CONWAY — It appears that the hellbender-salamander mural planned for Conway City Hall is up a creek after a leaky roof damaged a brick wall where the mural was going to be painted.
The west side of the downtown building was selected by the Conway Public Art Board as the site for the first Arkansas U.S. Fish and Wildlife endangered-species mural. It will be funded by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Now it looks like another location for the mural will have to be found, said Ruthann Curry Browne, chairwoman of the art group.
“[The city is] taking bids to have the roof fixed, and it’s leaked down behind that wall, so the bricks are cracked and have been compromised,” she said. “We are totally on hold.”
Browne said the mural was supposed to be completed in time for Toad Suck Daze, which started Friday and ends today.
“We were supposed to start three weeks ago; it was supposed to be a three-week project,” she said. “These things happen.”
Browne met with Conway Mayor Bart Castleberry on Tuesday after a storm April 29 and 30 dumped about 6 inches of rain on the city.
“They may not put [the salamander mural] on this building because not only is the wall cracked; we have an awning, and it’s cracked as well,” Castleberry said. The City Hall building is a former bank, and it still has a drive-thru window and an awning on the west side.
Castleberry, who took office in January, said City Hall’s leaky roof has been an ongoing problem. He said it’s been leaking for between seven and 10 years.
“We have been working on this since Jan. 1 — taking requests for qualifications [from companies],” he said. The project will be discussed Tuesday at the City Council meeting, he said.
“Ever since I’ve taken office — and prior to that — there have been numerous leaks in our roof in City Hall; 15 is my last count,” Castleberry said. “It’s a flat roof, and we’ve had leaks that have leached down in the insulation.”
He said the insulation acts as a sponge, and even when it’s hot and dry in August, there is moisture. Castleberry said he hasn’t seen any mold, but that is a concern.
He said ceiling tiles have been replaced many times.
“It’s been patched in the past; it’s going to be fixed one end to another,” he said.
Castleberry estimated the project will cost between $80,000 and $100,000.
Jamie Brice, purchasing manager for the city, said quotes were obtained for repairing cracks in the wall, the roof and electrical work.
“It’s obviously an urgent expense,” she said. “We came in here Monday morning, and there were tiles down, halls flooded; it was just a mess.”
When downtown flooded last weekend, the mayor, who is the city’s former fire chief, volunteered to help.
Castleberry said he ran by to check on City Hall the morning of April 30 and found water “that had just filled the floor up” downstairs in the two-story building. “These were significant leaks,” he said.
Castleberry said he appreciates the idea of the salamander mural, “but we’ve got to get our roof fixed.”
The mayor walked from office to office in City Hall, showing damaged ceiling tiles. One computer was covered with plastic because a leak had occurred in the ceiling above the computer.
“There are a lot of infrastructure needs — and streets and drainage are biggest — but this was a big infrastructure need, too, because this is where we do people’s business,” he said.
Browne said she has emailed a couple of building owners in downtown Conway to inquire about putting the mural on one of those buildings.
“We aren’t sure if we can secure another site. We are in the early stages of identifying proper sites,” she said.
Melissa Lombardi of Wooster, endangered-species biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Conway, first proposed the idea for the mural after she came across a posting on Facebook by the Center for Biological Diversity. The hellbender salamander is one of 27 endangered species in Arkansas.
Oregon artist Roger Peet coordinates the murals for the Center for Biological Diversity.
Hendrix College art students will help paint the mural and receive credit for an Odyssey project — they are required to have at least three Odyssey experiences to graduate — and Peet plans to stay in Murphy House at Hendrix during his visit, Browne said.
“Hendrix is still on board to help us out,” she said, as is Peet.
A 26-by-30-foot mural was painted in 2007 on the south side of Conway City Hall, facing Simon Park. Castleberry said it doesn’t appear that wall has been damaged.
More information about the murals can be found at www.biologicaldiversity.org/about/creative_media/endangered_ species_mural_project.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.