By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
City Hall in Ellis will once again sport artwork honoring the local community after the city commission gave the go-ahead for mural on the side of the building.
Earlier this year the Ellis County Council reviewed a contract with Mindy’s Murals, of Junction City, for $20,000 to design and paint a mural on the south side of the city hall building. After clarifying some questions about the contract the council approved the contract in a special meeting May 23, according to City Administrator/Clerk Amy Burton.
The $20,000 does not include any of the equipment rental or travel expenses.
Burton said there used to be a mural on the building but it had faded over time and when repairs were done to the building it was painted blue and she said after some discussion the city council decided to have another mural painted on the building.
The idea behind the design of the proposed mural was to incorporate many of the different elements of the Ellis Community that stand out. According to Burton it will also honor Ellis’ all-woman council which was one of first in the US in the late 1800s.
“They wanted to incorporate a little bit of the past, the current and moving forward,” Burton said. “The mural has elements from each of the museums, it has the miniature arrow train, it does have a picture of the all-women Council and then it's all a little bit surrounded with sunflowers,” Burton said.
Ellis had applied for a pair of grants to help with the cost of the $20,000 project. The first grant they applied for is a $7,500 grant from the Office of Rural Prosperity.
Friday Governor Laura Kelly's office announced that Ellis was one of 12 communities that have been awarded funding through the Office of Rural Prosperity’s Rural Mural Public Art.
The city has also applied for grants from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.
The project is expected to start in mid-July or early August is expected to take approximately two weeks to complete.
Burton said the council is looking forward to the mural’s completion.
“They're excited to get something back up on that wall,” Burton said. “I think it will be a great addition.”