Council approves Peterson's downtown mural

Thanks Eric for doing the right thing!! PS, I think Mr Miller had some stipulations in his will regarding the land at the County museum and it was disregarded.

Thank you Eric Yost. You did the right thing. Unfortunately others on the council saw differently. Nothing against Lance Albers, as he is talented. However the the concept of the mural with people will just be plain tacky. We might as well stick a billboard on the side of the building.

It will be great!!

Lance Albers does absolutely amazing work, and when people see the completed mural they will be very happy with it. This will really become a landmark and yet another source of pride for our city.

People quite naturally imagine the worst; maybe that's human nature. I've heard some people are concerned about "huge human faces" staring out from the mural. That is not the plan at all - every person depicted will be life size.

If you get a chance to see some of Lance's other work, you'll see that he is incredibly talented. The preliminary design sketches I've seen are terrific.

Morris, i agree that Lance is talented. I have actually been a student of his a few years ago and have been actively involved with art my whole life. The sketch is fine... nothing overly spectacular, but good enough for Mayberry.
The point is rather clear... those that have been chosen as representatives of the community are not worthy of decorating the side of a public building in the form of a mural. The idea of the mural is ok ... but the subject matter and how it is arranged is questionable. I find it as many others will once it is up to be somewhat tacky.
Good one mayor Cook... you better have a legend with this project as few if any will ever possibly know who is staring out from the edges of the scene.
I hardly think this will become a landmark... better chance it will become an eye-sore.
I am glad that it will be maintained in the future... now if we can find someone to maintain and dig out the dead carp from the rock dam, (Hutchinson's last brain storm of a landmark)

I guess we'll all know come March!!

You kind of resemble waldo wendy. It even sounds good together.

Don't we have some guys playing pro football? What about them? The audience for WNBA is very small compared to that. What about leaders of industry or scientists? Make suggestions people. Too early to honor a 27-28 year old in the WNBA. I am guessing her approximate age as she is a year older than my daughter. Honestly, does anyone know the name of her team and can you name another player in the WNBA? I think the mural has potential but I still believe it should be more generic. How crazy is it that people will be on there and a legend is needed to know who they are?

I hope everyone gets to watch the city council meeting... Because there you have it, a way to solve the economy problem in Hutchinson… According to Lance the mural in Cokato “helped increase the economy of the downtown…most certainly did bring money to the community…positive impact.”

Problem solved- no tax increase or 50 cents added to our water bills.YEAH

When Lance talks about the fluidness of the mural--it starts out forward then goes back then out then in…looks very 3D. WHEEEW I have to stop its making me dizzy. Earlier in the city council meeting,he says that no one has said my stuff is crap “and if people came out in outrage – this is just crap – lets tear it down –I wouldn’t have any problem with that.”Okay then...

Motion passes 4 to 1…Thanks Eric! keep speaking up for your town!!!

I do not want MY favorite person on this mural I do not want ANYONES favorite people on the mural. Like you say Rick, where would you stop- there isn’t a building big enough- so don’t start. A historic look back is all we need to see where we are!

Can you say "dam area" on this forum?

You are right, downtown will never be the same, and I like that idea of putting a quarter in the Hutchinson Brothers to make them sing ...Here's to sister LA LA LA...AND Yeah! more income for downtown!

Call the council members to let them know how you feel about the project. I don't think they care what is written here. They were asked to postpone their vote which they ignored . Turn the heat up on them if you are not happy with their vote.
They said it is not a safety issue, but the traffic there already bottlenecks. Having people trying to look at a mural instead of paying attention to merging and driving doesn't seem the smartest.

Putting ANY sports figure in the mural makes me want to vomit. I don't care if Michael Jordan was from Hutchinson. I don't care if "Hutchinson" is mentioned during a game. WHO CARES??? What does that do for the people of Hutchinson?? Like Uncle Ted said above, teachers and 4-H leaders are the real heroes and the ones we should remember. Or how about EMT's, police officers or firefighters?? They put their life on the line everyday. Maybe the next time an EMT responds to a call, they should tell the person having a heart attack that they're a native of Hutchinson. Maybe they could get on the wall then. The whole mural thing is ridiculous, stupid, tacky. I could go on and on, but I won't. I'm going to get my puke bag ready.

I second your choices, Pinsiskin. Yost gets my vote because he's the ounce of common sense on the council. I thought the mayor had a pair but he buckled when it was time to say "no" to a former member of the club. Beans is an interesting choice. Yes, he epitomizes the entire essence of the wall. Although Lance has indicated the people on the mural will be life size, hopefully he will make an exception with our favorite clown. In this case, Beans has clearly taken on a "larger than life" persona.

Brilliant! Just1, you are Brilliant! Brilliant!

Maybe the council should consider that Hutchinson has more than one entrance. Since we have a somewhat cohesive design for our "gateway" entrance (sans the view blocking LARGE RED building) maybe they should leave it be and consider how to fancy up the back door to town. Possibly consider the side of Target or Menards for their mural. I read many are not thrilled with the idea of Lindsay on a wall, but when you think of it maybe we owe her that. Hutchinson did not recognize,let alone appreciate her talent while she was here. It took coaches at the U of M to do that. Not enough name recognition at the time to be bothered with, I would bet. Would someone tell the mayor the first rule of putting someone on the side of a wall should be "recognition value". If you need a sign to explain the sign the "art" didn't do its job. I also need to take exception with the posting telling us we need to be cultured by bringing art to those of us who choose NOT to enter a gallery. When and if I decided I want art in my life I will seek art out. It IS NOT yours or anyone else's job to thrust it upon me. The presumption that I NEED art in my daily experience is insulting. As I travel through many smaller towns I do see these murals here and there and have appreciated them. I never considered, until now, what it would be like to face a stagnant colossal mural day after day. I am thinking, for those of us who may travel Main street every day, this mural is going to get old VERY QUICKLY. Some how the assurance it is remembered in a will and will be kept up eternally is not comforting.

arcy,
You are wrong... Whalen was very much appreciated and her talents were noticed. It just so happened that she did not have a wealth of talented teammates. She was and continues to be a great person. She was treated very well by her coaches and by those in the community.

