OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Public Art and Design Board Meeting Summary - February 12, 2026

Clearwater Municipal Meetings — Thursday, February 12, 2026
BodyClearwater, Florida
SessionClearwater Municipal Meetings
DateThursday, February 12, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 27:54

Transcript — Verbatim
0:23

Today's meeting of Public Art and Design Board is called to order on February 12th, 2026.

0:32

Everybody, welcome, welcome, welcome.

0:35

Um we have to approve the minutes.

0:39

Do we put the minutes first or do we need to do roll call or approval minutes?

0:43

Let's just start a roll call in a doce of each other.

0:48

You have some new members on the board.

0:50

So let's just start.

0:51

It's great to be here.

0:53

Thanks.

0:53

An old Clearwater resident way back in the 60s.

0:57

But I'm back.

0:58

I'm Mark Lutz.

1:00

Live here in town and glad to be part of it.

1:03

Fantastic.

1:05

Jerry Minal, owner of my favorite art place, and we're a fine art printer and custom frame shop here in Claywater.

1:14

I'm Jonathan Barnes.

1:15

I'm a faculty member at St.

1:17

Petersburg College of Visual Arts.

1:19

I teach printmaking and 3D design and art industry.

1:23

And I also have a studio practice at home.

1:26

My name is Brian Wallaton.

1:29

I am a resident of Clearwater.

1:31

Didn't wasn't born here, grew up here, but I am currently a full-time student at USF, so I have a lot of other things going on as well.

1:41

And we have great digits wall dance, so great.

1:44

We're doing roll call right now.

1:45

Right.

1:46

I'm Greg Byrd.

1:47

I'm a professor at St.

1:48

Petersburg College.

1:49

I teach creative writing and literature and have talked humanities before.

1:54

And I've been a resident of Clearwater for 35 years.

1:59

Fantastic.

2:06

So I'll make a motion to approve the minutes.

2:08

I'll make a motion to approve the minutes from the October 9th, 2025 Public Art and Design Board meeting.

2:15

Second.

2:17

Any discussion about the minutes.

2:20

See you none.

2:21

All in favor.

2:23

Aye.

2:30

Motion pass.

2:32

My brain just went back.

2:36

We're moving on to it number three, citizens to be heard.

2:42

Are they any citizens that have things to say that want to step up?

2:47

Okay.

2:48

So we have one person in the audience today.

2:50

Hi.

2:51

Hi.

2:54

Item number four, new business items.

2:57

4.1.

2:58

World's largest duck installation recap.

3:02

Please.

3:03

That was so wonderful.

3:05

That was great.

3:06

Good afternoon.

3:06

Amber Briggs, Arts and Cultural Affairs Manager for the City of Clearwater.

3:10

So the world's largest rubber duck was in Clearwater from January 9th to the 26th.

3:15

This was about a two and a half week long exhibit with a month-long meetup with the 10-foot tall baby duck named Timmy.

3:22

We had some major events scheduled around this installation.

3:42

We had some amazing stats and numbers come out of this installation.

3:47

So one big number is that our parking revenue increased it more than doubled from the same time last year.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████69%
Tourism Development██████9%
Public Engagement██████9%
Procedural███5%
Personnel Matters███5%
Public Facilities██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Public Art and Design Board Meeting - February 12, 2026

The Public Art and Design Board held a special meeting on February 12, 2026 at 4:00 PM in the City of Clearwater Main Library Council Chambers. The board reviewed several art projects, including the highly successful World's Largest Rubber Duck installation, selected a sculpture for City Hall, and discussed upcoming murals. Board member terms and leadership selection were also addressed.

Consent Calendar

  • Unanimously approved the October 9, 2025 meeting minutes.

Discussion Items

  • World's Largest Rubber Duck Installation Recap: Amber Briggs, Arts and Cultural Affairs Manager, reported that the duck installation from January 9–26, 2026, drew over 21,000 unique visitors to Coachman Park and generated $23,000 in parking revenue (more than double the $10,000 from January 2025). A 5K race and Jeep time slot sales raised over $17,000. Downtown businesses reported revenue increases of 30–40%. Briggs noted the installation was deflated on some windy days but remained up for major events. Board members expressed strong support and suggested making it a recurring event.
  • City Hall Sculpture Selection: Staff conducted a poll of 34 city employees who ranked four design proposals. The winning design, "Ripple" by James Peterson, received 126 points. A contract has been issued, and installation is expected by October 26, 2026.
  • Marymont Park Restroom Building Mural: The mural by Laura Thomas was completed in December 2025 and received positive feedback. A community painting event will be held on February 14, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM for the blank side of the building.
  • North Greenwood Mural Festival Update: Due to fewer business applications than anticipated, the festival has been postponed to late March 2026. Four businesses have expressed interest, along with two or three city-owned locations. The board was invited to score artist applications to create an artist pool for this and future projects.
  • Selection of Chair and Vice Chair: Deferred because several board members' terms expire before the next meeting (April 9, 2026). Members were encouraged to reapply if interested.

Key Outcomes

  • Unanimous approval of the October 2025 minutes.
  • City Hall sculpture design selected: "Ripple" by James Peterson.
  • Community mural painting event scheduled for February 14, 2026 at Marymont Park.
  • North Greenwood Mural Festival rescheduled for late March 2026.
  • Board leadership selection postponed until new members are confirmed.

Meeting Transcript

Today's meeting of Public Art and Design Board is called to order on February 12th, 2026. Everybody, welcome, welcome, welcome. Um we have to approve the minutes. Do we put the minutes first or do we need to do roll call or approval minutes? Let's just start a roll call in a doce of each other. You have some new members on the board. So let's just start. It's great to be here. Thanks. An old Clearwater resident way back in the 60s. But I'm back. I'm Mark Lutz. Live here in town and glad to be part of it. Fantastic. Jerry Minal, owner of my favorite art place, and we're a fine art printer and custom frame shop here in Claywater. I'm Jonathan Barnes. I'm a faculty member at St. Petersburg College of Visual Arts. I teach printmaking and 3D design and art industry. And I also have a studio practice at home. My name is Brian Wallaton. I am a resident of Clearwater. Didn't wasn't born here, grew up here, but I am currently a full-time student at USF, so I have a lot of other things going on as well. And we have great digits wall dance, so great. We're doing roll call right now. Right. I'm Greg Byrd. I'm a professor at St. Petersburg College. I teach creative writing and literature and have talked humanities before. And I've been a resident of Clearwater for 35 years. Fantastic. So I'll make a motion to approve the minutes. I'll make a motion to approve the minutes from the October 9th, 2025 Public Art and Design Board meeting. Second. Any discussion about the minutes. See you none. All in favor. Aye. Motion pass. My brain just went back. We're moving on to it number three, citizens to be heard. Are they any citizens that have things to say that want to step up? Okay. So we have one person in the audience today. Hi. Hi. Item number four, new business items. 4.1. World's largest duck installation recap.

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