2nd Bridge Sculpture Set For Downtown, Sparks Was Lone Council Objector

The Batavia City Council Monday night voted 13-1 in favor of a second downtown bridge sculpture.

The sculpture will come from the second William J. Donovan Bridge Sculpture Competition, which will include entries and proposals from local artists.

Garran Sparks was the lone alderman who voted against the competition. 

“Because the sculpture is going to do nothing for the defense of Batavia, I’m going to vote against it," Sparks said, with a visible smile on his face.

The council chuckled at Sparks' remark, which pokes fun at Alderman Eldon Frydendall's strong support of the sculpture competition. Frydendall quoted Robert Wilson's defending of the creation of : “It has nothing to do directly defending our country except making it worth defending.”

Along with Wilson’s statement, Frydendall pointed out this bridge sculpture may not make crossing it safer nor make traffic move quicker.  He said beautifying the bridge will bring people downtown.

City officials visited many places from Aurora to Algonquin to create the downtown bridge, which has since received local and national recognition, Frydendall said. 

City Administrator Bill McGrath recommends professional artists and the general public help judge the competition, which has the theme "History."

The completion of the bridge sculpture is projected for December 2011. For more details on the project, click .