OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Finance Committee Meeting - July 28, 2026: Acceptance of $150,000 Donation for Chief Tuscaloosa Sculpture

City Council Meetings — Tuesday, July 28, 2026
BodyTuscaloosa, Alabama
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateTuesday, July 28, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 8:03
Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

Authorization accept the donation from Tuscusa Tourism and Sports Commission and the amount of 150,000.

0:14

The Chief Tuscaloosa sculpture.

0:17

Good afternoon capitalists.

0:22

It all the Tuscosa Tourism and Sports Commission applied for a grant with the Alabama State Tourism Association.

0:28

They were awarded $150,000 specifically for the Chief Tuscaloosa sculpture that is within the Project Warrior scope that we've been discussing for the uh the last about what 14 months.

0:41

Um and so that they received the 150,000 dollars from the state of Alabama, um, and they are wanting to donate it to the city of Tuscaloosa for us to use it towards the sculpture specifically.

0:53

We have the contract with Caleb O'Connor for the sculpture um production, and so we will be putting it directly towards that.

1:01

Um and they already put 35,000 in, so they're pushing 200 on the tourism.

1:09

Any questions, comments?

1:11

I asked the question, Chairman.

1:12

Um I appreciate it.

1:14

I think this is a great project.

1:16

I think this is a little bit before my time, the Chief Tuscaloosa.

1:21

Um what's what's our obligation towards that?

1:26

We have a contract with Caleb O'Connor.

1:30

Hey, Eric, will you want to assist me in this because you know a little bit more about the details than I do?

1:34

We have a copy of Caleb O'Connor for um what's the total for that one?

1:39

It's just under five.

1:40

Right under 500.

1:41

Okay.

1:44

And then we have been working some agreements with the county with the University of Alabama and such for um site development and um an additional foundational support for the project.

1:57

That's really all our uh required uh contractual obligations today.

2:05

Everything worked out with the power company and all that, yeah.

2:09

Everything worked out.

2:12

So 75,000, I think, towards moving some of the uh the lines.

2:17

The bigger picture, uh Mr.

2:20

Eatman, that total project including the city plaza, it's there 2.5 2.7 million.

2:28

Okay, and that includes like all the landscape and paying.

2:31

Yeah, the the statue 495.

2:34

That's already money's raised and paid for um the the city, the city portion shapes out total around 2.5.

2:45

Some of that is donation in kind.

2:48

We talked about uh power company donating uh removal of some lines or move moving.

2:54

Um we've got uh the statue itself is going on a large eight-foot stone base, it's being donated by Buddy Williams out of uh Brookwood, and um that's we have 400,000 budgeted for that.

3:12

We've raised just under a million privately private donations, and then the city had committed 750 back about a year ago, right?

3:24

Somewhere right around the change between you and Mr.

3:27

Wilson.

3:28

Um we're kind of finishing up the uh raising funds on that, and then uh yes, Eric and I and the mayor will have a discussion on when to let contracts get started.

3:40

So um I just pulled up our project recap that we're gonna say shake out with what you think.

3:46

I think it's a little more than 750.

3:48

I think we've made two different uh appropriations and two different fiscal years, but it looks like the standards is about to tell us.

3:54

Yeah, so I so I have it pulled up in um 2025.

3:58

We uh committed 300,000 from the RFFI.

4:02

Um again in 2025, we did another 450,000 out of the Alabama Trust Fund.

4:08

Um, and then we also have received a uh state grant and the amount of 40,000 that that tourism also helped us um appropriate.

4:18

So total um amount that we have say that we have budgeted for this project is 790,000 is total budget.

4:30

This will be added to it, so that's actually item number two on the agenda is to do the budget revision for this 150.

4:36

Um, so this 150 will be added to the 790.

4:39

The contracts that we currently have underway.

4:43

Um mentioned the Caleb O'Connor contract, that's uh exactly 462,641.

4:49

We have a contract with TTL to do site development planning of 162,000.

4:55

Um, and then we had a contract with Tuscosa Tourism for when they were doing some planning workforce and for some fundraising of 23,000.

