As everyone should know, the five "Windows on Dundee" murals were installed in May by UNO students. They look great and are a great addition to our neighborhood. There has been some minor graffiti over the summer but the anti-graffiti coating works great and any paint has been easily wiped away without any damage to the underlying surface. Some additional caulking on the roof was done to address some leaking during heavy rains.
Unfortunately, a couple of the murals were damaged when a vandal decided to tear off a couple of edges that had come loose. We had all of the murals cauled with an adhesive after that happened and it seemed to work. However, in the last week someone decided to take a knife to one of the murals and tore off almost half of the mural cutting it into many pieces. Fortunately, Grace Rock picked up the pieces and I was able to get the mural put back together again over the weekend.
I met with the contractor on Saturday to see if he had any thoughts or ideas. First, he suggested using an inexpensive deer camera to see if we can get a picture of who may be doing this. I went out to Dick's and I was able to get a $50 camera that I am going to put on one of the poles. The contractor also suggested covering the murals with an abrasive proof plexiglass. The contractor is going to get me estimates by tomorrow. His best guess was probably $6,000 to $8,000. He understands how important it is to get this done quickly before any further damage is done.
We currently have $2,252.84 remaining from the funds designated for the subway. We have a $1,027.20 cost for the two mural artists plaques that are yet to be installed. That leaves $1,225.64 that can be dedicated to the plexiglass covers. That means we would need to raise another $5,000 to $7,000 to get it done.
I am committed to doing whatever I can to raise that money so these great pieces of art can be protected.
