The Parks and Recreation Committee met 07/07/2025. The one action item on the agenda was a request from Hannah Ohayon, the Appleton Public Library’s current artist in resident with their Artist in Resident Program, to install a temporary sculpture in Veterans Memorial Park consisting of pinecones placed on the ground in a spiral or circular pattern. This item was already recommended for approval by the Public Arts Committee.
The Parks and Recreation Committee voted unanimously to recommend the item for approval.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Tom Flick told the committee that the sculpture was part of a community art program that involved the artist in residency doing a project with the public. He had met with Ms. Ohayon and they had gone through a couple park locations before settling on Memorial Park. He described the project thusly, “[T]hey want to use a combination of pine cones and sticks to create artwork on the ground, fully knowing that they’re at the mercy of park users, wind, animals, etc., to mess with the artwork when it’s done, and that’s completely acceptable. The point is to get the community involved in natural artwork, using public spaces and public parks, and I guess doing something fun, and that’s what this checks all the boxes for.”
He said that the Parks and Recreation Department had no problems moving forward with the project. There was no cost to the Parks and Rec Department for the project, but he could not speak to whether there was a cost to the library or the Community Development Department. At any rate, any cost seemed very low. [My assumption would be there is no extra cost other than the $600 stipend and the $250 for materials that the library pays to each quarterly artist in residence.]
Alderperson Chris Croatt (District 14) noted that the memo indicated “There are no major liability concerns” pertaining to the project. He wondered if there were non-major liability concerns. City Attorney Christopher Behrens answered, “[T]his basically sounds like people in a park engaging in a recreational activity which is typically covered by recreational immunity.”
The committee went on to vote 4-0 to recommend the item be approved.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1306654&GUID=EFA095F7-E318-417B-B488-EF17D5DB2F18
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