The Portsmouth City Council is moving forward on an amended Art-Speak proposal to fund public art. If passed, the new ordinance would require 1 percent of the construction costs of any new or remodeled public building project valued between $2 million and $15 million to go toward funding public art.

The City Council would have the right to exempt a building, such as a sewage plant, from the commitment and to determine where the art would go.

During the public comment session of the meeting on Aug. 21, most who spoke were in favor of the proposal, though one resident said the ordinance should not be passed “because taxpayers will foot the bill.”

The funds set aside for art would be based on construction costs for public buildings, excluding design and engineering fees. The ordinance includes a cap of $15 million in construction costs. In a project that size, $150,000 would go toward public art, which proponents calculate would increase the tax rate one half of one cent.

Portsmouth Poet Laureate Mimi White couldn’t attend the meeting, but shared her thoughts in a letter, which was read to the Council. She argued that Portsmouth is viewed as a cultural hub, but this reputation won’t continue on its own. White emphasized that public art enriches the lives of the residents of the city, as well as those who visit it.

Despite varied opinions among the city councilors, the second reading of the ordinance passed, 6-3. There will be a third and final reading at the next council meeting on Monday, Sept. 18.

Councilor Harold Whitehouse Jr. voted against the ordinance.

“We’ve done an awful lot for the arts in this city,” he said. Whitehouse said that there are other issues the city has to address first, such as a sewage wastewater treatment on Peirce Island, which he proposed directing attention to nine months ago.
Others supported the idea.

“It’s what makes living here so attractive and interesting,” said councilor John W. Hynes.

Councilor Kenneth E. Smith agreed with Hynes, suggesting that the whale sculpture in Prescott Park, as well as additions of theaters and other art, have made the city what it is today. “It’s the artists that brought the color to the city.”

Art-Speak, the city cultural commission, recently announced the appointment of a new coordinator, Sue Cobler of Kittery, whose experience includes 20 years in project management and communications in both the corporate and non-profit sectors. Cobler will start work in September.