$82,000 for art in the new Transit Center?
We were doing research after yesterday’s visit to the Kimball Junction Transit Center. We happened upon the following document on Summit County’s website.
It appears the County has agreed to pay up to $82,000 for artwork for the new Kimball Junction Transit Center. We freely admit that we are not art aficionados and we’ve have taken enough art classes throughout our lives to know that art is in the eye of the beholder. Still, eighty thousand dollars for art in a transit center seems over the top. So, what are they planning?
According to Park City Magazine, “Inside the transit center, riders are greeted by an interactive wall display made up of images informed by the viewer’s actions, captured and translated in real time by a movement sensor…Outside, transit riders will find a series of aluminum sculptures adorning the center’s six bus shelters.”
We suppose that all sounds great… again each to their own on art. Then the Park City Magazine article reminds us of why we are skeptical. It says, “When members of the Summit County Public Art Board decided two years ago to include a budget for a public art installation, their goal was to create a piece that would stimulate ridership on public transit.” They believe this $80,000 “investment” in art will stimulate ridership?
We’ve been to Moscow, where every subway station is an ornate piece of artwork. Did this encourage us to ride the train more often? No. We only road it if it was more convenient.
Will a combination of a projector, a screen, motion sensors, and some aluminum placards help fix our transportation issues? We suppose we won’t know until mid January when it is released. However, we would guess that long-term impacts are minimal.
$82,000 seems like a lot to spend on artwork for a transit center that few people will ever see.
$82,000 is a couple of teachers. $82,000 is a couple of bus drivers (or raises for the existing drivers). $82,000 is a lot of road repairs $82,000 is real money.
We don’t begrudge the art. We’re actually excited to see what they come up with as a part of this project (the technology sounds very interesting). However, the fact that the county is willing to spend eighty two grand for art at the transit center seems excessive.
It seems like money that could be spent in a much better way to solve our problems.
Parkrag
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3 Comments
Actually, including the rising costs of benefits, that $82k is only about 1 teacher.
The healthcare line item in the PCSD budget is nuts.
-W
You should think about changing your site to the Park Rant as that is all you do these days is complain.
First, I bet you drove your car to the transit center and parked at the library to take a look at the new transit center instead of taking the bus.
You have a post about three posts down complaining about traffic, and when the City/County work on something toward a solution, you gripe about it.
If you cared to dig in a little further, you would understand that the majority of the transit center was paid with federal dollars, not local.
Both the City and the County allocate a very small portion of the general fund to public art, as it is deemed by the citizens important to the community.
Instead of ranting here, where have you been? Very little of you show up for budget hearings where you have an opportunity to tell the city and county councils that you do not want art in the budget.
Walt, you equate 82k to a teach salary, but how would you even take 82k from the city or county and give that to the school district? You can’t. Its not possible.
I have never live somewhere that the people make it a hobby to complain so much about EVERYTHING.
Pick a category, and there is someone sitting behind their computer or iPhone ready to fire off a complaint. But VERY little of you will show up or step up to help.
Josh, you used to show up to meetings, but now all you do is wait for cynical Tom Clyde to stir something up, NextDoor to start ranting, or for someone to send you an iPhone photo of traffic on Black Friday. (that one made me laugh, of course it is going to be busy)
Oh, and let me just warn you now, Christmas week is going to have traffic here and Sundance will to. Lets rant about that too. Go ahead and pre-write those articles.
And Josh, stop saying “we” at the Park Rant as we all know it is just you.
Who is the “we”? You and your dogs?
Good Things-
They say, “don’t feed the trolls” but it’s Christmas, so what the heck. Some of the things you bring up, I think deserve an answer. So, here you go.
Q: Why am I so critical?
A: It’s a need not being served in the community. If you read the Park Record, it rarely (if ever) brings up anything controversial. They are a fine local newspaper but it seems their job is to provide base news, support local businesses, real estate, and the tourism. They do that well. However, I think there is more to say than “Everything is awesome.”
Q: Did I drive to the the transit center?
A: Hell yes. I’ve been interviewed in the Park Record and said I would not be riding the bus. So, there is no illusion there. Did I take my E-bike almost everywhere this summer? Yes. I put my money, time, and sometimes safety behind something the city and county say they want (multi-modal transportation). Riding my bike, actually seeing our beautiful area, smelling the smells, and stopping and looking at things of interest actually fits my style. Taking a bus that takes twice as long doesn’t, and never will, fit me.
Q: Do you think I didn’t dig in and know that part of the transit center was paid for by federal dollars?
A: We got a grant for $1.7 million from the federal government for this. First question, do you pay taxes? If so, then your federal taxes paid for that grant. Second question, are you sure the transit center hasn’t cost more than $3.4 million? Third question, after they add parking, solar, and all the other upgrades there do you think “a majority” of money will still be from federal sources. Fourth question, and the best, do you think the transit center will make a dent in our transportation issues?
Q: Why am I not at every meeting anymore and don’t I understand that the city and county are trying to solve our problems?
A: You said I don’t show up to county meetings any more. I’m sorry I could only devote about 2 years of my life to sitting through 6 or 7 hours of county meetings (just because. I wanted to learn and I enjoyed it… but for no money) every week. Now, I go when I need to and read minutes when I can. Maybe some day I won’t have to work for living and can go to every meeting again. For now, I’ll just say on transportation, I spent about two hours with the city and county transportation managers on the topic. They said that if the sales tax was implemented we wouldn’t start to see money until March 2017 and then I assume it would take time to implement their solutions. So, I’m not critical of them. I personally like them and know they are trying. They have time to show that they can solve our problems. I wouldn’t even think of being critical until 2018 of transportation plans (hopefully I won’t need to be). That gives them time to show progress. However, if you don’t think that the decisions our government has made to increase economic activity have impacted our traffic levels, I think you are too close to it. I’ll continue to point that out.
Q: Am I an idiot for pointing out that $82K could pay for a couple of teachers? Is Walt an Idiot too?
A: I am not an idiot and think that the county pays for teachers. I’ve never met Walt but I can tell from his comments he isn’t either. So, here is how the county could pay for teachers. They could donate $82,000 to the Park City Educational Foundation… then I believe that money could be used for education and free up funds to pay for two extra teachers… or perhaps one teacher as Walt points out.
Q: Am I the only one who writes for the Park Rag?
A: No. We have a few people who write articles. I appreciate your condescending nature. What was your real name again? I put my REAL NAME name out there on every article (whether I write it or not). The thing is that many people are afraid to put their names behind something. I wish it wasn’t so, but experience shows me Park City can be a vindictive town.
Q: Why don’t you change your name to Park Rant?
A: The great thing about the Internet is that you don’t have to read the Park Rag. But something tells me that something in this article hit a little too close to home. That tells me we are doing our job.
Listen, I don’t have any misconception that I am always right. I don’t have an illusion that what we write always has perfect information. That said, I hope what WE publish makes people think. In my opinion, if we are going to spend $80K on art, put it somewhere that will be seen.
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