Invasive Plant Eats the Mayor’s Ego Arts Project

Pine Lake Voice, Media and Publishing

Art Fence 2017

art fence June 7, 2022

A tribute to superficiality.

Mayor’s Vanity Project ‘Trumps’ the Code

Stormy Weather

When the storm knocked out the power I rediscovered the art of writing with a pencil and paper. I used the grill to keep the tea water hot and herded the sweet-gum balls off the deck with the broom before sitting down to read the open records request that I had requisitioned from the City of Pine Lake regarding the “Art Fence”.

I requested the minutes of all council meetings in which the ‘fence’ is mentioned by the Council. There were five council meetings between, September 2016 and March 2017, where the fence is reported on by Council Brandy Hall. There is no description of the fence recorded in the ‘minutes’. The ‘minutes’ did not provide enough information for the public to determine what the City’s Municipal Arts Panel was actually planning to build.

The City paid $4200 to Gould Construction for the posts, lights and electrical conduit.

I obtained a copy of the ‘Fence Permit Application which was approved on the same day it was received. The information on the form is sparse. At the bottom of the application it reads: applicant/administrator with two signatories: Council Brandy Hall & Clerk Valerie Caldwell. The City’s Code enforcement officer, Chief Green, did not sign the permit. Clearly stated on the permit is the fence height limit: 48 inches.

The Council is limited to acting within the code and cannot make up rules to suit its convenience. The rules apply to everyone, including those who govern.

Basic principles of governance; not a feature of: City of Pine Lake.

The Council approved the construction of an ‘Art Fence’ that violates the City’s fence/sign Code, which limits the height of the fence to 48 inches. The art fence is six feet tall, 64 feet long and topped with 16 gooseneck lights making its overall height about 7 feet. It is in fact very much like a freeway billboard. The design is inappropriate for the residential district and in violation of our residential Code. The project is a wasteful expenditure and is an example of abuse of power. Public Works building is in need of repairs and painting.

The Pine Lake public works building was designed to fit into our residential district. Note the vent copula and the large dormer bay. Our antecedent council and citizens who ordered the construction of the building knew the importance of a robust and attractive Public Works building.

The Mayor Zarus administration named the building after longtime public works manager Boyd Adams; Mary Adams lives in Pine Lake. The building fits into our residential district. the clay footed art fence is an example of invasive stupid governance. The Council needs to spend our tax dollars maintaining this important structure, the Public Works building.

What are we to think of a Council that holds itself above Code? Is the Mayor suffused with whimsical powers? It is a sad day when our elected public officers succumb to whims.

Is there a vision for art, that lives within our Code? Murals designed by artists with a connection to Pine Lake, like the one at the beach house. Murals made to last for a generation. Murals on an existing building is the precedent for public art in Pine Lake; not the Mayor's clay-footed ‘art fence’.

By violating its Code and ignoring precedence, we see a City government pandering to the ‘Involved Neighbors’ at the expense of the greater good.

Well, I’ve finished sweeping the sweet-gum and the kettle is whistling tea time; ahh, the day after a storm is the best.