Burlington City Arts clarifies cost of new art installations on Main Street

BURLINGTON, Vt. —

Four new art installations on Burlington’s Main Street are getting a lot of attention.
Now, some online are asking questions about the project’s costs.

On Monday, Burlington City Arts said all the funding for the art projects came from what’s known as a TIF fund, which stands for “Tax Increment Financing.”

When a city uses a TIF fund, it borrows money for public infrastructure projects and repays the debt using a future increase in property tax revenue within the district.

“It’s not taxpayer money now,” said Storrs, referencing the money used to build the four art installations. “Nor would that taxpayer money exist because this project will allow us to grow the tax revenue potential of this city.”

According to BCA, the Burlington City Council approved $500,000 in TIF funding back in 2022 to specifically support the art installation project.

The four installations can be seen along Main Street now.

BCA said that comments people are making, especially on social media, claiming that the ‘Lakebone’ sculpture alone cost more than that number are simply incorrect.

“We’ve noticed some discussion on social media about the cost of public art, with the piece and a misinformation around the cost of one of the pieces in particular,” said Colin Storrs, who is the public art director at BCA. “Which is not true. The contract with the city to the artists was $160,048.”

To address other concerns and complaints made by online users, Storrs said that “public art is always in the eye of the beholder” and that the project was about “looking at the history of Burlington and moving it into the future.”

Storrs also said that BCA has a contingency plan in place for graffiti, which some identified as a concern in online platforms.

Storrs said that for those who are interested in the art, there is more information on the BCA’s website about each art piece and what they are about.

“We also feel that public art is just one tool of this city to create a vibrant downtown community that’s an exciting place to live, work and visit,” said Storrs.