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Another wall for September mural festival?
Even as the artists for the upcoming Putnam County Mural Festival were being unveiled, festival organizers were thinking of a way to make the project bigger.
While nothing is set in stone (or even high-quality, durable latex for that matter) progress is being made on possibly adding a sixth wall to the festival.
And the additional wall could coincide with and commemorate the county’s 200th anniversary.
So goes a proposal for the Putnam County Commissioners from the Putnam County Mural Project, as laid out during their Monday meeting.
Chris Flegal, one of the volunteers spearheadng the Putnam County Mural Project, explained that the festival is set for Sept. 11-24, with a block party planned in the open space west of the Putnam County Convention and Visitors Bureau (12 W. Washington St.) on Friday, Sept. 23.
While that party will be right under the new CVB mural as well as within walking distance of the Banner Graphic mural, why not add a third new mural in downtown Greencastle?
Flegal said he has been in talks with Phil Asbell, owner of Dick’s Barbershop, about adding the west wall of his building at 1 E. Franklin St. to the upcoming mural festival.
Mural Project organizers also hope this can dovetail nicely into a celebration of Putnam County history with a mural that celebrates that history.
“Let the Putnam County Mural Project help you celebrate the bicentennial,” Flegal said.
Putnam County was founded in 1822, and the Commissioners have been talking since late last year about ways to commemorate the county’s 200th anniversary, but no concrete plans have come to fruition just yet. However, they have set aside $30,000 from the 2022 EDIT Plan for such a celebration.
“If we are able to really take this as an opportunity to add a sixth mural, would the county be willing to use some of this earmarked funding?” Flegal asked.
He estimated that between wall preparation, supplies and paying an artist, the cost would be about $15,000 for the wall.
Finding an artist should not be a major concern, as more than 100 artists applied for the festival, and six were chosen (two are working in tandem on one of the walls).
Rather than fully giving the selected artist free rein over the design of the wall, the content would be curated through a lens of county history, perhaps utilizing images or artifacts through the Putnam County Museum and DePauw University Archives.
“This could be a really good opportunity to have a lasting impact,” Flegal said.
While the Commissioners made no decision on partnering or funding during Monday’s meeting, they plan to have a decision by their meeting on Monday, June 21.
Outside of Greencastle, the inaugural Putnam County Mural Festival will include walls at Off the Rails Event Center in Roachdale, the Roachdale Community Park Building and Tom’s Cookies in Fillmore.
The Putnam County Mural Project got its start in 2019 with the installation of one of Indiana’s largest murals on a canvas of silos at S&W Feed Center on Greencastle’s South Side.
Flegal’s proposal wasn’t the only time murals were discussed during Monday’s meeting.
Earlier, Eric Freeman had come before the Commissioners representing the Putnam County Parks Board.
Freeman noted that there are currently eight murals at various locations throughout the county, with five (or perhaps six) set to be added this fall.
He was asking the Commissioners to consider that these murals might be considered county “parks.” He noted that this is not in the sense of owning the land or buildings, but simply having responsibility for the murals themselves.
As such, the murals could be protected under the insurance of the Parks Department, in the same way as other properties in its purview.
Similarly, Freeman also requested that the Parks Department have oversight of the county’s nine covered bridges. Like the murals, this would not mean ownership, but would simply make the Parks Board and Friends of the Park in charge of care and maintenance around the bridges.
“The county still owns the bridges, the Parks Board just becomes the point people,” Freeman said.
At this point, County Engineer/Highway Superintendent Jim Peck spoke up, noting that this issue is a bit thornier, as care for the covered bridges — particularly the eight that still bear traffic — is his department’s responsibility.
“If you’re looking at grants for getting funding to repair these, that’s great,” Peck said.
However, Peck has already noted to the Commissioners that the county has a high number of bridges that are considered to be in suboptimal condition, so covered bridges are not the only thing of concern with the county’s limited bridge budget.
He also noted that large, modern vehicles — such as the semis that have damaged several of Putnam’s covered bridges in the past — put a strain on these structures that were built a century ago or more.
“These are very historic structures and we take a lot of pride in them in the county. But people are just assuming they are built for these types of loads, and they are not,” Peck said. “From an engineering standpoint, we’d still be involved.”
Freeman assured Peck and the Commissioners that taking county officials out of the loop was not the aim, simply focusing on the bridges and perhaps giving the area around them a little TLC.
“We’re just trying to be helpful,” Freeman said. “We’re not trying to grab anything.”
These matters will be considered at upcoming Commissioners meetings.