todd.jackson@roanoke.com 981-3253

Roanoke's latest battle over public art made its way to city hall Monday.

JRD Art - made up of artist Judith Damon and her husband Herb Detweiler - is preparing to create a bronze "Unity" sculpture that it wants to donate to the city after $250,000 to $275,000 is raised privately to pay for it. The city Arts Commission recommended that the sculpture, if completed, be placed at the crest of the hill in Elmwood Park, near the main library branch's courtyard.

From there, the debate begins.

The city council was scheduled to vote Monday on the commission's site recommendation for the sculpture - a 10-foot-tall globe with children dancing around it. But the council delayed a vote and shoved the issue into City Manager Darlene Burcham's lap after Damon and Detweiler let the council know that they aren't happy with the recommended site.

The location behind the library doesn't provide good sight lines and will hamper fund raising for the sculpture, Detweiler said.

"If you have no spot to sell, then you can't sell it," he said.

Detweiler offered two alternative locations: one relatively close to the site now in dispute; and a "most ideal" spot near the busy intersection of Elm Avenue and Jefferson Street.

In an interview after the council addressed the matter, Arts Commission Chairman Mark McConnel produced a letter Detweiler wrote in February in which he accepted, albeit hesitantly, the commission's preferred location. Its site selection committee picked the spot after spending months studying possible sites.

McConnel said he assumed the deal was done. After hearing Detweiler's remarks Monday, McConnel was unfazed and said he believes the recommended site is the best place for JRD's sculpture. He said the site at the corner of Elm and Jefferson is one of the best potential locations for public art in the city and is too prominent for a piece like the "Unity" sculpture.

But McConnel added that the Arts Commission remains supportive of the sculpture and has no problems with its merit.

Detweiler confirmed Monday that he wrote the February letter, but said he did so under duress due to the way he and his wife have been treated by the commission. Detweiler said the commission waited for months to inform JRD Art about the decision on a site. He said he and his wife then had only about two weeks in February to agree or disagree with the commission's position.

"It's just a darn shame that art matters should become so politicized," said Detweiler, who first proposed two years ago that the sculpture be sited next to downtown's Wachovia Tower.

Roanoke has a long history of drawn-out conflicts over public art. A Sister Cities art project was debated for years and still isn't finished although a site has been selected for it downtown.

In other items from Monday's meeting, the council:

Approved a $3,000 settlement with the state over waste improperly buried on city property north of Orange Avenue that's being considered for a new stadium and amphitheater. Councilman Rupert Cutler said the city followed state regulations to properly clean the site, which is now "clean as a whistle."

Changed the city code to eliminate a March 10 date that the council had formerly used as a deadline for school board applicants. City Attorney Bill Hackworth recommended the change after the council extended the deadline this year to get more applicants to apply - even though more than enough people had already filed. One of the applicants who applied prior to March 10, Bob Craig, has chastised the city for its handling of the matter.