For the past few months, Altona Town Council has been exploring the future of the iconic painting of Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers," which has served as a landmark in the town for 19 years.

The replica, painted by Cameron Cross, is known as the world's tallest painting on an easel, standing at more than 76 feet high.

While the giant landmark has been a tourist attraction for nearly two decades, it has become expensive and time consuming to maintain its condition.

Mayor Melvin Klassen said that the council had difficulty deciding what to do with it, which is why it took so long to come to a conclusion.

"We realized that the Van Gogh [painting] is an icon for the Town of Altona," he said.

The painting has suffered damages from wear and tear, and will cost an estimated $35,000 to repair it.

However, because of hail damages in August 2015, Western Financial has agreed to cover 50 percent of the total costs. The town will be responsible for paying the remaining amount.

As a result, the council has decided to keep the painting in place and will have Cross refurbish and refinish the painting and treat it with a protective coating to prolong its lifespan.

Cross has painted two other large Van Gogh pieces, which have been put up in the United States and Australia, and he hopes to paint four more in the future. Klassen said this was another reason why the council was hesitant to take down the painting.

"What do we do if we don't repair it? What happens to [Cross'] vision of putting up [paintings] around the world? Those are questions we were asking ourselves," he said.