Not so good on paper
<p>The Frederick Post paper wall mural inside the rotunda of Post Falls City Hall showed signs of damage soon after it was erected. City officials are evaluating an alternative mural that would replace it as fundraising for the project started in 2011. </p>
<p>Cracks and tears, among other wear, have been showing in the mural in Post Falls’ City Hall.</p>
POST FALLS - Post Falls has reopened the case of the deteriorating wall mural.
Within months of the new City Hall opening in 2008, the paper wall mural of town founder Frederick Post inside the rotunda showed signs bubbling, tearing and peeling.
A fundraiser was launched in 2011 to replace the mural with a different one made of tile similar to those at the chamber of commerce next door, but the effort fizzled.
Mayor Ron Jacobson this week brought the campaign back to the table to solicit city council input on how to proceed, if at all.
A total of $2,100 in donations has been collected by the city for a replacement mural, and the council opted to forge ahead with the project.
Jacobson said it was time to either give the money back to the donors or proceed in searching for a mural design and material that could keep the bothersome echo inside the rotunda as limited as possible.
"This has been out there for three years, but nothing was completed," Jacobson said.
The Frederick Post mural was donated to the city by the nonprofit Post Falls Historical Society.
The new mural was originally slated to be made of tile, but a sound company determined that material would only increase the sound issues in the rotunda.
"I think it's safe to assume that it won't be made out of tile," Jacobson said.
Jacobson said a small committee of city staff and council members will explore options for a new mural and report back to the council. City officials estimate it may cost about $5,000 for a new mural.
One option for the mural is a photo of the one-way bridge on the Spokane River with the falls in the background that council member Kerri Thoreson captured. Thoreson said that, if any of her photos are chosen, they'll be donated for the project as they were for the murals at the chamber of commerce office.
Former city officials supported the idea of the one-way bridge, but the mural subject wasn't finalized.
City staff will check whether the donors who donated to the tile mural in the past three years would like their donations to go toward the new mural if one is approved.