Butler is set to receive a fresh coat of paint.

The city has been selected to host the 2016 International Walldog Meet, which will bring professional artists to paint murals on several buildings.

“There will be about a dozen murals painted around town,” Pat Collins, director of the Butler County Historical Society, told city council Thursday night.

The historical society arranged for the event to come to the city, with the help of the county’s own Walldog, Jill Welsh, who owns Jill’s Custom Signs in Middlesex Township.

The murals will be arranged in locations that encourage walking.

Collins said she saw what the Walldogs are capable of during a trip to Pontiac, Ill., last summer.

“These things will bring people from other states,” Collins said. “There are people that will travel around to look at these things.”

The murals will have historic themes specific to the city.

“We have provided them with subject matter — things that were important in Butler’s history. They will design the murals and they’re sent back to us only for historical accuracy comments,” Collins said.

Councilman Kathy Kline and Chelynne Curci, Main Street manager for Butler Downtown, will assist the historical society and Welsh with the event.

Councilman Bill May, considered one of the city’s most knowledgeable historians, said he was excited about the news.

“I want to commend the historical society for taking this initiative,” he said. “I was on Route 66 two summers ago, driving through a town called Cuba, Missouri. My family and I went into town to take that walking tour and spent money in that town because of those murals. It is a very good thing for the city of Butler.”

Collins said that the new Rite Aid pharmacy set to be built along Main Street would be a great spot for a mural.

May criticized the design of the building at last month’s council meeting, saying it did not fit the style of a downtown building.

“I know people are upset about the brick side of the building, but we got excited that it’s all brick,” Collins said. “We have some great spots for (the murals) and the Rite Aid building could be a real plus for that.”

“Maybe it will look a lot better with murals to cover it up,” May joked in response.

Collins said the historical society hopes to host a public meeting in May to provide information.

The 2016 event is scheduled to run July 27-31.

The Walldogs held a similar event in 2002 in Mars.

The Walldogs are a group of sign and mural artists from around the world. The organization was formed in Allerton, Iowa, in 1993.