The committee in charge of maintaining Ottawa’s murals has hired an artist to touch up the Jefferson School mural.

“Imagine and Learn with Bob McGrath,” also known as the “Sesame Street” mural, painted on the east side of the building along Columbus Street, should be restored before the start of the school year, said Peg Breslin, chairwoman for A Brush with History.

The Ottawa Elementary School District tuck-pointed the building and, in the process, contractors replaced several bricks and the three windows within the mural.

Superintendent Cleve Threadgill said the work was necessary because water was seeping into the building.

Breslin said A Brush with History hired Thomas Melvin of Chicago. Melvin painted the mural at the First National Bank building, which is a three-panel image of the building’s east side similar to how it appeared during the Great Depression.

The committee has money in its coffers to maintain Ottawa’s murals and took several high-resolution photos of the murals in case any of them needed restoration.

“We knew having murals outside would require maintenance,” Breslin said.

Breslin said the artist has to wait for more work to be finished at the school, including allowing the wall to be cured, before he is able to begin.

“The artist assigned to the project will restore it to its original colors and original status,” Threadgill said.

The mural was designed and painted by Vicki Crone.

Threadgill said the tuck-pointing, windows and roof repairs at the school are being paid for through TIF reimbursements to the district. The total project will cost about $2.7 million, and he said it also will be finished before the school year begins.