The proposed ‘Dome of Unity" created more discord in Joliet on Monday.

The City Council is divided on whether to move ahead with the $197,000 sculpture that proponents say will help bring visitors to downtown Joliet but which one councilwoman derided as resembling an “old wiffel ball.”

The City Council is slated to vote Tuesday on whether to add the sculpture to a $9 million city square under construction. The matter was hotly debated at the pre-council meeting Monday night.

The sculpture would be the final touch on a square that is part of a $20.1 million downtown improvement project.

But the $197,000 price tag for the “Dome of Unity” has become a flash point in a social media firestorm that has sparked some opposition on the City Council.

Councilman Joe Clement called the price for the sculpture “ridiculous.”

“I mean no disrespect,” Clement said before adding, “I think we have lost our minds.”

Clement said he wanted something that reflected Joliet as a “blue collar town.”

The “Dome of Unity” is somewhat abstract in nature.

The sculpture is an open white dome that would be built according to a paper cut design that city officials say will allow varying degrees of light through the day and add to its interest.

Members of the city Arts Commission, which engaged in a lengthy selection process that included online voting from the public and interviews with sculptors at a public meeting, defended their selection of the dome for the square.

“After a lengthy and thorough process, the Arts Commission did exactly what it is desinged to do,” said Comissioner Quinn Adamowski.

The Arts Commission recommended the “Dome of Unity” in October in a process that proceeded without opposition until the recent social media backlash.

No critics, however, appeared at the council meeting on Monday.

Art Commission Chairman Tom Grotovsky told the council that the dome will be made of “durable, low-maintenance, grafitti-resistant material.”

He added, “The artwork represents something that is deeply needed today: a message of unity.”

Six people spoke in favor of the “Dome of Unity” at the Monday meeting.

Councilwoman Jan Quillman said opponents had decided it would be “no use” to speak in public against the sculpture but she had been “inundated” with negative comments about it.

“If you ask me, it looks just like an old wiffel ball,” Quillman said.

Quillman also belittled sculptor Sijia Chen of Los Angeles, who will create the “Dome of Unity” if it is approved.

“No one knows who this lady is,” she said.

Councilwoman Suzanna Ibarra said she knew who Chen was even before she proposed a sculpture for Joliet.

“This is a world renowned artist,” Ibarra said. “I knew of her before she even submitted this.”

Mayor Terry D’Arcy also defended the “Dome of Unity” and questioned why opponents were focused on the $197,000 price tag amid a bigger financial issue looming for the city.

D’Arcy has been the lone voice pointing to a 2016 vote before he became mayor in which the council agreed to health insurance plans with the city union that locked in benefits at the time until 2030 for both employees and retirees.

That agreement will cost the city $711,000 a week by 2026, D’ARcy said.

“I respect your $197,000,” D’Arcy said. “What are you going to do about $711,000 a week?”

D’ARcy said the city administration is engaged with discussions with unions about the health plan.

Both Clement and Quillman benefit from the insurance plan. Clement is a retired Joliet police officer, and Quillman is married to a retired Joliet police officer.