Delays decision on what to call “the square”
The Jefferson city council delayed a decision on the exact wording on wayfinding signage in response to concerns from the county supervisors about the name of what most local residents call “the square.”
The council at its Dec. 12 meeting passed a resolution approving the concept for wayfinding signage presented last August, and the location of the signs. That allows city staff to start getting price quotes on sign posts. The wording was specifically not approved.
A conversation has been ongoing since Jefferson Matters: Main Street director shared the wayfinding plan with the supervisors in October. The plan includes signs directing visitors to “Bell Tower Square”. The supervisors would prefer it be called “Courthouse Square,” noting that the courthouse was there 50 years before the bell tower was built.
The city contends that the bell tower is what is unique to the community and that more visitors are looking for the bell tower than the courthouse.
City administrator Mike Palmer provided his monthly update to the supervisors Monday. He mentioned that board chair John Muir visited with him last week about the signage. “We agreed to disagree,” is how Muir described the conversation.
Council member Dave Sloan reported receiving 15 emails stating that the “Bell Tower Square” vs “Courthouse Square” question is not settled. In discussion at the council meeting, council members still prefer “Bell Tower Square,” but they agreed to delay approving verbiage until January.
The supervisors suggested that the signs say only “Bell Tower,” as that would not be de facto naming the space surrounding the courthouse and the bell tower. “I don’t care if there are 100 signs saying ‘Bell Tower’. I just don’t want them to say ‘Bell Tower Square’,” Muir said Monday.
The total cost of implementing the wayfinding proposal is $140,415. The council has not stated its intention to implement the entire proposal in the next fiscal year, but Tuesday night’s action leads in that direction.