Has an approved conditional use permit ever been rejected after it has been approved. Could it be petitioned for a reversal?
Possibly, Ms Peterson May not even want to continue after reading these posts. The council approved it, which would have been an easy out for her. Everyone assumes she wants to continue, but she may be looking for a way to save face also. She possibly had no idea we wouldn't share her vision.

I happen to like Lester buildings. Better than cheesy murals, anyway. The mural in Kimball is ok. The one in Royalton is even better - a wildlife scene if my memory serves me correct. But local "celebrities"? Its like Hutch has some kind of inferiority complex. "Look at us. We've got famous people." Something of historic reference, maybe. I like Terry's railroad suggestion. But lets stay away from the local hero worship.

Thank you mayor Cook for adding your comments to this forum. My three main concerns in order of importance:

1. The lack of input allowed among the citizens for such a major change to the signature location of Hutchinson. The council seemed unaware of the impact and importance a mural at that location could have to the image of this city. You can see from the amount of responses to this article that many people take the appearance of their city very personally.
2. A mural at the proposed location will be inappropriate with the natural surroundings. I feel that almost any outdoor mural is “tacky”, but I recognize that is a subjective opinion. I know that Lance is a fine artist, but the location and form will trump the quality of the painting in a very negative way.
3. Painting specific people will inevitably generate strong opinions and will not be resolved without hard feelings, especially since we have not had any particular citizens stand out above others in extremely substantial ways. The only candidates that everyone might agree on would be the founding fathers who already have a statue. You can say that Lindsay will just represent the achievements of the youth, but that is not what people will see. They will see Lindsay.

That said, I am not trying to treat any person with disrespect. I know that Kay has the best of intentions, that Lance is a fine artist, and there have been many admirable people that have lived in this fine city.

Sounds like some people need to keep themselves a little better informed and sooner rather than later, especially if they know they may be opposed to most things? Had your chance for public comment before the decisions were made!

We are getting an excellent (local) history lesson though! More like memory lane,for some. I'm starting to feel aged, as I recall all of the events discussed here, outside of the Hutchinson Brothers, of course:). My favorite was watching Viola walk her dog in her bathing suit on main street, in January (Maybe February)!! It was great fun for all the kids on the bus, as we were going home from school!

Well WENDY, I do keep myself informed about the things that I feel strongly about and disagree with..........and this does not fit into that category. I personally think that this is a worthwhile project and I commend Kay for spearheading it!

I said what I did because I feel that this is a typical "hot-button" issue with this town and this website blog and people come out of the woodwork (all 5-10 of ya on this blog that seem to disagree with just about everything) disagreeing with everything that has to do with said project (doesn't matter what the topic is!)after key decisions have been made! Then they gripe because they say they did not hear about until it is too late and say that they should have been notified sooner? Something is wrong there? Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that there were only 2 people that voiced their opinion at the coucil meeting before this was voted on.........a far cry from an overwhelming majority to say the least! Now do I believe that the council members may have heard personally from some people face to face or over the phone, yes, but obviously not from enough people to change their vote!

About your discussion with the council person you say told you that he disagreed with the concept, I don't know what to tell you? Refer back to my earlier comment about not hearing from enough people to make a difference (you are obviously not the only person out there that matters), or maybe he had just heard enough from you and wanted to tend to other business and make you feel appreciated! Doesn't matter to anyone but yourself, and if you feel like you were let down, so be it, but I guarantee life will go on, albeit with a little more art work in your life.

This topic will soon go away, just like all the other travesties concerning local government/schools have in the past, and everyone will move on to the next big thing, but maybe-just maybe some people will keep themselves well enough informed to possibly have their opinion change the outcome on some issue, rather than keeping this merry-go-round going round and round and round. Better luck next time. Again thanks Kay for your hard work regarding this project!

It isn't Peterson's or Albers' intention to paint the mural directly on the building wall. It will be painted on panels of a fiberglass reinforced plastic resin and attached to the building so that they can actually be removed at some point if need be. Much of that was explained in the Leader's May 21 print edition following the Planning Commission meeting.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)

You have to start at the top of this thread. Traffic problems have already been discussed. We still need to cover the following:

1. Property values declining because of such an eye sore.
2. Speeding to get by the ugly mural (Add that to "Traffic")
3. Hazards of property damage (or brain damage) if the mural falls during a high wind.
4. Declining population in Hutchinson due to an extremely controversial project.
5. Disappointed birds as they realize they cannot perch on the Hutchinson Brothers heads.
6. I also heard if it goes up GM will lose 20,000 jobs, and close 14 plants (That's just a rumor, I think).

Cover the building side in mirrors, it will reflect the river, sanctuary, and if Lindsay, Jake the dog, or anyone else stand in front of the mirror they won't be disapointed that they got left off. No need for toxic paint.