Council expresses frustration with public art installation delays

A group of local artists will receive a sixth deadline extension to complete a tile mosaic in a West St. Petersburg park.

In August 2022, the Public Arts Commission tapped Artonomy LLC to create the 800-square-foot “Sunshine City Mosaic” on a sidewalk in Sunset Park. Officials poured the concrete backdrop in April 2023, and the artists began designing 15,000 pieces of tile the following month.

Artonomy was initially going to complete the installation at 7400 Central Ave. by December 2023.

“This is an awesome project, and I’m so pumped to have this in District 1,” said Council Chair Copley Gerdes at the May 15 council meeting. “We do not have anything like this, and it drives me nuts to drive by it and see a bare sidewalk in the middle of a park.” City council members begrudgingly agreed to offer the group additional time.

The public art installation features 15,000 tile pieces.

Artonomy received its second 90-day extension in March 2024. The group, consisting of Laura Spencer, Alex Kaufman and George Retkes, received additional time in November and December.

The city has paid the artists $40,000 of their $50,000 contract, which terminated in January. Artonomy has continued working on the project, and council members approved a two-week design and fabrication extension March 6.

The most recent agreement required the artists to complete the project by May 1. However, they now need until at least July 31 due to continued unforeseen circumstances.

Councilmember Gina Driscoll noted that the latest design and fabrication deadline was March 30, and the city will not have another council meeting until after that date. “Last minute is never fun,” she said.

“This is such a beautiful project – I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished. So, let’s finish.”

Spencer said she and her colleagues have other full-time jobs as artists. Kaufman and Retkes work for MGA Sculpture Studios, which supplies a precision water jet to cut the tile.

Artonomy can only use the equipment after the studio’s daily operating hours. The tool was offline for months, which “put a significant hindrance on the process,” Spencer said.

She explained that the 2024 hurricane season also disrupted the 172-foot-long installation, as the three had “very intense individual needs to help our families recover.” Their initial, two-year-old timeline was overly optimistic for such an “ambitious” project.

Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz offered more pointed remarks regarding their sixth request for more time. “You cannot wait until the last minute when there is a date in a contract,” she said.

“When you’re asking for extensions after the fact, the other party loses faith as to what happened,” Hanewicz continued. “We want to have faith that you’re going to get it done, and that’s the problem.”

The artists said the project is 98% complete and believe they can meet a July 31 deadline. They also noted that rain and other unforeseen circumstances could continue causing delays.

The project is at 7400 Central Ave. in West St. Petersburg.

Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders said this would be the last extension she approved. She also expressed concern over the precedent officials have set with repeated contract amendments.

James Corbett, city development administrator, wanted to wait for more certainty before agreeing to a new deadline. He also opposed subsequent extensions and said the artists would not receive the remaining $10,000 unless they completed the installation.

Gerdes noted gaps in Artonomy’s timeline after the project was already significantly behind schedule, including over three months without the tile cutter and a month when the team was unavailable. “I get that you have jobs … I have two,” he said.

“No one will be smiling larger than me when we reveal this thing in District 1,” Gerdes added. “So, please do not let my frustration downplay how excited I am, and the work that you’ve done – it’s beautiful.”

Gerdes stressed that “we have to be better than this,” and expressed faith that officials and artists could mutually agree on a new, final deadline. Corbett will discuss a final timeline with Artonomy and present another amended contract to the council June 5.