Many don’t like Puyallup’s design for new welcome signs. It’s been tabled. Here’s why
Over 300 comments flooded the City of Puyallup’s Facebook post when the city publicized its plans and proposed design for new welcome signs around town. The city decided to pump the brakes on the plans — at least for now.
The city’s Facebook post, which surfaced on Sept. 8, included a link to the city’s newsletter. It details what sparked the plans for implementing and replacing the signs, the artist chosen by the city’s Arts & Culture Commission as well as an image showing a rendering of the proposed sign.
The proposed welcome sign consists of a blue human figure holding onto a red but smaller human figure that is holding three balloons, as if the two figures are floating away. Underneath the two figures is the city’s name in big letters followed by a smaller text that reads “Home of the Washington State Fair.”
Several commenters said the proposed sign is not representative of Puyallup, with some saying the sign closely resembles a school or childcare center sign. Some also referred to the rendering as “sterile” and generic-looking.
“It doesn’t reflect Puyallup at all,” Puyallup resident Janet Simpson Timme told The News Tribune. “We need to reflect the diversity of this town and honor our first nation.”
Timme was one of the many people who commented on the city’s Facebook post. She has been living in Puyallup for almost 19 years. As a paraeducator for the local school district, she works with students who come from different backgrounds — the sign should reflect that, she said.
Puyallup resident Chelsea Schnoor also had reservations about the proposed sign. Schnoor moved to Puyallup when she was 10 years old. The city is known for its tulips, daffodils and Mount Rainier, which the sign did not showcase, she said.
“Those elements would be lost if we have a simplistic sign,” Schnoor told The News Tribune.
City spokesperson Eric Johnson said due to the “passionate feedback” they received from the community through emails, phone calls and social media, they decided to pause the project for now.
“We serve at the pleasure of our residents. We take that feedback seriously,” Johnson said. “If our community is not satisfied with the work that we are producing then we need to listen to that and take that into account.”
City staff will plan more opportunities for public outreach to get feedback and suggestions from community members, Johnson said. The city plans to address the signs during the next City Council meeting on Sept. 28.
Puyallup has had conversations about redesigning the signs for a couple of years now, Johnson said. Sometime during pre-pandemic times, the City Council tasked the Arts & Culture commission with leading the project, he said.
This past year, the Arts & Culture Commission settled on an artist they wanted to work with, Oregon-based sculptor CJ Rench. The commission chose Rench because they have worked together before, Johnson said.
Rench has designed artwork for Puyallup, which can be found in the local library’s courtyard and next to the Kiwanis Kids Spray Park. His work resonates with the Arts & Culture Commission, according to the newsletter.
Rench’s piece in the courtyard consists of two, white-colored human figures of the same size that are shaped similarly to the figures on the proposed welcome sign. One figure is holding up the other.
Puyallup currently has four welcome signs that were built in 1999 — two on South Meridian and one on North Meridian and River Road. Initially, the city was planning to replace the four existing signs and incorporate three new signs, totaling seven welcome signs, according to the newsletter.
The first new welcome sign was supposed to replace one of the signs on South Meridian next to the state Route 512 overpass, according to the newsletter. The other new signs would have been near Woodland Avenue East, Shaw Road East and East Main Avenue.
This story was originally published September 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
