Valley Metro charged $80,000 for 400 hours art work : AZ IMC

this artist wants $80,000 for doing some artwork
at a bus stop in chandler. wow! thats $200 an hours
for artwork

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Confusion over stimulus may leave artist unpaid

by Edythe Jensen - Aug. 3, 2009 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

Confusion over distribution of federal stimulus money and whether it should be used for designing artistic bus stations has Chandler sculptor Joan Waters worried that she won't get paid for work she did on two elaborate downtown bus stops.

Valley Metro spokeswoman Susan Tierney said if Chandler wants Waters' bus-station designs, the city will have to pay for them, because stimulus dollars are set aside for construction - not design - and must go through a regulated procurement process. Waters was selected by the Chandler Arts Commission for the design work; there were no public requests for proposals or bids and no City Council vote.

The stations will be part of a future bus rapid-transit route along Arizona Avenue. Funding for it is overseen by the regional transportation authority and includes federal stimulus dollars. Since the new route is scheduled to start service in July 2010, Valley Metro is seeking construction bids on the Chandler stations without artistic elements and will put in change orders if and when the issue of Waters' design is settled, Tierney said.

"I dropped all my other projects to do this . . . it is very disheartening," said the artist, who added she was led to believe that Valley Metro would pay her. The showcase bus stations were planned for both sides of the city's central downtown intersection: Arizona Avenue and Chandler Boulevard.

In mid-July, before she knew that Valley Metro wasn't going to pay her, Waters sent the transit agency an e-mail demanding a written contract and accusing it of backing out of its "responsibility to pay me for my professional services."

Waters said she received a $4,500 consulting fee from the city's arts commission to start the design work, which she submitted to the architect last week. She said she spent about 400 hours on the project and is seeking $45,000 for the design from Valley Metro and $35,000 for overseeing construction.

Teri Killgore, downtown redevelopment manager, said there was some confusion over the use of the stimulus money. "We're still trying to sort that out in an effort to move this forward and get Joan paid," Killgore said. The city is committed to Waters' design, and there will be bid-change orders, but it is unlikely Waters will get the full amount she's seeking, Killgore said.