Feb. 15 were told by Community Development Director Linda Abaray that the city hall arts budget was being reduced.
“Let me break the bad news to the ones who don’t know it. The budget for art at city hall has been cut from $450,000 to $50,000. That was a decision made by the council,” Abaray said, although the council didn’t vote on the change until March 12.
“My understanding is still that the Arts Commission will make recommendations for the artwork for the city council to decide on,” Abaray said.
The commission has a 2024 budget of approximately $150,000. Chair Kimberly Landers did not respond for comment.
Abaray said there may be other sources of money for art at city hall, which is under construction adjacent to the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe MARTA station.
Deputy City Manager Steve Chapman proposed an ordinance at the March 12 meeting to amend the Urban Redevelopment Agency budget to add a sidewalk at Chantilly Road, and to conduct an engineering study for a sidewalk at Osborne Road in Lynwood.
The Chantilly Road sidewalk was included in the Community Investment Agreement (CIA) with Emory University as part of the Executive Park rezoning effort. Emory had already agreed to pay $50,000 toward the completion of the sidewalk.
According to a city memo, additional funding was added to the Chantilly Road sidewalk project for right of way acquisition, which is currently underway.
“With this project nearing the construction phase, the council has expressed a desire to provide funding for the project to keep the project moving,” the memo states.
The memo states that a sidewalk on Osborne Road north of Windsor Parkway has been a community priority.
“The new district representative [Michael Diaz] has sought city council support to begin design and engineering activities. The $50,000 recommended in this attached ordinance will fund a portion of the sidewalk project,” according to the memo.
The city hall public art budget was established at 1% of the original construction cost of $45 million, or $450,000. The construction cost increased during the design process, but the public art budget remained at $450,000.
The motion to reduce the art budget for city hall passed unanimously without public comment or questions from city council members.
Asked how the decision was made, Mayor John Park said, “This decision was initiated by me with council support. We spent $25,000 for art at the Public Safety Building and rather than go for a ‘big name’ we wanted to focus on local artists. We also wanted to continue our focus on connectivity throughout Brookhaven. We will continue to work to reduce the overall cost as opportunities arise.”
Two months before the March 12 vote, Brookhaven Public Works Director Don Sherrill said plans were being reviewed for the Chantilly Road sidewalk project.
“Plans are in review, and in addition to that, we are in the process of doing right-of-way easement acquisition. We have extended offers on right-of-way,” Sherrill said on Jan. 9, answering Funny’s question about the status of the project. “If we can get these easements taken care of with the associations for the town homes and all that, that one will be ready to go out.”