On September 13, the Salida Public Art Commission hosted a public input meeting to collect ideas for the upcoming “Spirit of Salida” project. The project site is the old skatepark located at First and G Street. During the meeting, community members were asked to share their likes, dislikes, and conceptual ideas for the project.
T.J. Hittle, the landscape architect chosen by the commission and approved by city council, set up five boards around the room with conceptual ideas based on the Commission’s intentions for the project. These include:
Community members, the Salida Public Art Commission and City staff met to focus on ideas for the “Spirit of Salida” project. Photo by Brooke Gilmore.
- Year-round access and use
- Beautiful yet durable
- Visually inviting
- Landmark/iconic
- Preserving town heritage
Community members were then tasked with writing sticky notes and placing them on the boards which Hittle took home for consideration. The meeting also including city staff who were there to answer questions.
After a presentation by the commission, multiple community members voiced their wishes for the skatepark to remain just that. However, the skate park has been replaced with a new, much larger skate park located on the grounds of the Salida Aquatic Center. While originally the old skatepark space had been projected as becoming simply more parking space next to the parking lot it adjoins, the idea surfaced more than a year ago, to turn it into a public art space, since it adjoins the Salida downtown, which is already a designated Colorado Arts and Culture space.
The Commission and Mayor Wood reinforced that the purpose of the meeting was to focus on the sharing of ideas related to what the public art space could become.
This was the first of four opportunities for the public to share their ideas. A public engagement survey was also handed out as another tool to help the commission and Hittle better understand what the community wants from this space.
It should be noted that no design decisions have been made and this was the first meeting to help better understand what the public expects from the project. The end of the meeting saw community members and commission members sitting and talking about a broad range of ideas for the space. The city hopes that community members will see this project as an evolution of the space.
Salida used to be a beautiful, natural place with no need of planning to beautify and the area was occupied by artists because of the atmosphere that was here that encouraged creativity it now squashes and drowns out with noise and traffic. The spaces were for use by the residents not for artists to advertise. Now there are no spaces and along with the elimination of the trees there is only more noise traveling farther. Any open space should have a tree on it – without any paint or anything else attached to destroy it’s beauty. It seems to me that the artists get enough free advertising from the town and the short term rental owners and shills continually advertising on social media along with our local ‘news’ agencies. We do nothing for the good of the residents aside from those getting a free canvas because that is who goes to meetings trying to force their agenda. I wish the artists were as interested in the local housing issues or the loss of quality of life of the residents instead of fighting for bragging space. We have enough art and painted trees and crowds. It would be nice if the resident would be considered. I don’t know if you have been downtown recently, but it is a zoo even on a Friday afternoon and causes us to run screaming from the area. There are people on the rooftops and buskers and those soliciting this or that all in your face in a small space now useless for locals to use for business. The noise eliminates any ability for any reflection or thought about anything except for how to get away even at 2 in the afternoon on a weekday.
Public art is just that — for public enjoyment. It would seem that an open area space devoted to interactive public art would be much quieter than a skate park, and certainly more attractive to a broader audience. Artists pick their subjects, and we respect that. That said, yes, downtown is busier these days than last year, and people are enjoying the downtown spaces. Yes, someone was perched Friday evening on top of a building, playing a guitar — but that wasn’t anywhere near the proposed public art space, which can act as a gateway to the Salida Arts and Culture District. It is true that downtown isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, which is what parks are for.
Thanks Brooke for this accurate description of the meeting.