New complaints about the All Bike(r)s Welcome mural reignited debate over its future at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Recently submitted complaints suggest there is a transgender flag hidden in the mural. After hours of discussion, council members couldn’t agree Tuesday whether to leave the mural as is, remove it entirely, or alter it somehow.

The matter is expected to be back on the agenda at the next City Council meeting on Aug. 26. 

Months ago, concerns about the mural were brought to City Council. Although they initially approved the mural in September 2024, some City Council members, upon reviewing the completed artwork, said they felt it amounted to an advertisement for All Bikes Welcome, an organization that helped create the mural.

After much discussion in May and June, City Council and the artist agreed to a compromise: the mural would be accepted as-is, on the condition that the Instagram usernames for All Bikes Welcome and the artist be removed from the artwork.

But that proved to not be the end of the debate. The city has a formal process for residents to challenge public artwork after installation. While complaints from unspecified residents prompted the initial discussion earlier this year, the official process was not followed the first time around. 

Since then, 18 residents have filed formal complaints — all using the same form letter. 

These new complaints triggered the official complaint process, which requires city staff to arrange a meeting between the artists and complainants to seek a mutually acceptable solution. A mediation meeting, held in late July, failed to produce an agreement. Under the policy, the matter then goes to City Council for a final decision.

Like the last debate, concerns were raised that the mural constitutes advertising for an outside group. However, between the official complaints submitted, the mediation report and comments made in public meetings, it’s become clear that the debate is about something else entirely.

The complainants argue that part of the mural looks similar to the transgender flag.

From the complaint letters:

According to the city, the following residents submitted the same complaint letter: LaDonna Combs, Kimberly Holden, Shawn Holden, Carolyn Horine, Kara Howard, Inez Lancaster, Mark Lancaster, Diane Miller, Robert Miller, Ruth Ann Patterson, Tim Rosenau, Tracey Rosenau, Beverly Rogers, Bill Rogers, Leah Knight, Mary Yingst, Melody Wright, and Gary Williams.

The report from the mediation session states the group would drop their complaints if that one section of mural was repainted. 

However, according to the report, the artist said that no design element represents a transgender flag, and agreeing to change the mural now – after complaints have been raised that it contains one – would communicate that certain groups are not welcome in the community.

During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Council Member Beckie Seba proposed removing the mural and said she was opposed to “transgender ideology."

“There has been a lot of comments about opposing worldviews, because that's really what all of this has started with. And it is true, there are opposing worldviews,” Seba said. “And I am someone that believes that transgender ideology is very dangerous.”

City Council Member Holly Hook read from an FAQ page for All Bikes Welcome’s GRIT Mountain Bike Festival, which is designed for trans people, nonbinary people and cisgender women.

One FAQ on the page is “Can my cis male partner camp with me on-site?” The answer provided is “No. Please respect the heart of the fest, which is empowering and equipping trans men and women, cis women, and nonbinary riders.”

Hook said that “to me, that is excluding cis males.” 

At one point in the meeting, Council Member Octavio Sanchez suggested voting to change specific colors on part of the mural — the part that complainants claim represents a transgender flag. 

Council Member Bill Burckart said that doing so would prove the concerns weren’t actually about advertising an organization after all.

“So then we are truly saying that this art piece is not welcome because it may represent a particular ideology and we’re not in favor of having it welcome here in the community. … We’re going to change it to make sure everybody’s clear they’re not part of the mural that says all people are welcome,” Burckart said.

“You are correct in your statement,” Sanchez replied.

In total, the City Council voted three times on the mural matter Tuesday. 

Vote 1: First, City Council Member Gayatri Agnew moved to dismiss the official complaints, keeping the artwork as-is. The motion failed.

Vote 2: Council Member Beckie Seba then moved to remove the mural. This motion also failed.

Vote 3: With the City Council seemingly at an impasse, Sanchez then moved to pause the discussion for the time being and resume it at the next City Council meeting. This motion passed.

City Council Member Aubrey Patterson attended the meeting virtually, but due to new state laws, she was not allowed to vote virtually. 

The presence of an additional council member could affect the conclusion. In the event of a tie, the mayor can cast a decisive vote. 

The matter is now expected to be readdressed at the next City Council meeting on Aug. 26.