Posted on 08/16/2011 8:04:01 AM PDT by MichCapCon
While the City of Ann Arbor has laid off police officers and eliminated positions from the fire department this year, it is sitting on $1.5 million that it has set aside for public art. The city has raised $2.7 million for public art since 2009, but has only spent $1.1 million on two art projects, according to a city official and public documents received in a Freedom of Information Act request.
The city set up its public arts fund in 2007, with the City Council agreeing to take 1 percent of the money that went into capital improvement projects that were $100,000 or larger and set it aside for art. Most capital projects involve streets, sewers and water.
Aaron Seagraves, the citys public art administrator, said there are several projects planned. For example, the city wants to put $150,000 of art in its Ann Arbor Justice Center police and courts building.
(Excerpt) Read more at michigancapitolconfidential.com ...
Bingo. Revenge for not getting their desired money.
In my little corner of rural New York State, the roads are crawling with county sheriffs and state troopers. It's beyond all common sense. This is a pretty peaceful area. Their main function seems to be setting up speed traps and DUI checkpoints.
We've let ourselves become over-policed in a lot of places.
“Are Dead Body Outlines considered Art?”
Did something like that once. Came upon some skid marks on the street, had my fried lie down in front of them and outlined the “body.”
Dude, that's the art.
“Financially supporting the arts is not a proper function of government.”
True, and worse, it usually is not even good art.
Thanks MichCapCon.
Please freepmail me if you wish to be added or dropped from the mitten ping.
Ann Arbor, 3 square miles of utopia surrounded by reality.
I lived in Ann Arbor back in 86-89, my buddy and I did that in our parking lot one drunken night. We had some police tape from downtown that was strung up earlier we swiped, so we taped off a corner of the parking lot with it at about 3 a.m.. I outlined his body in tape, poured red paint mixed with milk (we were drunk) on the ground and I threw some empty 9mm casings around the ground and put tape around those too. (Our apartment building shared a parking lot with the Islamic center of Ann Arbor just off of Plymouth rd, they all drove by it staring for two days before someone cleaned it up)
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