Kalispell statue project at a standstill

The city of Kalispell's plan to erect bronze statues on all four corners of the intersection of U.S. 2 and U.S. 93 has been put on hold until the city weathers its current financial squeeze.

One of the sculptures - a statue of two white-tailed deer - has been completed by local sculptor Sherry Sander and has been placed in storage indefinitely on city property.

The city set aside $70,000 in fiscal 2008 for the art project and spent $55,000 for the deer sculpture. The other $15,000 was paid to Daniel Parker, another local artist, as a down payment on a bronze of a grizzly bear and two cubs.

"The city doesn't feel that when they're laying off people that it's a good time to be putting statues at the four corners," said Fred Leistiko, a former Kalispell City Council member who initiated the art project.

Leistiko was chairman of the board at the Hockaday Museum of Art when the project materialized and the Hockaday was put in charge of commissioning and supervising the sculpting of the statues.

Interim City Manager Myrt Webb said that although the statues may be a good idea, there's much more pressing business on the city's agenda.

"It's not exactly high on my priority list right now," Webb said, acknowledging that the project officially is on hold.

Earlier, the city had contemplated applying for state and federal "beautification" money that could be used to offset the costs of installing the statues on site, but Webb said those grants aren't being pursued.

The city has had a tumultuous budget year, with the Parks and Recreation Department suffering the worst cuts. And earlier this year Webb told the council to expect another tight year as city officials put their pencils to the fiscal 2010 budget.

Leistiko said Parker has his sculpture about halfway completed and has agreed to extend the completion date until the city can resume the project.

Even though the artists gave the city a good deal on the statues - Leistiko estimated Sander's bronze is worth $150,000 - it will cost another $40,000 or more for landscaping and erecting the sculptures on each of the corners, he said, bringing the total cost to roughly $100,000 per corner.

The statues will be sizable, at 125 percent of life size.

Other sculptures will depict bighorn sheep on a rock and either a hunter with a pack mule or a train of pack mules.

"We have artists who we told what we were interested in, and they've worked up clay models," Leistiko said. "But there are no contracts yet."

The idea of adorning the intersection with artwork largely was Leistiko's idea. The two federal highways both go from coast to coast and intersect in Kalispell, making it a significant crossroads, he added.

"The project still is a possibility, but it's bad timing right now," Leistiko said. "We'd still like to complete it. It's really a beautification project."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com