Emily Gilbert reports on the July 30 Oak Harbor City Council workshop.
It seems like almost everyone was surprised at the speed at which Oak Harbor government moved, and not for the usual reasons. It took just one meeting for a public survey about the “Angel de la Creatividad” sculpture to come to fruition, and few if any are pleased with the results.
They Said It
Councilmember Jeffrey Mack: [During the May 18th City Council meeting] Mack asked for a question to determine a person’s residency to be added to the survey after [City Archaeologist Gideon] Cauffman’s report that many public comments… had come from people outside of Oak Harbor.
Councilmember Joel Servatius questioned why the city has not moved forward with accepting the sculpture despite recommendations from the park board and the arts commission.
Councilmember Tara Hizon: “If something is constructive and it’s relevant then that I think that can be taken into account… If it’s just ‘I don’t like it because art is subjective’ or ‘I would rather have something else,’ — that’s not especially relevant to this particular project because they’re not mutually exclusive.”
Councilmember (and Mayor Pro Tem) Beth Munns: “I’m sorry, but elected officials shouldn’t take Facebook as a way to make a decision…. it just stirs the pot and I’m not ever sure people really mean what they say in their comments.”
Councilmember Erica Wasinger asked what the media monitoring tool called Zencity has said about the public’s opinion of the sculpture.
On the Ballot in November 2021 – Oak Harbor City Council:
- Position 4 – Dan Evans vs Stephanie “Fe” Mischo – Incumbent Erica Wasinger not running
- Position 5 – Incumbent Joel Servatius vs Shane Hoffmire
- Position 6 – Incumbent Jim Woessner running unopposed
- Position 7 – Andy Plumlee vs Bryan Stucky – Incumbent Millie Goebel not running
