Robbinsville – A pair of new murals were a hot topic at March 3’s Town of Robbinsville Board of Aldermen meeting, following a presentation by REVVED UP founder John Colwell.
Colwell presented two possible murals for the town, including an abstract mountain scene on the Lovelace building. The mural would be painted at a cost of $25,000 split evenly between the town, the county, REVVED UP and the Graham County Travel and Tourism Authority.
“This is going to act like a giant billboard that can be seen from all over the bypass,” Colwell said.
He said that the cost of one rented billboard touting Robbinsville would cost $31,800 for a year. The figure is higher than the cost of the first proposed mural, which will last at least a decade.
“Our artist uses DOT approved paints,” Colwell said. “They guarantee their work for 10 years.”
Alderman Brian Johnson expressed some concerns regarding the possibility of someone building on the adjacent lot, covering up the mural.
However, Colwell said REVVED UP was negotiating with the owner of the lot to allow REVVED UP to build a deck under the mural.
“I would hate for them to erect a building right beside it and nobody could see it anyway,” Johnson said.
The second mural would be of hometown hero and country music artist Ronnie Milsap and would be part of a statewide series of murals of North Carolina musicians, being painted in their hometowns by artist Scott Nurkin. The Milsap mural would be number 12 on a proposed trail of 20 murals. Nine have already been completed. The mural would be completed at a cost of $10,000, would be smaller than the proposed mountain scene and would be located open the Graham County Agricultural Extension Building.
“He will submit drawings, and we will choose the design that we want,” Colwell said.
Colwell also proposed a weekend-long music festival featuring local musicians – and possibly Milsap himself – with the completion of the mural.
“I think the time is right,” Colwell said. “Ronnie’s over 74 now. This is a time to honor him, one of Robbinsville’s native-born residents.”
He also said Milsap’s mural could be completed in one week. The board voted to back the murals, pending the other funding sources doing the same.
Colwell also said that it was possible that grant funds could be acquired for the mural projects.
New RTA member
The board also unanimously approved Blevins Tire owner Robert Blevins to serve on the Robbinsville Travel and Tourism Board. He was chosen from a field of three final candidates that also included Moonshiner Steakhouse and The Hub owner Blake Orr, and Mountain Memories owner Cindy Garren.
Blevins will replace Alderman Shaun Adams, who officially stepped down from the board last month.