Staff recommends the City Council approve a Resolution establishing a Public Art Policy and establishing an effective date.

Public art is growing in popularity in Billings. In 2023-2024, the Mobilize the MAGIC City project implemented three public art installations in Billings, with the goal of using the knowledge gained during the process to evaluate the feasibility of a public art policy/committee for the City of Billings. During the process, staff discovered there was a public art policy for the City of Billings that was not being implemented. Further, there was documentation that those involved in implementing the policy, the only time it was utilized, recommended repealing the policy due to its lack of clarity and the excessive burden of implementation. In 2023, City Council repealed the policy and directed staff to develop a replacement policy. This experience, combined with the experience during the Mobilize the MAGIC City process, showed a clear need for a public art policy for the City. 

While the Planning Division led the effort along with community partners, many staff members from across the City participated in developing this policy. Planning staff engaged department heads and other relevant staff members with a survey early in the process and then sent out drafts of the policy for review. As needed, Planning staff and community partners also held discussions with individual departments to understand their specific needs and concerns. The Parks Board, the Library, Public Works, MET Transit, the Airport, and Facilities engaged in direct conversations about the policy. Gina Dahl, City Attorney, also did an extensive review of several drafts of the policy. Staff also met with City Administrator Chris Kukulski to discuss the draft policy. In addition to these City stakeholders and national experts from the National Endowment for the Arts reviewed the policy and gave feedback. Local experts, including artists, staff from Big Sky Economic Development (BSED), the Billings Community Foundation, and others, participated in discussions about the draft policy. The 30+ member Mobilize the MAGIC City advisory committee also participated in early discussions about the development of the policy. Staff engaged members of the City Council in discussions at two different meetings of the Legislative and Local Affairs Committee and engaged the full Council at two Council Work Sessions on July 7, 2025 and August 18, 2025.

At the August 18 meeting, a few changes were suggested to the text of the resolution, and these changes have been made. At the August 18, 2025 meeting, Council members indicated their questions and concerns had been sufficiently addressed and staff should bring the resolution for approval at a regular business meeting. 

The goal of the public art policy is to make the process straightforward for applicants while providing guidelines to protect the City. The policy will only apply to art installed on City-owned property outside. The Policy only applies to physical art installations, and not to events or art located on Airport property. 

The public art policy will establish a seven (7) member Public Art Committee, consisting of the following representatives who serve at the pleasure of the City Council, according to BMCC Article 2-500: 

• One artist at large.
• One representative from the economic or community development field.
• One representative referred by the Billings Arts Association or, alternatively, any other art-related organization designated by the City Council.
• One representative referred by the Native American Development Corporation or, alternatively any other organization representing the interests of Native Americans designated by the City Council.
• One representative from the engineering, architecture, landscape architect, or three-dimensional art field.  
• Two members of the public that have an interest in public art.

The attached Public Art Review Process Flow Chart (Attachment A to the Resolution) shows how artwork will proceed through the review and approval process. City Staff will be involved early in the process, ensuring that the artwork meets City codes, resolutions, policies, and ordinances. The Public Art Committee will make recommendations on the approval of public art in outdoor spaces. For pieces where the cost of materials plus installation is less than $25,000, the City Administrator will make the final decision and will execute any contracts with the applicant. For projects where the cost of materials plus installation is equal to or more than $25,000, the agreement must be executed by the Mayor with consent of the City Council. 

Art donated to the City shall include a maintenance plan along with a maintenance and/or removal budget donated by the applicant to a fund at the City. Unless a higher or lower amount is approved by the City and memorialized in a written agreement with the applicant, the maintenance budget shall be 10% of the approximate cost of materials and installation. This maintenance budget will not apply to art placed on City-owned property located on private property (i.e., commercial garbage containers), as maintenance of these pieces shall be entirely the responsibility of the private property owner.
 

This policy takes into consideration input from local and national experts, local stakeholders, City staff, and the City Council. Extensive edits were made in response to the July 7, 2025 discussion at City Council, and minor edits were made in response to the Council discussion on August 18, 2025. 

City Council may:

• Approve a Resolution establishing a Public Art Policy and establishing an effective date; or,
• Not Approve a Resolution establishing a Public Art Policy and establishing an effective date. Council has reviewed the Art Policy and associated documents multiple times in the past several months and indicated it was ready to act in a positive manner on the Policy at a regular business meeting. Not acting to approve the resolution would not be consistent with the previous direction provided by Council. 

The policy's implementation and the Public Art Committee will be managed by the Neighborhood Planner int he Planning Division. This position is already funded. While it may take staff some additional time to review public art proposals, it creates a clear process as opposed to trying to individually figure out a process for each individual proposal. 

The policy includes a requirement for the applicant to donate 10% of the art project's cost of materials and installation to a fund held by the City to provide needed funds for minor maintenance and removal of art when the piece reaches the end of its useful life. This fund will address maintenance costs and avoid a burden on the City budget.