Councilman Paul Cousins, a member of the Village's Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee, unveiled a plan for public art in the village.

Lisa Allmendinger | AnnArbor.com

Monday night, Councilman Paul Cousins, who is a member of the committee, gave a brief overview of the plan that would be funded by 1 percent of all capital improvement projects funded “wholly or partly” by the village up to a maximum of $10,000.

These capital projects would include property acquisition, roads, sewer, and parks projects as well as any possible new village hall or fire house projects, Cousins said.

“We propose that public arts serve the entire community by enhancing the sense of local distinctiveness; by growing the local economy; by increasing the awareness of Dexter as a destination; by creating opportunities for residents; and by improving individual and collective experiences of culture in our community,” the proposal states.

Oversight of village projects would be placed in the hands of the committee, which drew a few questions from Village Council members who will discuss the plan at a work session that’s expected to take place before the July 11 regular council meeting.

“(Assistant Village Manager) Courtney (Nicholls) worked tirelessly on this. I’m giving you a copy to let you digest it,” Cousins said of the draft document.

He suggested that Village Council members take a trip to Chelsea to view the 10 pieces of public art on cement slabs in the downtown.

“We believe that Dexter should demonstrate its commitment to our growing community by funding public arts,” the summary of the proposal states. The proposal identifies types of public art and offers possible places where it could be displayed.

Potential locations include:

*Community Park

*Warrior Creek Park

*Mill Creek Park

*Peace Park

*Lion’s Park

*pedestrian areas and trails

*Dexter-AnnArbor corridor

*Baker Road corridor

The group defined public art as a “wide range of expressions in the visual and performing arts” including sculpture, engravings, mosaics, murals, street furniture and paintings, both temporary and permanent, that is not privately owned.

Cousins said that the committee would encourage developers to contribute to the funding of projects but “couldn’t force them to donate.” However, Matt LaFontaine, general manager of LaFontaine Chevrolet, has already committed $5,000 for a piece of public art on its property as part of its site plan for its expanded dealership project that’s under way.

Members of the committee include Mike Vickers, Victoria Schon, Pam O’Hara, Courtney Fitzpatrick, Tom Rosenbaum, Lynn Babcock, Audrey Becker, Matthew McCormack, Cousins and Nicholls.

Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Dexter stories, visit our Dexter page. For more Chelsea stories, visit our Chelsea page.