Ivins City Council approves moving roundabout sculpture to new City Hall

IVINS CITY — A sculpture that graces one of the roundabouts in Ivins City will be tentatively getting a new home at the new Ivins City Hall that will be breaking ground next week.

A close up look at the figure of a farmer representing the first settlers of the Ivins area in the “Heritage Sculpture” that sits in the Snow Canyon Parkway-Snow Canyon Drive roundabout in Ivins City, Utah, seen on Sept. 17, 2020. | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

At its Thursday night meeting, the Ivins City Council unanimously approved moving the sculpture, referred to as the “Heritage Sculpture” by the Ivins Art Commission, from its present spot in the middle of the Snow Canyon Parkway-Snow Canyon Drive intersection roundabout to a to be determined place at the new City Hall.

A groundbreaking event for the eco-friendly new city facility, which will cost approximately $2.55 million funded mostly off the sale of city property, will take place at 11 a.m. on Sept. 25. 

During the Thursday meeting, the art commission’s chairperson, Judith Kapuscinski, told the council the only thing wrong with the current location of the sculpture in the roundabout near the Red Mountain Resort is it’s not in the right place.

“Since installation, that sculpture has gotten positive comments but also concerns it’s too small of the for the location,” Kapuscinski said. “Since it is representative of Ivins, we think it is perfect to be moved to the new City Hall.”

Council member Jenny Johnson concurred with that assessment, saying people aren’t even seeing some of the finer details of the sculpture.

A close up look at the figure of a Native American representing the first residents of the Ivins area in the “Heritage Sculpture” that sits in the Snow Canyon Parkway-Snow Canyon Drive roundabout in Ivins City, Utah, seen on Sept. 17, 2020. | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

“You can’t see the details just driving around, so placing it where people can get a close look is a great idea,” Johnson said. 

The sculpture, commissioned in 2013 and installed in 2016, was created by local artist Ed Hlavka to represent the past and present people that have built Ivins City. It includes a Native American representing the first residents of the area, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah; a farmer with a plow symbolizing the first settlers; a hiker in the spirit of the outdoors opportunities for residents and the area’s natural beauty; and a singer facing the direction of the Tuacahn Amphitheatre and Center for the Arts saluting the active arts culture. 

Hlavka, who has sculptures in the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., is also the artist behind the other major roundabout sculpture — “The Mustangs” at the Splitrock Drive-Snow Canyon roundabout.

Council member Sue Gordhammer was also enthusiastic about the move, especially after concerns about the price of moving the sculpture were satisfied.

“I wondered about the cost, but I figure the cost to move it would be less than commissioning something new, so I’m in full support,” Gordhammer said.

The “Heritage Sculpture” that sits in the Snow Canyon Parkway-Snow Canyon Drive roundabout in Ivins City, Utah, seen on Sept. 17, 2020. The Ivins City Council has voted to move the sculpture to the new Ivins City Hall. | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

And the council took additional action Thursday to ensure more roundabout is to come to Ivins City, just as it was revealed more roundabouts are coming to the city.

Chuck Gillette, public works director, told the council in his report that there are two additional roundabouts planned for city roads in the near future.

As part of approving the arts commission’s recommendations, the council also approved starting the creation of an on-loan art program similar to the Art Around the Corner program gracing the roundabouts in St. George. The goal would be to add art to the  400 West-Center Street roundabout as well as replace the Heritage Sculpture and any other future traffic circles that would be on place for a year and then sold and replaced with a new piece of art. 

Though council member Dennis Mehr expressed wanting to not see the same type of sculptures seen in St. George.

An architect’s conceptualization of the new Ivins City Hall presented at the June 4, 2020 council meeting in Ivins City, Utah. | Photo courtesy Ivins City, VCBO Architecture, St. George News

“As far as arts on loan, I’m in approval of exploring that, but I’m not a huge fan of the types of art St. George has used … big bugs with recycled metal,” Mehr said.  

Kapuscinski said one way the Ivins equivalent of Art Around the Corner will differ from St. George’s program is there will be a requirement that the sculptures in Ivins City be from local artists. 

“We have had a chance to see what that has yielded for St. George. Ivins as an art community and would be an important place to position these sculptures,” Ivins City Mayor Chris Hart said. “Roundabouts demand to have something in them.”

In other business at its Thursday meeting, the council approved design adjustments for the area’s road master plan.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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