A grant application is being readied for a public art project that could factor heavily into the look of downtown Clinton in the years to come, and require a community fund-raising event to realize.

The concept for the art stays true to Sampson’s history while complementing the downtown space and efforts, said those who have spearheaded the local project.

As part of the public art project, a focal piece would be located at the College Street parking lot, with architectural and landscape elements trickling down to the Cattail Branch and the old jail site on Vance Street, then up to a small sitting park at the intersection of College and Main streets.

The basic concept, city officials and artisans said, is to create an open space in the downtown where people can congregate.

The main piece, a translucent glass wall measuring about 6 feet tall and 25 feet long, would be “hurricane strength” and be adorned with designs customized to Clinton. The piece would be located at a sitting park at the corner of the current College Street parking lot, a possible site for small outdoor performances or lunch.

“It would be a curved wall at the very top point of that parking lot you see as you come around the courthouse and up College Street,” said Lisa Turlington, who served as director of the Sampson County Arts Council up until last month, but plans to see the project through. “It makes it where you see something beautiful as you enter the city, incorporating the past and present.”

The concept includes a possible cornucopia along the main glass piece that will encompass Sampson County’s agricultural heritage of farming produce and tobacco. Turlington said artist Heidi Lippman wanted to “represent synergy” in the community, a place built on the same foundation.

In November, the City Council approved $9,000 for the conceptual phase of the project.

As part of that process, artist Lippman of Baltimore, Md., and Kofi Boone, a landscape architect from N.C. State University, visited Clinton in early December to learn more about the community. They worked together, surveyed the area and talked to residents about the project. They used the feedback in developing a concept incorporating Clinton’s character and history and returned earlier this month to present the concept to city officials.

Beginning at Vance Street, there would be a simple display marking the beginning of the path. That display may include an old millstone once used along the Cattail Branch, once again tying in a historical theme.

“She really liked the idea of having a millstone, that communities were built around a mill,” said Turlington, who noted the idea went well with the overall goal of the project in making the downtown a gathering place. “That’s what the mill has meant. She took her idea of the millstone and added color. She saw togetherness in the community. It was nice to see her glean that from this community and go with something very traditional.”

In addition to the main glass piece at the College Street parking lot, under the proposed project, a glass canopy would travel along the pathway, beginning near the Cattail and extending to the intersection of Connesstee and Main streets.

Lippman has made several glass art pieces, including those which feature prominently on the large windows at Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport.

Boone and Lippman have floated the idea of having up to 30 “green” parking spaces amongst trees, which will, in turn, offer open greenspace when there are no cars. It is not clear whether that will be a part of the application after concerns were raised about downtown parking; regardless, Turlington assured parking would still be available at both sites.

City officials have deemed the art process an “unseen benefit” in the wake of the delayed third phase of downtown revitalization. The delay, due to the economy and tight city budget, has provided time to ensure “the best possible design and use of space for the old jail site,” officials stated.

In addition to artistic elements, the basic revitalization design approved by City Council last February will still include widening of sidewalks, relocation of utility lines underground and streetscaping, all in an effort to improve the appearance of downtown and make it more pedestrian friendly.

Art will only take that further, adding character to the area and acting as a contributing force to attract those people to the downtown, Turlington said.

However, there will be costs associated with the public art project and, if funds are in place, the art will likely not be seen until the summer of 2011.

Implementation of the public art project will require more than the initially estimated $50,000, Turlington said. “Most of the pieces we have talked about would exceed that,” she said.

Currently, materials are being put together to apply for a $25,000 state Arts Council grant, which will require a $25,000 local match. The deadline to apply for the grant is March 1 and the application would have to be accompanied by conceptual designs and site plans.

With the art incorporating use of greenspace, water runoff at Cattail Branch and other issues, there may be other grant avenues open to the project, Turlington noted.

“But we’re hopeful that a big fund-raising event that everyone can get involved in will raise (the money),” she remarked.

The event would likely be in the same vein as last January’s Dancing with the Clinton Stars and would take place at the beginning of next year when the picture has become a little clearer. It will take at least six months for design and fabrication of the art, a process that will not begin until all money is in place.

“We won’t know until the end of the summer if we have the grant,” said Turlington. “We can’t commit to it until we have the money. People could see it standing by the summer of 2011 at the earliest. That is a hopeful stretch.”

Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.