Now that the Leawood City Council has given final funding approvals, a massive sculpture celebrating the city’s 75th anniversary — and compared in importance by one councilmember to a piece by Michelangelo — can begin its journey from New Orleans to the corner of Mission Road and Lee Boulevard.
The 844-mile-trip between New Orleans and Leawood will have to be made four times with the sculpture broken down into movable pieces. But that is only the latest chapter. “Reaching,” a 28-foot tall, 15,000-pound work by William Nemitoff, has already been on an epic journey that began in 2021 and has included debates over the site, a proposed parking lot, supply chain issues and unexpected installation expenses.
“I have to think of Michelangelo doing the Sistine Chapel. I’m sure that didn’t start and finish the way everybody envisioned it,” said Councilmember Debra Filla as the city council prepared to approve installation spending Monday night. “I do think it is going to be one spectacular thing. I’m going to put it on my nightly prayer list — installed by July 1, installed by July 1.”
‘Reaching’ its roots
The sculpture was originally set to be finished last September, in time for the city’s October Diamond Jubilee celebration. That didn’t happen. But councilmembers have hopes that it will be in place this summer at an intersection leading into Leawood City Park in time for July 4 when thousands of people are expected to see it.
City officials began discussing the idea of special art for the anniversary in October 2021, and the request for artists’ proposals went out at the beginning of 2022. The selection committee chose “Reaching” from 21 submissions.
The sculpture incorporates the city’s anniversary and its relationship with sister city Gezer, Israel. It consists of 75 interwoven rods shaped to resemble an olive tree, which Nemitoff noted is one of the staple crops long cultivated in Gezer.
The description of the project listed clear acrylic and powder-coated aluminum as the materials, with uplighting at the base and LEDs at the ends of the rods, creating a twinkling effect. The sculpture has a pathway through the center that is meant to be walked through.
Nemitoff also proposed a base that would reference the biblical city of Gezer’s ancient six-chambered Solomonic gate, according to city documents.
“The installation reaches down with its roots into the rich histories of both Leawood and Gezer while simultaneously reaching up to the sky with promise of future growth,” he wrote in his proposal.
Unexpected snags
The city council authorized the purchase in July 2022 for $200,000. Originally, the completion was expected to be Sept. 1, 2023. However, because of supply chain issues, that had to be extended to Dec. 1, 2023, said Chris Claxton, Leawood’s director of parks, recreation and cultural arts.
Nemitoff had envisioned the location to be at Mission Road and 133rd Street, near Gezer Park. His proposal letter said that location was a connection to the sister city and to him, as a former member of B’nai Jehudah.
That was one of three locations city officials considered. But they ultimately decided on the Mission Road and Lee Boulevard intersection. It’s unclear what led to that decision.
There was a problem with that, though, because of the floodplain. City workers paid an additional $76,230 for design and geotechnical work at the site, and ended up using fill dirt from other projects to raise the sculpture’s base. It will weigh 200,000 pounds, including the base, and will have pillars driven into the soil for support.
Final funding decisions
The city has already paid all but $40,000 of the $200,000 asking price for the sculpture itself. On Monday, the city approved $485,000 for installation, which includes landscaping, electrical work and the concrete pad. Beyond that, the city council agreed to pay up to $7,500 for storage ($1,500 a month for five months) and $16,000 for the four trips to bring it to Leawood. Any mishaps along the way would be on Nemitoff’s insurance, Claxton said.
Most of the discussion Monday was about whether to build a nine-space parking lot including one handicapped space, and how the city should pay for the installation.
Councilmembers in favor of the parking lot said its closer location and the addition of a handicapped spot would make it more accessible. Mayor Marc Elkins supported that idea, adding that he’d prefer not to have a future struggle over adding a lot.
Councilmember Chuck Sipple also supported the lot. “We should go for installation and go for the parking lot and make it a first-class operation and not look back,” he said.
However, other councilmembers, like Mary Larson, said the installation was going to be expensive enough and a parking lot could be added later, if needed. Including a parking lot would have brought the total installation price to $650,000.
The city council also decided not to risk delays in other park projects, like trail maintenance, by dipping into the capital improvement budget. Instead, they voted to use the special parks and recreation fund, which had money enough to cover the cost without impacting other projects.
Even so, the experience has been frustrating, said Councilmember Lisa Harrison.
“It’s all costing more than what we thought, and nobody likes to find that out,” said Harrison, who was on the selection committee that chose the art piece. “It’s a lovely piece and I am excited about it, but then I got less excited about it when I found out we had these challenges with regards to the site.”
Keep reading: Here’s a look at Leawood’s 75th anniversary celebration
