In October, Oak Harbor installed the “Angel de Creatividad,” a 37-foot abstract angel sculpture, in Flintstone Park. Three months later, and following several approvals in the last four years, the city council “accepted” it.

The art commission submitted its proposal in February 2021, and in August of that year a gift agreement was made between Oak Harbor and the estate of George Drake, founder of Sculpture Northwest.

The summer of 2021 caused a hiccup when a city survey garnered 760 responses, over 70% saying citizens did not want the sculpture. The city proceeded anyway.

In September 2021, a professional service agreement was made between the city and Sculpture Northwest. The city discussed where it would put the sculpture throughout 2022, approving the site in February of 2023.

In March 2023, the city created a sculpture maintenance plan. July of that year, the city picked the company to install it. Permitting was completed in February of last year.

Then, in July, the city had to re-approve the site due to inaccurate listing of its height. The sculpture was installed last October, and the city made a final payment of $35,000 from the creative arts fund in November 2024.

“To every single community member and city civil servant that helped over the course of nearly five years to make this amazing gift become a reality, and you know who you are, history is now yours to tell,” Therese Kingsbury, president of Sculpture Northwest, wrote in a statement read before the city council Tuesday evening. “The story starts now. Embrace the future, and fight for what’s right! We look forward to celebrating and sharing this tantalizing tale.”

Bryan Stucky was the only council member to decline to accept the sculpture to honor the overwhelming majority of survey responders who did the same.

“There are only two council members here from the original vote, that’s how long it’s been going on,” he said. “No doubt the public is tired of hearing about this, so this is the end, am I correct? This is the end.”

Stucky said he doesn’t have strong opinions about the sculpture.

“I don’t think much of it. It’s just there,” he said. “I’m not hurt by it. I’m not in awe of it, so I would just say for those who are for it, wonderful, and for those who are against it, if we could just move on, that would be wonderful.”

Mayor Pro Tem Tara Hizon joined the majority of the council in accepting the sculpture.

“I recently had the pleasure of seeing it from the water coming into the harbor, and it was very cool,” she said.

Members of the City of Oak Harbor and Sculpture Northwest cut the ribbon for the Angel de Creatividad, Oak Harbor’s new 40-foot sculpture at Flintstone Park. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)