The Santa Clarita City Council is now asking the city’s Arts Commission to weigh in on a call for three statues to honor local first responders at a recreational area.
“We’re asking them to look at the project and either bless it or come up with something else,” said Mayor Bill Miranda, summarizing the council’s position Tuesday on city staff’s proposed plans for the first-responder statues.
Miranda first pitched the idea during council member comments in the Jan. 28 City Council meeting, saying he was inspired by the Nevada Firefighter Memorial in Carson City, Nevada, during a recent vacation there.
The initial concept for discussion Tuesday was for two life-sized bronze sculptures on pedestals, one a firefighter and the other a sheriff’s deputy, representing SCV’s first responders. After the council discussion Tuesday, they agreed to add a third, an emergency medical technician.
The council members said they didn’t want to be dismissive of anyone, but made the decision during the discussion not to include the California Highway Patrol.
City Manager Ken Striplin said the council’s direction to staff was to research other examples of art that honors first responders, put together some options and potential costs associated and then present them to the City Council.
Striplin also said two sculptures were in the budget at approximately $60,000 per, but a third could be added — he would just need that direction from them for staff. Striplin also said staff did not have a lot of direction initially, in response to questions from Councilwoman Marsha McLean about the look of the bronze examples used as a starting point.
That’s what prompted McLean to seek input from the Arts Commission.
Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste praised the location choice, between the skate park and the activities center off Centre Pointe Parkway.
“I really like the location that staff picked,” said Weste. “I think it makes a great opportunity for the public to see it, and when you have certain events, to be able to enjoy it.”
The city contacted Brodin Studios in Minnesota for its statue estimates, according to a presentation from Phil Lantis, arts and events director for the city of Santa Clarita. Brodin specializes in creating statues like the ones the city is seeking with the use of prefabricated “templates,” he added, which are then customized toward local specifications.
Lantis said this strategy resulted in a cost estimate equal to half what it would cost to commission the statues from scratch. The estimate for two of them ended up being about $40,000 to $60,000 less than the ones Miranda saw in Nevada, which were done by Austin Weishel of Honorable Sculptures Inc.
Addressing McLean’s concern, Lantis was confident that a more specific rendering could be negotiated with the artist for a fee. He added that the completion of the project is expected to take about 12 to 14 months from the time the authorization is given.
