Sculpture going to the dogs in Marble Falls
Marble Falls council approves sculpture to enhance dog park
By Glynis Crawford Smith
The Highlander
A usual addition to sculpture in Marble Falls will be come to Ruff Dog Park with the acceptance of a gift by the city council at its meeting Tuesday, March 21.
Robert W. Moss, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, submitted the proposal for dog-themed art through a donation of $9,450 from Robert Ruff.
Concrete artist Cheryl Latimer of Bastrop is to create four dog bone sculpture, two of them plain and two more with backrests to read “Sit” and “Stay.”
In addition the concept of a dog sculpture, 4.5 feet tall on a 6-foot wide base was approved.
Although Latimer produces fine art, she may be most quickly brought to mind by her large pop art cement sculptures at the iconic Peter Pan Mini Golf in Austin. The Marble Falls sculptures are to be rendered in natural concrete to save on maintenance, but with Latimer's philosophy of fun built in.
“I want my work to make people happy, to give them a brief moment where they can forget about their worries and obligations, and for them to have the opportunity to get lost in characters that make them smile."
The City of Marble Falls Donation Acceptance Policy specifies council approval for any donation of more than $5,000, bringing it to the consent agenda for approval.
“The sculptures will enhance and improve the usability and esthetics of the dog park,” said Moss in his staff recommendation.
Ruff also was a source of funding for the $127,683.36 contract approved by the council for a contract with Anixter, Inc. for the lease-purchase of a mobile video and body-worn camera system for the Marble Falls Police Department.
Police Chief Mark N. Whitacre told the council that the current mobile video system in use by the departments 15 marked patrol units would no longer receive repair support.
“After a couple of years of waiting for the technology to catch up and provide such an integrated system, staff identified three vendors that meet some of our criteria needs... A group of officers, led by Sgt. Barry Greer, conducted an analysis and comparison of all three. Their conclusions identified the integrated system from Utility BodyWorn as the most appropriate system to meet our current and future needs.”
Two grants, Ruff's $50,000 donation and various Marble Falls Police Department funds were sufficient for the contract.
A meeting schedule approved for 2017-18 budget planning was approved to begin with a kick-off meeting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 5. Meetings concerning the budget will continue almost weekly, including two four-hour sessions at Horseshoe Bay Resort on May 23 and 30-- a strategic planning retreat facilitated by Joe Gonzales of The Management Connection – until the final adoption of the budget Sept. 19. All the meetings will be public and announced in advance.
Assistant City Manager Caleb Kraenzel received approval for a Transportation Candidate Project List within the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) roads and highways system. The list will be a resource for TxDOT and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) funding allocation.
Among the top priorities are improvements to the US 281/Ranch to Market Road 1431 intersection.
Discussion is to continue on amendments to the Property Maintenance Code and Nuisance ordinances, but the council did approve addition of another full-time Code Enforcement Officer and vehicle for mid-year budget adjustment.
