PROVIDENCE (AP) — Providence officials have announced plans to form a seven-member committee to review and address memorials, historic markers and monuments after the city’s statue of Christopher Columbus was vandalized.

Historians and cultural experts would make up the panel, which would evaluate proposals for new public art, and assess applications from the public for the modification, relocation or removal of existing works.

The Providence Journal reports that the idea of creating such a committee has been in discussion since 2017 when the Department of Art, Culture and Tourism created a vision plan for public art in the city.

Department Director Stephanie Fortunato said she hopes the committee would encourage robust conversations.

There had been talk of moving the Columbus statue after it was covered in red paint last month on Columbus Day.