CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA
                 CITY COUNCIL AGENDA




  Agenda Date:          December 20, 2021

  Action Required:      Approval of Resolution (1 Reading)

  Presenter:            Ashley Marshall, Deputy City Manager

  Staff Contact:        Ashley Marshall, Deputy City Manager

  Title:                Resolution Approving Final Disposition of the Jackson Statue



Background:
In July 2021 the City removed the statue of Stonewall Jackson from Court Square Park,
following the process set forth within Va. Code §15.2-1812. The resolution authorizing the
removal, as City Charter, and applicable state law all reserve and confer upon the City Council
the sole authority to determine the final disposition of this statue.

Discussion:
The City publicly advertised that it was inviting proposals from persons interested in acquiring
ownership of the Statue. Among those proposals was an offer from LAXART, a charitable
institution or organization organized under the laws of the State of California. LAXART is
engaged in a project (a joint venture with the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA))
to commemorate the historical events that occurred within the City of Charlottesville August 11-
12, 2017 and in other cities across the nation, when those cities undertook to remove monuments
that had stood for a century as symbols of white supremacy. LAXART will install the Jackson
Statue at MOCA, as part of an exhibit that will include other similar statuary, all of which will be
exhibited alongside works of contemporary art presented in a manner that will contextualize these
monuments socially, historically, and art-historically, in order to critique and confront the false
narrative and ideology of the Lost Cause. LAXART has offered a monetary sum of $100,000.00
to the City for both the Lee and Jackson Statues.

On December 6, 2021 City Council approved a donation of the Lee Statue to a different charitable
institution/ organization. Following that meeting staff contacted LAXART, and LAXART
confirmed that it will offer $50,000.00 to the City to acquire the Jackson Statue.

Budgetary Impact:
If approved, the monetary compensation offered by LAXART will defray a portion of the funds
expended by the City to remove the Jackson Statue from Court Square Park.

Alternatives:
City Council could retain ownership of the Jackson Statue.
Community Engagement: yes. Over a course of months in 2016, the BRC and several working
subcommittees (for public engagement; case studies; historic site inventories; and historical
context/background) conducted studies, engaged with the community through public meetings
and forums, and deliberated. According to the BRC’s Interim Report to City Council (September
19, 2016) over 150 people attended the BRC’s first community forum at the Jefferson School on
July 27, 2016. The BRC gathered for 15 meetings (including 3 public forums), held at different
locations throughout the City to make it easier for members of the public to attend and comment.
From March 2017 to April 2021 the City was tied up in litigation and could not carry out its
desired actions. On June 7, 2021 City Council conducted a public hearing, pursuant to the
process set forth within Va. Code §15.2-1812(B).

Alignment with Council Vision Areas and Strategic Plan:
Yes.

Attachments:
   • Proposed Resolution
   • LAXART Offer
                                    RESOLUTION
                          APPROVING A FINAL DISPOSITION OF
                         THE STATUE OF STONEWALL JACKSON



       BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE that

all of the City’s right, title and interest in and to the statue of Confederate General Thomas J.

“Stonewall” Jackson, including its base, is hereby conveyed to LAXART, a charitable

institution/ organization organized under the laws of the state of California, in return for

monetary compensation in the sum of $50,000.00. This disposition is final.




I, Kyna Thomas, do hereby certify that the foregoing writing is a true, correct copy of a
resolution duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Charlottesville, Virginia, by a vote as
recorded below, at a regular meeting held on _________________, 20__.


___________________________________
Clerk of Council, City of Charlottesville


                       Aye Nay
Mayor Walker           ____ ____
Vice Mayor Magill      ____ ____
Councilor Hill         ____ ____
Councilor Payne        ____ ____
Councilor Snook        ____ ____