Arts specialist Mary Pat Byrne told the commission she’d been struggling to decide what to do with the piece for the past several years, knowing that its repairs would cost far more than the $10,000 spent to purchase it in the late 1990s.

“Extensive sun damage” and “water trapped on the sculpture since 1998,” deteriorated the piece beyond repair, McVay wrote to the commission in a letter. Because of its location beneath shedding trees and the lack of air space between the piece and its cement base, restoration, if possible, would cost between $35,000 and would have to be moved indoors, or $100,000 to cast it in bronze.

McVay said he deeply regrets how quickly the piece has rotted and offered to recreate it using a similar sized piece of salvaged cedar instead of the Sitka spruce used for the original. Applying layers of penetrating marine finish to the new piece also would prevent such damage to the new piece, he added.

“He feels terrible that the piece has deteriorated, which is why he’s anxious to build a replacement that will last,” Byrne said. “The site of a rotten sculpture is a very negative image of the art and the city.”

The commission agreed, voting unanimously to deaccession the art back to McVay and the $14,500 proposal to build a recreation.

McVay said the current price for a similar sized sculpture would normally cost $30,000, but he is willing to do it for less than half because of the problems with the first piece.

Using the existing foundation, McVay plans to attach a vapor barrier and sill to the concrete prior to the installation of the artwork to prevent water infiltration through the base.

The process is estimated to take between three and four months to carve a similar piece. This time, however, McVay said the sculpture will be designed to shed rain water.

The commission also agreed to establish a maintenance plan for the piece to ensure it’s properly taken care of in the future.