Batavia city, library struggling with community sign
Black plywood silhouettes of a guy playing a fiddle, advertising a Batavia High School musical.
Hand-painted pleas to attend the Boy Scouts' annual Corn and Brat Dinner. A giant cutout of a pumpkin with the time, date and place for a craft show.
The southeast corner of Route 31 and Wilson Street, on the Batavia library grounds, is a prime advertising spot for local nonprofits. And the city and library agree it would be a great place to put up a permanent community message board. It was suggested by a city administrator, and is in the city's comprehensive plan.
But the two governments are at odds over how big a sign it should be.
And then there is the matter of cost: An estimated $150,000.
The library board recently directed its president to approach Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke about "concerns over the approval process and relationship with the city," Batavia Library director George Scheetz said.
For now, the matter is in limbo, with the mayor suggesting the library board again discuss the city's requests, and then meet again with the city's community development committee. The next library board meeting is Feb. 16, and the next community development committee meeting is Feb. 10. Agendas haven't been set yet for either meeting.
How big?
The library decided in August 2007 to install a three-sided masonry sign, with LED panels for the messages. The sign would be 9 feet 8 inches tall.
That's too much for the Batavia Plan Commission, which has formally recommended a two-sided sign no taller than 8 feet high and with less sign area. The city's community development committee hasn't voted on the matter, but at a meeting Jan. 13 members indicated they agreed with the plan commission. They also asked the library leaders to meet with them again. "I think it is going to be a give-and-take," said Alderman Alan Wolff, vice chairman of the CDC.
Scheetz said the size is required. "The key is visibility to drivers heading north on Route 31," he said. At 8 feet, the lower part of the LED panel won't be visible.
Alderman Linnea Miller, a member of the CDC, disagrees.
"I don't think that the sign must be visible to every vehicle at all times and so I don't think we need to add height in order to accomplish a view from everywhere," she wrote in an e-mail to the committee.
The library also disagrees with the plan commission's recommendation the sign be turned off 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily. The corner is busy enough all day to warrant the sign, and it would be important for messages such as Amber Alerts for missing children.
Wolff said he doesn't oppose having an LED sign in the downtown historic district, but thinks this one is too big. He also thinks the city should work out the details on who will approve messages, and who will maintain the sign, before approving a design.
The price tag
Construction would be paid for with a $20,000 state grant; $15,000 in a donation by the developer of the Bank of America property at Wilson and Randall Road; and $7,500 apiece from the library, the city, the school district and the park district. The rest of the bill would be split between the city and the library, with the city's portion possibly coming from property taxes on properties in a downtown tax increment financing district. A proposed agreement calls for the library to run the sign, including reviewing and inputting the messages.
Miller also questions whether it is wise to spend that much money on the sign.
"So what if we have homemade signs around for a few more years? I have heard from a number of people that they like the sense of community that a homemade sign projects and that they would miss that even though they understand the benefits of an electronic sign," Miller wrote.