Eleven people came in person to the May 17 Oak Harbor City Council meeting to support the installation of the 37-foot, metal Angel de la Creatividad sculpture at Windjammer Park.

“Public art adds enormous value to the culture, aesthetic and economic vitality of Oak Harbor and the island as a whole,” said Cynthia Mason, president of the Oak Harbor Creative Arts Foundation. She said that Oak Harbor should see the “honor and value in owning a piece from a world-renowned artist such as Sebastian.”

Don Cecil, a retired college English professor, said Parisians didn’t want the Eiffel Tower or glass pyramids in front of the Louvre to be built; now those structures have become icons of the city. He said there are people in Oak Harbor who have “failed to communicate with you that we have another opinion on this” and that it would become “a tourist attraction” if installed at Windjammer.

“Just for the record, I love windmills,” Cecil added.

Councilmember Shane Hoffmire said he was very happy to see that many people giving public comments. He said he knocked on over 7,000 doors during his campaign and at almost every house he was told “do not let the sculpture go at City Beach.”

While he couldn’t support the angel going up at Windjammer Park, he insisted there should be compromise and it could be installed at another location. He said that installing it at Windjammer Park despite the opposition from the community was a “violation of public trust.”

Hoffmire ended his comment with saying: “Let’s please figure out a way to get to yes.”