City councillors have opened their hearts, but not necessarily their wallets, to a landmark Barrie sign.
They gave a thumbs up Monday to a Heart (symbol) Barrie sign, which will be no more than eight feet tall, installed in Heritage Park, paid for exclusively through $200,000 in fund-raising by Coun. Mike McCann before Oct. 10, and installed by July 1, 2022.
McCann has made a 100 per cent fundraising commitment of $200,000 by the October date – with 75 per cent of donations paid to the city by then, to finance the landmark sign.
“There’s no tax dollars, it’s all fund-raised,” said Coun. Gary Harvey. “If there were any tax dollars involved I would be voting a solid no.
And it’s quite evident these signs do draw people.”
McCann has said this project is intended to unite Barrie — to help businesses by driving residents and visitors to the downtown and have them celebrate the city by being photographed with the landmark sign.
“The downtown businesses were screaming at us to do something,” McCann said. “This is the way struggling downtown businesses can attract more people to the downtown.
“You wouldn’t believe how many business people have reached out to me and want to be a part of it.”
City council will consider final approval of the landmark sign at its June 14 meeting.
Coun. Sergio Morales said there would be more support if this wasn’t McCann’s plan.
“For better or worse, had this been from any other member (of council), we would be looking for ways to make this work, not how to trip it up,” he said.
“I do understand I’m a polarizing councillor,” McCann said. “I do believe the sign is bigger than Mike McCann. Once the sign is built, nobody is going to remember I fund-raised for it.”
Mayor Jeff Lehman said he has no doubt McCann can raise the $200,000, but he voted no, saying the sign isn’t distinctive enough compared to what other cities have.
“This is what every other city has got,” he said. “If we are going to do this, do something that stands out. I see it as a missed opportunity. This is not right for our waterfront, not right for this location.
“And do we really think this is how we are going to drive the economy, post COVID? No.”
“I’m not convinced this sign would be the draw some people think it would be,” said Coun. Keenan Aylwin.
“I don’t think this is the type of thing we should spend our precious time and money on,” said Coun. Clare Riepma.
McCann has said he’s never before raised this amount of money, in this little time, but had already raised as much as $80,000.
The motion councillors approved Monday would also add $15,000 to the city’s operations department budget, beginning in 2022, to cover costs of any graffiti removal and winter maintenance on and around the sign.
If all of the fundraising commitment of $200,000 is not received by Oct. 10, 2021 – with 75 per cent of donations paid to the city by that date, staff would not proceed with a request for proposals (RFP) to design and manufacture the sign.
The project would instead be cancelled and any donations received would be returned to donors. Unlike other projects, this one does not have another funding source, so the city could not go to RFP until the funding is secured.
If 100 per cent of fundraising has been committed and 75 per cent of the $200,000 has been paid to the city by Oct. 10, 2021, the remaining 25 per cent would need to be paid to the city by March 31, 2022.
Oct. 10, 2021 was chosen to provide enough time for staff to issue an RFP and select a vendor to design, fabricate and install the sign before July 1, 2022.
As of May 28, 2021, the city has not received any donations toward the landmark sign.
Staff would report back to city council in a memo in October 2021 on the amount of donations received, whether the project is moving forward and next steps.
Staff considered four locations for the sign: Heritage Park, Meridian Place, Barrie City Hall, and South Shore Park, along Lakeshore Drive.
Heritage Park is recommended for its wide-open spaces, view of the waterfront in the background and it’s close to the downtown offering connections to businesses, Meridian Place and gathering spaces for residents and tourists.
It also provides enough space for safety and accessibility. There’s enough open space to safely allow groups to gather and safely take photos. Many city events take place at Heritage Park, so it is a natural draw for the community and for tourists.
Concerns include that Heritage Park is the smallest of the main waterfront parks - Centennial, South Shore and Allandale Station. A hard surface in the vicinity of the sign installation will be important for accessibility and to avoid turning the turf to mud when wet. Security measures would also be needed to deter vandalism there.
To make the sign unique, it could be wrapped with public art to create a unique sign reflecting the community. This would provide a way for the landmark sign to showcase the uniqueness of Barrie and help to draw people back to the sign for multiple visits.
The city issued a request for information (RFI) to better understand the scope of the project, anticipated timelines, costs and feedback on possible locations. It garnered 13 responses.
The estimated timeline for the project is that it would take roughly four months from design to installation, be constructed from steel and aluminum and have a coating applied to assist with graffiti removal.
The sign should be under warranty from between one to three years and should last between 10 and 20 years. It would be lit with LED lights, which would require little power and have minimal energy costs.
The sign would be maintained in all seasons by city operations staff, including snow clearing, landscaping, graffiti removal, etc. Graffiti removal would cost roughly $5,000 annually and winter maintenance would cost about $10,000 a year. These costs would be paid from the operations budget. The sign would be covered under the city’s blanket liability insurance policy.