5:02

So as of now we have committed $647,000 out of the budget amount of $790.

5:12

Umce we add this $150 on it, uh we will be able to continue with any possible future contracts.

5:18

But though that's the absolute required um contractual obligations of the city right now.

5:24

And the rest comes from the county, and so we've got partners county, UA.

5:28

We've got private donors who put in close to the meeting.

5:32

We're not quite there.

5:33

We've got um, not merchants, but we've we've got people who have donated in time.

5:42

Okay, yeah.

5:43

Uh and we've got state funds of just under 200.

5:47

Uh we've got the sorts funds council for another three that came in.

5:53

We've got our city money and the university donated up to uh a half million dollars of project management services, which is what got it off to that timeline street when we're expected in spring of 27.

6:12

Okay, once we build it, it's ours, we maintain it.

6:16

We to go under construction.

6:18

Yes, that's spring of 27 to go under construction, right?

6:24

Yeah, not completely the statute.

6:29

Okay, I was just making sure we didn't remember we didn't have spring of 270 to be completed because I think we'd be all disappointed.

6:37

Uh we're doing this.

6:40

And Caleb's got the contract.

6:42

That's right.

6:43

Okay.

6:43

Caleb got the contract.

6:45

Have you seen here?

6:46

I hadn't I hadn't seen, I hadn't seen it.

6:48

Yeah, it's gonna be nice.

6:49

Oh, he he's working on Linden right now.

6:53

We're a few months behind.

6:56

I don't know.

6:57

We're supposed to break ground in April, I think the sentence I'm out in April about breaking ground and we're still waiting to deliver it, but okay.

7:06

So the statute of yeah, but it gets like that because they saw the um the Marshall 4 yeah, you had to wait on the push back on March 4.

7:14

Okay, yeah.

7:15

Well, we had we had to wait a few times.

7:18

Right.

7:20

Yeah, some things are just worth waiting.

7:23

Okay, is there a is there a motion uh on this one?

7:26

Second.

7:27

All in favor saying aye.

7:29

Aye.

7:30

I just put it in the standard item number two.

7:33

Yes, sir.

7:34

This is just the budget revision to um record the 150,000 dollar 150,000 dollars of donated revenue and to add it to the project for project four years.

7:44

Question 100 motion motion.

7:48

Second, all in favor say aye.

7:50

Aye item is approved.

7:52

Is that that approved?

7:56

Any other items for uh finance committee document?

7:59

Motion to adjourn.

8:01

Second.

8:01

All in favor say aye.

8:02

Aye.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████52%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████████████████████████████████████48%
Summary of Proceedings

Finance Committee Meeting - July 28, 2026: Acceptance of $150,000 Donation for Chief Tuscaloosa Sculpture

The Finance Committee met on July 28, 2026, to consider a $150,000 donation from the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission for the Chief Tuscaloosa sculpture, a key component of Project Warrior. The committee discussed the project's funding structure, existing contracts, and timeline, and unanimously approved both the donation acceptance and a corresponding budget revision.

Discussion Items

  • Donation Presentation: A representative from the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission (the speaker) explained that the commission had applied for and received a $150,000 grant from the Alabama State Tourism Association specifically for the Chief Tuscaloosa sculpture. The funds are being donated to the city to apply toward the sculpture contract with artist Caleb O'Connor. The commission had previously contributed $35,000, bringing their total to $185,000.
  • Project Scope and Funding: The total project, including a city plaza and landscaping, is estimated at $2.5–$2.7 million. The sculpture itself is budgeted at $495,000. The city has previously committed $790,000 (including $300,000 from RFFI in 2025, $450,000 from the Alabama Trust Fund in 2025, and a $40,000 state grant). Private donations have raised just under $1 million, and the University of Alabama has contributed up to $500,000 in project management services. In-kind donations include an eight-foot stone base from Buddy Williams of Brookwood and power line relocation work donated by the power company.
  • Existing Contracts: The city has current contracts totaling $647,000: $462,641 with Caleb O'Connor for the sculpture, $162,000 with TTL for site development planning, and $23,000 with Tuscaloosa Tourism for planning and fundraising. The $150,000 donation will be added to the city's budgeted amount of $790,000, allowing for future contracts.
  • Timeline: Construction is expected to begin in spring 2027, with the sculpture already under contract with O'Connor. The committee noted that the project has faced delays, including waiting for the Marshall 4 project, but expressed confidence that the sculpture will be worth the wait.
  • Questions and Clarifications: Committee members asked about the city's total obligation, the project's funding sources, and maintenance responsibilities. The city will own and maintain the sculpture once completed. The project is a collaborative effort with the county, the University of Alabama, and private donors.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion to Accept Donation: A motion was made and seconded to accept the $150,000 donation from the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission. All members voted in favor (aye).
  • Budget Revision Approval: A separate motion was made and seconded for the budget revision to record the $150,000 as donated revenue and add it to the project budget. The motion passed unanimously (all ayes).
  • Meeting Adjourned: Following the approval of the budget revision, the committee moved to adjourn, which was seconded and approved by unanimous aye vote.

