Designing Local outlines Hilliard public-art master plan, seeks summer community input

Designing Local, a consulting firm hired by the city, presented a draft public art and placemaking master plan to the Hilliard City Council Committee of the Whole on May 11, and outlined a summer engagement schedule intended to gather resident input that will shape site-specific recommendations and a 5–10 year implementation plan.

The consultants said the plan will distill community values into project recommendations of varying scale, include policy and stewardship guidelines, and propose funding strategies to support public-art projects. "We really hope that this plan ... is of the community's vision, hearing what Hilliard residents, community members, [and] visitors want to see in this community," Anna Talarico, public art coordinator for Designing Local, said during the presentation.

Amanda Golden, managing principal and cofounder of Designing Local, described the firm's national experience and said the team will tailor best practices to local needs. The consultants laid out specific engagement tactics for the summer—focus groups, stakeholder interviews, and pop-up events at Juneteenth, Magic in the Park and other community activities—plus an online survey that will capture ZIP code and residency so the team can distinguish resident views from visitors'. "We want to hear from as many people as possible," Talarico said, adding the team will provide surveys online and in person at events.

Council members offered ideas for the plan's goals and vision. One council member said the art should create destinations that draw visitors and photo activity; another, Council member Parker Jones, emphasized accessibility and distribution of art across neighborhoods so residents can encounter art close to home. Several members suggested interactive or tactile elements for children, seating near installations, and a mix of small and large projects to support both everyday enjoyment and landmark pieces.

On funding, the consultants said they commonly recommend a percent-for-art mechanism tied to qualifying capital projects so the public-art budget grows with the city's capital investments. They also said they will provide budgets for recommended projects and noted some projects might be funded outside capital budgets and require annual allocations. The consultants discussed an existing 1% set-aside referenced in the meeting, and noted the city's current parameters could be reassessed or broadened to cover more capital projects.

A council member raised maintenance concerns; Designing Local recommended that the city require artists to submit maintenance plans for review before acceptance of a piece, so the city can assess lifecycle and liability. The consultants also said they are coordinating with the Public Arts Commission on a potential artwork at "the Well," and that the commission would be positioned to champion and steward the plan once adopted.

The presentation closed with staff and consultants saying they will return with updates as engagement proceeds. The Committee of the Whole did not take any formal votes on policy at the meeting; the session ended with a motion to adjourn that passed by voice vote.