The Ogden Arts Commission is pushing the city to adopt a "1 Percent for Art" ordinance, which would set aside a share of each public works project's budget for artwork at the site.
The Ogden City Council has asked the commission to draft a proposed ordinance.The state enacted a "percent for art" law in 1985, and Salt Lake City voted for an ordinance shortly thereafter. Weber County started its public-arts policy in 1994.
Ogden, a city of 75,000 residents, shouldn't fall behind, said Weber State University art professor Jim McBeth. Without a public-arts ordinance it will, he said.
"Word gets around. People go to and live in places that have art," he said. "Art tends to enhance other qualities that are there. We should take advantage of that."
McBeth said that art should be weaved into the city's construction of any building, parkway, bridge or transit station.
Kathy Ricci, director of capital planning for Salt Lake City, said the city's Percentage for Art program has been followed strictly for almost 10 years.
"The council doesn't even question it," she said. "This is one thing we always feel good about. And the public really likes it."
Frances Hawk, executive director of the Ogden Arts Commission, said the commission has lobbied the City Council during informal meetings for a public-arts policy since 1990.
Hawk would like the council to adopt an ordinance similar to Salt Lake City's.
Council Chairman Ralph Mitchell said he would be hesitant to support an arts ordinance until he can see what it would entail. "This is something that needs to be discussed first," he said.
Several buildings in Ogden already boast works of art gained from the state's public-art policies.
The Ice Sheet, Weber State University Student Services Center and the Ogden campus of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind are among a handful of buildings in the city showcasing art from the state's policy.
If the ordinance is passed by the City Council, and if voters approve a $23 million bond March 26, the proposed renovation the Municipal Building and the construction of a new emergency services center could include funds for works of art.
Of the some $23 million projects' cost, about $230,000 would be set aside for artistic flavor.