Meeting Transcript

Authorization accept the donation from Tuscusa Tourism and Sports Commission and the amount of 150,000. The Chief Tuscaloosa sculpture. Good afternoon capitalists. It all the Tuscosa Tourism and Sports Commission applied for a grant with the Alabama State Tourism Association. They were awarded $150,000 specifically for the Chief Tuscaloosa sculpture that is within the Project Warrior scope that we've been discussing for the uh the last about what 14 months. Um and so that they received the 150,000 dollars from the state of Alabama, um, and they are wanting to donate it to the city of Tuscaloosa for us to use it towards the sculpture specifically. We have the contract with Caleb O'Connor for the sculpture um production, and so we will be putting it directly towards that. Um and they already put 35,000 in, so they're pushing 200 on the tourism. Any questions, comments? I asked the question, Chairman. Um I appreciate it. I think this is a great project. I think this is a little bit before my time, the Chief Tuscaloosa. Um what's what's our obligation towards that? We have a contract with Caleb O'Connor. Hey, Eric, will you want to assist me in this because you know a little bit more about the details than I do? We have a copy of Caleb O'Connor for um what's the total for that one? It's just under five. Right under 500. Okay. And then we have been working some agreements with the county with the University of Alabama and such for um site development and um an additional foundational support for the project. That's really all our uh required uh contractual obligations today. Everything worked out with the power company and all that, yeah. Everything worked out. So 75,000, I think, towards moving some of the uh the lines. The bigger picture, uh Mr. Eatman, that total project including the city plaza, it's there 2.5 2.7 million. Okay, and that includes like all the landscape and paying. Yeah, the the statue 495. That's already money's raised and paid for um the the city, the city portion shapes out total around 2.5. Some of that is donation in kind. We talked about uh power company donating uh removal of some lines or move moving. Um we've got uh the statue itself is going on a large eight-foot stone base, it's being donated by Buddy Williams out of uh Brookwood, and um that's we have 400,000 budgeted for that. We've raised just under a million privately private donations, and then the city had committed 750 back about a year ago, right? Somewhere right around the change between you and Mr. Wilson. Um we're kind of finishing up the uh raising funds on that, and then uh yes, Eric and I and the mayor will have a discussion on when to let contracts get started. So um I just pulled up our project recap that we're gonna say shake out with what you think. I think it's a little more than 750. I think we've made two different uh appropriations and two different fiscal years, but it looks like the standards is about to tell us. Yeah, so I so I have it pulled up in um 2025. We uh committed 300,000 from the RFFI. Um again in 2025, we did another 450,000 out of the Alabama Trust Fund. Um, and then we also have received a uh state grant and the amount of 40,000 that that tourism also helped us um appropriate. So total um amount that we have say that we have budgeted for this project is 790,000 is total budget. This will be added to it, so that's actually item number two on the agenda is to do the budget revision for this 150. Um, so this 150 will be added to the 790. The contracts that we currently have underway. Um mentioned the Caleb O'Connor contract, that's uh exactly 462,641. We have a contract with TTL to do site development planning of 162,000.

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