Don’t blow $250K on a single Apache Junction roundabout landmark

OPINION — I am writing to correct a detail in my previous letter regarding the proposed $250,000 roundabout art installation. While I previously stated this money comes from the city’s general tax fund, city officials have clarified that it is instead funded by developer impact fees earmarked specifically for public art under city code.

However, changing the name of the bucket the money comes from does not make this expenditure any less ridiculous. A quarter of a million dollars is enough to buy a family home or an emergency response vehicle. Spending that entire amount on a single roadside ornament — and guaranteeing the artist $10,000 even if their initial sketches are rejected — is a staggering waste of resources.

The city code may mandate spending these development fees on public art, but it does not force the city to blow $250,000 on a single roundabout landmark. The council has the legal flexibility to commission a local muralist for 10% of that cost and save the rest.

To choose the maximum possible blowout for a road decoration at the exact same time our local food bank is being forced out of its home near Idaho and Superstition is a terrible look for Apache Junction. The demand at our food bank has nearly doubled over the last four months, jumping from 40 to nearly 100 clients an afternoon. Our leaders need to stop hiding behind developer fee codes, rein in this bloated art contract, and use their municipal planning leverage to help secure a permanent home for the food bank keeping our neighbors fed.

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