APOPKA, Fla. – Apopka city commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday night to suspend the city’s contract with Main Street Apopka after a downtown mural sparked days of criticism and was ultimately painted over.
The mural, unveiled Aug. 22 on the side of the Domino’s near Central Avenue and Main Street, drew immediate backlash after an Iowa artist accused it of being nearly identical to a piece she created in 2017. Following online backlash, the mural was painted over Monday.
Toward the end of Wednesday’s nearly eight-hour-long council meeting, Commissioner Nadia Anderson said she no longer had confidence in Main Street Apopka’s leadership.
“I think it’s completely reckless if we continue to use taxpayer dollars to fund this organization,” Anderson said. “I think it’s in the city’s best interest for us to suspend any further payment to this organization until we’re able to define a clear policy, so we don’t continue to put the city at risk of any types of lawsuits.”
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Mayor Bryan Nelson argued the city shouldn’t take the blame for the incident, noting the mural project was organized by the nonprofit.
“How many times have we been connected to the mural and the fiasco and yet it has nothing to do with the city,” Nelson said. “All we’ve done is funded Main Street and yet half the articles in the paper and half the articles on TV are that it was the city of Apopka.”
Anderson then responded by saying, “Because it’s a partnership. The liability falls on the city.”
Residents who spoke at the meeting said taxpayer money was being misused and pointed to prior complaints about the nonprofit.
“When you watch the news reports, they’re not talking about Main Street, they’re talking about the city of Apopka,” one resident told commissioners. “So, it’s eggs on your face when you’re voting on where to spend the money.”
Another woman who said she was a business owner near downtown told commissioners, “All we ask is that you stop telling us that we’re petty or that we’re difficult for not wanting to associate ourselves with this organization because this is not the first time they messed up. This is like the fourth time. This is just the first time that it made news and that it inconvenienced the city.”
The city has contributed $12,500 to Main Street Apopka so far this year. Commissioners voted to suspend the relationship until a policy is in place and accountability issues are resolved.
Main Street Apopka’s president addressed commissioners during the meeting but did not say who was as fault for the mural. She confirmed the Apopka artist was paid in full despite the mural being removed.