Mural considered for Douglass Park basketball courts

Jun. 26—CHAMPAIGN — One of the newest murals along the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail could find a home on an unusual surface: the basketball courts at Douglass Park.

The Champaign Park District Board will consider an agreement with Experience Champaign-Urbana regarding this potential project at a special meeting tonight.

"The conversation is about possibly getting a mural on the basketball courts themselves at Douglass Park," said Tim Oravec, community development manager for Experience Champaign-Urbana. "But again, this is very preliminary and not a done deal. It's just a conversation."

He added that if the parks board approves the agreement, it doesn't necessarily mean the mural project at Douglass Park will move forward; it just means that the conversation can continue.

Sarah Sandquist, executive director of the park district, wrote in a report to the board that the Heritage Trail has received a large grant that includes funding for new murals, and they are considering installing one at Douglass Park.

Oravec said that if the project moves forward, it would likely be supported, at least in part, by the same Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity grant that is supporting four other Heritage Trail murals announced Tuesday morning.

The proposed agreement indicates that if the project were to move forward, the Experience Champaign-Urbana Foundation would be responsible for funding the mural and the park district "shall have no financial obligation."

Oravec said that the foundation is looking at potentially hiring artist Ryan Adams of Portland, Maine, for the project.

Adams' work includes large-scale murals and hand-lettered signage. He and his wife, Rachel Gloria Adams, own a mural company and have also launched Over Here Studio, a gallery in Portland that highlights local artists.

The park district board will also consider an agreement that would allow the Experience Champaign-Urbana Foundation to use the park district's MTD bus for free community tours of the Heritage Trail.

"Both agreements are still being reviewed and discussed, but we are excited to explore many ways to continue expanding the reach and impact of the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail," Oravec said.

Sandquist wrote that a one-time fee of $15,000 is proposed for this agreement.

Other items on the park board's agenda for tonight include:

* A $200,000 engineering services contract with Clark Dietz for a new bicycle-pedestrian path adjacent to Parkland Way.

* A resolution to purchase the Zahnd family homestead, which sits on four acres adjacent to Zahnd Park, for $800,000. Park officials plan to use the land as open space, and there is a special provision in the agreement that would require the park district to create a flower garden in honor of Dorothy Zahnd.

* Approval of a bid from All Inclusive Recreation to replace the Davidson Park playground for $162,119.50.