By Brandi Makuski

The City of Stevens Point announced this week it was commissioning the construction of several artistic benches for placement downtown.

According to an RFP (request for proposal) released Wednesday, all professional visual artists are invited to submit proposals with their plans to construct the new benches, which will placed along the perimeter of a new municipal parking lot just south of the former Dunham’s building. Proposals for the benches must be returned to the city before 1 PM on June 26.

Selected applications for the new benches will be judged on a competitive basis and artists may be interviewed before finalists are announced. Based on the RFP, the city could purchase benches from one or several different artists.

City documents indicate $700 has been budgeted for each bench. The benches should follow a railroad era, logging era or river theme.

It’s not the first major expense for accessorizing the new downtown area. In 2011, the city spent nearly $50,000 on parts for the downtown water fountain from a company in Texas, as well as $20,000 on custom trash receptacles, $46,000 on removable bollards and $19,000 on a bike rack and benches from Maglin Furniture located in Ontario, Canada.

The new artistic benches will be surrounded by decorative grass and trees and will be permanently installed into concrete pads. The installation is expected in October.

For more information click here.