Councilman seeks $20,000 for sculpture

Work toward installing a “life size and a half” statue in the Mining Memorial Park near the Green River Visitors Center may get a $20,000 from the Green River City Council.

Last night, discussion about the proposed sculpture depicting two miners coming out of a mine, titled “Shift Change,” occurred when Councilman Gary Killpack mentioned the statue, saying he was approached by members of the Green River Arts Council seeking the money to help continue work on the statue.

According to Katie Duncombe, the city’s liaison to the arts board, a $15,000 payment was already made to the sculptor to have the statue started, but needed another $20,000 to get the sculptor to start building.

The arts council is attempting to raise funds by selling moquettes of the statue, along with personalized bricks and pavers to be placed at the mining park. They’re also soliciting donations from area businesses to help cover the statue’s cost.

Duncombe said the arts council still has $20,000 in their Community Chest account, which when used with the potential $20,000 from the city, would leave roughly $47,000 left to raise. Killpack’s suggestion involves having the City Administrator Chris Steffen draft a resolution to place $20,000 in the art council’s account for the city council’s first December meeting. Killpack also suggested a contract be drafted between the city and the arts council.

Other members of the city council gave vocal agreement to Killpack’s suggestion. Councilman Tom McCullough suggested future councils could decide to provide more funds if they thought it necessary.

The “Shift Change” sculpture was originally created by local artist Bryan Cordova and was selected for placement in the mining park during the Art on the Green festival in August.

The sculpture depicts an older miner leading a younger miner out of a mine.

Killpack also suggested the city could provide half the funds needed to build the sculpture due to the difficulty involved in raising funds.

“It’s hard to raise that kind of money,” Killpack said.