"We just want to honor and support vets. That's what we do."

WALLACE — The request seemed pretty cut and dry.

Grey Ghost Precision (GGP) wanted to paint a mural of Old Glory on the west-facing wall of its business in Wallace.

The company, which opened its showroom in 2019, describes itself as, “professionals that have extensive backgrounds in the military and manufacturing. Our goal is to continually develop accurate, reliable, and attainable weapon system offerings.”

The business has experienced a few hiccups after applying for a certificate of appropriateness to the city though, mainly pertaining to the Wallace Historic District — an area of Wallace with a boundary of about 100 acres. The district was established in 1979 and placed on the National Historic Register as part of a highway revolt to prevent Interstate 90 from being built through the town.

All exterior changes to any buildings or property need approval from the Planning and Zoning Department ( P&Z) and the Historic Preservation Committee (HPC). This is a federal requirement for any city listed on the National Historic Register to write and enforce standards that maintain the historic character of the listed buildings.

Wallace’s Title 12 of the planning and zoning code explains that the purpose of this historic preservation is:

“… declared as a matter of public policy the recognition, preservation, enhancement, perpetuation and use of structures, natural features, sites and areas within the City having historic, architectural, archeological, cultural or aesthetic significance is required in the interest of the health, economic prosperity, cultural enrichment, and general welfare of the people.”

On May 4 of this year, both P&Z and HPC denied the application for a certificate of appropriateness to paint the American flag mural. Among the reasons was an expressed concern about painting a mural over brick after looking over portions of the code that state that brick should be painted as little as possible.

An updated appeal dated June 15, to the Wallace City Council explains that, “the wall where the mural would be placed currently consists of painted white stucco — not brick.” and “GGP seeks to add a historically accurate American flag mural to the side of its building and GGP was (and remains) willing to modify the design of the mural so that it comports with the historical nature of the city.”

The explanation for the appeal process can be found within the city code (12-7-1: Notice of Appeal), including what an appeal must contain — most importantly including a statement whether the appeal is taken upon matters of law, or upon matters of fact or both.

The appeal must also contain a statement of the issues that the appellant (a person who applies to a higher court for a reversal of the decision of a lower court) asserts on appeal.

Kathyrn Hanson, managing director for GGP, explained to the News-Press that it seems like there is confusion surrounding what exactly they want to paint.

“I think the city is a little unsure of exactly how we were going to paint it. We are trying to clarify and give them an exact rendering,” Hanson said. “We talked about putting the names of every soldier that has served from Wallace. We also discussed a more traditional Betsy Ross flag, or something more historic.”

Hanson went on to say the reason behind wanting to paint a mural of the American flag primarily comes from GGP being a military-based company.

As a company that holds Americana near and dear to their hearts, just want to add a touch of patriotism to a bland white facade.

“We’re all veterans, and we hire vets,” said Hanson, “We also sell a lot to the military. We do love our country and support it, but we mainly want to honor our veterans, soldiers and the military. There is completely a reason behind it. And we don’t love that the white wall is kind of ugly. If it was (the) original brick we wouldn’t touch it. It’s all veteran related. We are a vet company, and vet operated.”

Hanson expounded upon what GGP provides as a company saying, “Every person that I’ve known in the military doesn’t always love their military-issued gear. So we make it better. We always try to make it better. Or we can take their issued gear and fix it for them with our sewing departments.”

GGP noted in its appeal that this property had a mural on this same wall for over 20 years, explaining, “GGP’s representatives verified this fact with the Shoshone County Assessor’s Office and confirmed that a mural was on this same wall for over two decades.”

Hanson has a photograph from 1982 that proves this fact.

Overall, Wallace business owners have shown support to GGP in its request, giving further evidence that the American flag is of historic nature. Some have expressed concern over the meaning behind the flag, explaining that it could be viewed as a symbol of toxic nationalism.

“We don’t want any arguments,” explained Hanson. “We just want to honor and support vets. That’s what we do.”

Once the new appeal/application is filed, according to Wallace City Code, the city has 21 days to hold a preliminary hearing

The preliminary hearing will determine whether the appeal has any merit.

While Grey Ghost has said it doesn’t plan to give up its fight and will re-appeal the decision, according to city officials, as of Monday, July 18, no appeal has been filed.

For Wallace City Code, Wallace City meeting agenda, and minutes visit wallace.id.gov

For more information about Grey Ghost Precision, visit greyghostprecision.com.