VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A mural honoring military forces at the Howard Johnson hotel off Atlantic Ave., is in jeopardy. Artist Sam Welty said he has tried to contact hotel management multiple times, but has not heard back for almost a month. Now, he's worried the hotel management won't keep their word of letting him repaint the mural.
In November, News 3 took action and set up a meeting between Welty and the hotel operations manager Matthew West.
In that meeting, West agreed to bring Welty on board to repaint the mural once all leak issues were taken care of at the hotel.
The two agreed to meet Dec. 1 to talk about costs and how to move forward.
Welty said at that meeting, he presented hotel management, including a third party who West told News 3 is now in charge, with a quote for how much it would cost to paint the mural and was told he would hear back after a partners meeting Dec. 15.
Welty told News 3 he texted the third party asking for a update. The response:
I have been extremely busy but I will talk to you tomorrow
That was the middle of December and Welty said he never got a response.
"It's extremely frustrating. There's a lot of action that can be taken. Their deadline was that they wanted to have the mural repainted and dedicated on Memorial Day," said Welty.
News 3 has reached out to the third party and has not gotten a response. Despite what he calls a lack of communication, Welty said he will keep fighting.
"No matter what happens, I will make sure the men and women of the United States military get their tribute back. I'm hoping that it’s going to be on the Howard Johnson hotel. If not, if I don’t hear a response soon, we may have to find somewhere else and I could definitely use your help in finding a location."
