California Progress Inc. received an update on the direction of future work on murals in the community and made the decision to shift away from an in-person annual meeting at the board's regular monthly meeting Monday.
Gail Hughes was on hand to give the update from the mural committee. The mural that is currently in progress near the still in progress Latham Memorial Family Park is estimated to be finished in the next couple of weeks, leaving four tentative future mural projects - one each recognizing the histories of the railroad, library, California schools and CPI itself.
Hughes said, based on the board's previous recommendation the committee would likely need to raise money to pay for future mural projects, he looked into some funding options in the form of grants from Union Pacific and Wells Fargo. The Union Pacific grant, for example, could help pay for the cost of the railroad mural. Hughes said the estimated cost for the railroad mural would come in at $9,000, while the library and school murals would likely be a less expensive $6,000.
Work on any such projects will pause for the winter weather soon anyway, so the group agreed to let Hughes know moving forward what its thoughts are on applying for any grants.
The board also elected to forgo hosting an in-person annual meeting, which had previously been the plan, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the board will mail ballots to its voting members for its nominations to fill the upcoming vacancies on the board of directors - Connie Walker, Mary Ann Wasser and Jerry West.
In other business, the board received an update on progress at the Latham Memorial Family Park project. The gazebo and weather vane are now up at the park, and the area for the future veterans memorial is staked off.
The board also approved moving forward with an updated website. The board approved working with Firehouse Deisgn, based in Jefferson City, up to a cost of $1,000.
CPI's next regular board meeting is set for 6 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Moniteau County Library.