Despite receiving a smaller grant award from the N.C. Arts Council than applied for, the Waynesville Public Art Committee is one step closer to designing a plan to institute a permanent art trail in the downtown area.

The concept of a permanent public art program was developed when public works officials determined that the town’s StreetScapes program — a rotating public art exhibit to which artists submitted works for selection on a yearly basis — was no longer viable. The town, said Public Works Director Fred Baker, was losing money as more was being spent to publicize and maintain the works than was being generated from their sale.

A permanent public art program would create a trail, similar to that in Asheville, of larger, purchased works. The trail would most likely incorporate the existing art works the town already owns, such as Grace Cathey’s metal piece depicting bears that is located in front of town hall. The first phase of the trail would run through downtown Waynesville, with the possibility of expanding into outlying regions.

Waynesville’s Public Art Committee decided Thursday (Sept. 2) to hire the executive director of the Cary Visual Art Center, Laura Coats Harrar, to serve as the committee’s public art consultant and develop a master plan for a public art trail. The plan will include the committee’s stated goals for the public art initiative and recommendations for implementation, as well as sample contracts, budgets and descriptions of model projects. Harrar’s fee is $6,000.

“You’re buying her reputation for not falling on her face elsewhere,” Baker said.

Harrar previously served as a consultant to the Burlington Downtown Corporation and an advisor to the Town of Cary in its development of public art plans. She is on a select list of arts consultants pre-approved by the N.C. Arts Council for use in the expenditure of awarded grants.

While the Waynesville Public Art Committee must use an approved consultant, costs are raised by the consultants’ travel fees. Most live in the Raleigh area where the council is based, said Ron Huelster, executive director of the Downtown Waynesville Association and a committee member.

Harrar’s travel costs alone amounted to $550.

The committee applied for a $5,000 grant from the N.C. Arts Council, plus a $1,000 match, to cover Harrar’s costs; however, only $3,000 was awarded. The smaller grant award presented a financial hurdle.

“Well, are we still excited about this?” Haywood Community College crafts program instructor Catharine Ellis asked her fellow committee members.

“Her fee is a majority of the issue,” Joan Ruth said.

Rather than search for another consultant, committee members decided to renegotiate Harrar’s contract based on a $4,000 budget, cutting down on in-person meetings. Harrar also agreed to lower her base fee, Huelster said.

As a result, the committee and Harrar would pack more activity into a single trip, with Harrar arriving on an undetermined Wednesday evening, touring Waynesville Thursday morning, holding a community planning forum Thursday evening and a wrap-up discussion with committee members on Friday.

“We’re going to get out of it what we put into it,” Huelster said, regarding the committee’s own work and ability to provide Harrar with needed documents and materials throughout the planning process.

Committee members approved the renegotiated $4,000 budget and decided to hold the forum at 7 p.m., Oct. 28, in town hall.