City Council Endorses Fundraising for Concho River Sculpture Project

SAN ANGELO, TX — The San Angelo City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution endorsing private fundraising efforts for a proposed public art project titled the Concho River Legacy Trail.

The plan includes commissioning a series of bronze sculptures — proposed to be approximately 110% life-size — that will depict the region’s frontier history along the Concho River parks and within Santa Fe Park.

In a 6-1 vote, council members also authorized staff to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to re-envision landscaping around the river and park areas, incorporating the sculpture installations into a unified design. The proposal received full backing from the Public Art Commission on April 30.

“This is an unprecedented and all at once a lifetime opportunity for San Angelo,” said Tim Newton, a local resident and Western art curator helping lead the project. “It’s an amazing gift that will serve as an inspiration and education for generations and generations and generations to come.”

According to Parks and Recreation Director Carl White, the Legacy Trail will feature roughly 15 vignettes illustrating key moments in Concho Valley history, including cattle drives, Native American life, Buffalo Soldiers, and pioneer scenes. Each grouping would be sculpted by a different artist to ensure variety, with oversight from artist Dustin Payne as the project’s lead sculptor.

No city funding will be used for development or long-term maintenance of the art, according to the staff report. The project is expected to cost between $25 million and $30 million, all raised through private donations. Newton said that fundraising would also support an endowment for ongoing upkeep.

Councilmember Karen Hesse Smith cast the lone vote against the resolution, voicing concerns from her constituents about prioritizing fundraising before creating a strategic master plan for the park.

“I’m hearing that it’s the cart—or maybe I should say the art—before the horse,” Smith said. “They want a plan before you fundraise, and they think a feasibility study determines needs. But I've been soundly outvoted, and I've had my say."

Mayor Brenda Gunter defended the decision to move forward. “Time can kill a project,” Gunter said. “It’s now. It needs to happen now.”

City staff will return to Council later this year to recommend a firm to carry out the park redesign, based on the responses to the RFP.