Clinton could be on the cusp of a very visionary move, one that will bring enhancements to the downtown, utilize green space and, without question, change the landscape of the College Street entrance to the business district.

It won’t come, however, without a price tag.

And therein may lie the only real rub.

An estimated cost to bring a public art piece to the College Street parking lot, along with other landscaping, is upwards of $180,000.

Of course, that price tag will be offset, public arts committee members believe, by a state Arts Council grant, a hefty sum from a foundation and at least one community-involved fundraising.

The city’s actual contribution could be limited to whatever piece of the project actually can — and should — fall into the third phase of a downtown revitalization project that is likely to get a thumbs-up later this year.

The Phase III project, which would include improvements to the Vance and Connesttee street areas of downtown, was back-burnered by the City Council late last year because of the economic downturn and the council and Mayor Lew Starling’s wish not to overspend taxpayer money.

New life is expected to be breathed into that project this year and, in essence, can be tied indirectly to, at least, some of the work outlined in the entire scope of a public art project, that would include potential parking, landscaping, benches and other assundry aesthetic fixtures.

We wholeheartedly support the public art project both for the endless possibilities it has for the downtown, and thus businesses in the downtown, as well as for the absolute beauty it will bring to this wonderful city. Already the mixture of old and new is a kaleidoscope that gets more beautiful with each phase of a revamp that has served to accentuate the good qualities in the downtown and remove the blights.

Yet, at the same time, we understand that the City Council has a fiscal responsibility to its citizenry, one that requires them to look seriously at the needs in the city, selecting how to spread taxpayer money in the most advantageous and prudent manner.

That’s not to say the public art isn’t a need, in many ways it is. We only know that as Council mulls what part it should play in moving this project forward, it will be with one eye turned to priorities and where this particular need will fall in that list.

So, as the art project unfolds, so, too, will the need for public and private support to help makes this remarkable plan a reality.

The public art project, at whose center will be the freestanding glass wall featuring the image of an old millstone, should serve as the drawing card to the downtown. It should also serve as a means of encouraging long walks, shopping, gathering and enjoying both the sights of the downtown and the offerings its business folk offer.

Public art in other cities across North Carolina have served such a purpose. Take what’s happening in downtown Asheville as an example. The public art in that city’s heart has brought remarkable activity and breathed new life into an area that was fast becoming a ghost town.

We believe the same can happen in Clinton, but realistically we know making it happen will take more than a blessing from the City Council. It will take this remarkable city’s people getting behind the project and being willing to contribute toward it.

We hope it can happen. Clinton and Sampson County will be the better for it.