2013/03/13 Council Agenda Packet

Jan Meston: The two suggestions by the Parks board were "Theatre Plaza" as their first choice and "Wetmore Plaza" as their second choice. "Wetmore Theatre Plaza" was discussed at the Historical Commission meeting in November, but it was not one of the Parks Board's two recommended names. Gail Chism: I like "Wetmore Theatre Plaza" because it identifies. There are lots of buildings on Wetmore. "Wetmore Theatre Plaza" gives it more definition in my mind. That ties everything together. I would also like to suggest that somehow the two pictures that Jack O'Donnell has of houses that sat on this site be incorporated somehow into the plaza area with a brief history of the history. Barbara Lamoureaux: I remember at the November Historical Commission meeting we had a discussion about the length of the sign. Paul Kaftanski reminded us that we would have to put up a sign in the plaza and it cannot be a really big sign. I like the two words, whether it's "Wetmore Plaza" or "Theater Plaza". It's short and concise. But I am wondering if the size of the sign came into play with the sign. I do think it's important that everything fit. I would rather not have "Wetmore Theatre Plaza" in little tiny letters instead of a big sign so those of us who are now collecting Social Security can see it when we're driving down the street. It is also important for people coming into town to have some clue where it is. There is the Everett Historic Theater on Colby. While there is probably not a plaza nearby there, although Mr. Skotdal's building on the corner has an open area, it is important to define where the new plaza is. I hate getting too far away from our historic roots. The discussion in November about naming it after Mr. Wetmore, one of the city's founders, has merit to tie in our history. There are only two theaters here now, but 80 years ago there were four within a four -block range. So who knows what will happen down the road. The size of the sign is a concern. I like both names. Is it too early in the game to have drawings about where a sign might fit and how much space you have? Paul Kaftanski: The issue of the size of the sign, its width, height, and the font size, was discussed at the Historical Commission meeting in November. It was also discussed at the Parks Board meeting. We discussed a couple signs in the system as examples, American Legion or Lion's Park, which is seven feet long, and Bayside which is four feet long. The more words, the smaller the font size. It's the Parks Department's responsibility to install a monument sign. We have about five feet in length available to deal with in the landscape area on the east side of the plaza. The Parks Board was cognizant of having too many letters in a name. That probably resulted in two names coming forward "Theatre Plaza" and "Wetmore Plaza" but not combining them. Barbara Lamoureaux: I am not an artist or design person, but I do remember Jack O'Donnell's pictures and how cool they were. I don't know if there is a height restriction on the sign, but two words makes it easy to have one on top and one on the bottom, then maybe the pictures could be used as a watermark in back of the sign. There could also be information on where to get more historic information. Paul Kaftanski: In the Park Department's design standards, there is the ability to customize the base of a monument sign, but the sign itself is standard, intended not to be tailored to any park. But the base can be tailored, so there can be an opportunity to do something with the base of the sign. Barbara Lamoureaux: Why does it have to be the same as all the other signs? Paul Kaftanski: When you look at signage and wayfinding, you look at standardization and certain themes. There needs to be a consistent message and theme to signage. But we recognize the desire, based on the location, to have customization. The decision four years ago was to have customization on 2