Puyallup is looking to spend about $400,000 on new welcome signs. Here’s the plan
Puyallup residents will get a say on how the city’s new welcome signs should look.
The City Council unanimously voted during its March 1 meeting to create a survey that asks residents about designs they would like to see on the welcome signs. In a 4-2 vote, the council also voted to have five signs with different themes and locations.
Council members Jim Kastama and Dennis King, Deputy Mayor Ned Witting and Mayor Dean Johnson voted in favor of having five different signs. Council members Julie Door and John Palmer voted to have one unified sign. Council member Robin Farris abstained.
Having multiple-themed signs will cost the city about $408,000 total, according to city documents. This includes design, fabrication, site preparation, installation and staff costs. Having one sign replicated five times would cost the city about $325,000.
City spokesperson Eric Johnson said the online survey will ask residents questions such as what kinds of designs should be showcased and their thoughts on the proposed locations. The city is currently in the process of drafting the survey, he said.
“We need to get feedback before we can pursue any sort of action on this project,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the city does not know when the survey will be out, but it will be on the city’s website, social media and in its newsletter. The survey will be open for about a month. Results will be presented to the council at a future meeting, he said.
The City Council gave the Arts & Culture Commission time to reflect on community feedback on Sept. 28, 2021, after residents spoke against the city’s proposed design earlier that month, The News Tribune reported.
The proposed design included a blue human figure lifting a red human figure. The red figure is holding onto orange, green and purple balloons. The city’s name is in big letters under the figures, as well as the words: “Home of the Washington State Fair.”
The colors in the proposed design are supposed to match the gates at the State Fair, according to city documents. The proposed design was expected to replace the sign near Meridian at state Route 512. If approved, it would cost the city about $79,800.
The other four proposed locations are near Ninth Street Southeast at state Route 512, East Main, Meridian at state Route 161 and River Road, according to city documents.
A motion from Kastama that would have approved the proposed design failed during the March 1 meeting. The design is “on hold” until the city receives feedback from the survey, Johnson said.
Kastama said during the meeting that the State Fair is “extremely significant” and put the city on the map. He said it is appropriate for the proposed design to be near Meridian at state Route 512 as it symbolizes the State Fair.
People who disliked the proposed design mentioned it was too “children-focused,” Kastama said.
“We are children-focused. We’re family-focused,” Kastama said. “The fair is a place where you go to create memories for children.”
Palmer said during the meeting that they would not be listening to their constituents if they proceed with the proposed design. He said he has “no confidence” the public would be on board with the decision.
“The reason we got feedback, in my opinion, is (because) people didn’t identify with it,” Palmer said. “I wouldn’t want to go forward without fully putting this out to the public.”
