Puyallup City Council votes on welcome sign plan after negative feedback about design
The City of Puyallup will have another go at designing a new welcome sign after residents made it clear they weren’t happy with the one that was proposed.
At the Sept. 28 council meeting, the council voted to give the Arts & Culture Commission time to consider the community feedback and work on new designs, with the expectation that they return to the council in January to present their findings and recommendations.
Councilmembers Cyndy Jacobsen, Dean Johnson, Jim Kastama and Ned Witting voted in favor. Councilmember Robin Farris, Deputy Mayor John Palmer and Mayor Julie Door voted against.
Many people voiced their concerns about the proposed design on one of the city’s Facebook posts in early September, The News Tribune reported. Some commented that the design was not representative of Puyallup.
The proposed design shows a blue human figure clinging onto a red human figure that is holding three balloons. Underneath the figures is the city’s name followed by text that reads “Home of the Washington State Fair.”
Scott Tkach, the city’s senior civil engineer, said during the council meeting that the “a” in Puyallup is bigger than the other letters on the sign to emphasize the word “all,” which refers to the inclusivity present within the city.
People who voiced their critiques of the proposed design mentioned wanting to see more elements tied to the city such as Mount Rainier, daffodils and Native American heritage, city spokesperson Eric Johnson said during the council meeting.
“The community really wants to see the images and themes of Puyallup in this sign,” Deputy Mayor John Palmer said during the meeting. “I do think we need to go back to the drawing board and figure this out.”
Mayor Julie Door said during the council meeting they may have failed to give the arts commission specific direction regarding the welcome signs, but having more public outreach from this point on may help alleviate some of that.
“I think that we really set the art commission up for failure on this one,” Councilmember Robin Farris said during the council meeting, agreeing with Door.
Farris said when new designs are made in the future, the city should let the community vote on the sign they favor.
Councilmember Dean Johnson said during the council meeting that he supports having the proposed design as one of the welcome signs in Puyallup. Sending the proposed design back to the arts commission and asking for something different is a “confusing signal,” he said.
Councilmember Cyndy Jacobsen said during the council meeting that the 300 comments on the city’s Facebook post about the project may not represent the opinion of all residents.
“I’m glad to send it back to the arts commission and get more public opinion on it, but I don’t think the public has necessarily spoken,” Jacobsen said.
