Mayor Authorized to Execute Sculpture Contract

The Duluth City Council authorized Mayor Nancy Harris to execute a contract with Milton artist/blacksmith Michael Dillon to fabricate and install a sculpture on the Roundabout at its May 13 regular meeting.

Action on the contract had been postponed from the council’s April 8 meeting while revisions were being negotiated. City Attorney Stephen Pereira reported at the May meeting that an agreement had been reached on the contract.

Dillon’s sculpture design was selected from more than 85 entries and recommended by the Gateway Art Project Committee.

The art project, funded with donations from the AGCO Corp., is expected to take approximately six to eight months to complete.    

Dillon was introduced and a model of the sculpture unveiled at an April 30 reception at Duluth City Hall. The city is not going to show the design publically in its entirety again until the unveiling.

The Roundabout, considered a gateway entrance to the city, links West Lawrenceville Street, McClure Bridge Road and Irvindale Road. A Hospital Connector is proposed to join the Roundabout in the future.

The council is not scheduled to meet again until its next regular meeting June 10. A work session usually held the fourth Monday of the month was cancelled because of the Memorial Day holiday.