City moves forward with wayfinding sign project

Whitefish’s wayfinding sign project is one step closer to fruition.

City Council voted May 21 to take bids for the purchase and installation of as many as 48 wayfinding signs and maps that will help direct visitors to public landmarks throughout the city. A cost estimate has the total sign package at $190,000, although council could choose to trim the project as desired.

The Heart of Whitefish has committed to pay for rock facing and landscaping of two gateway signs. The city would pay for the signs and sign structure with the tax increment financing fund.

“If we get sticker shock then we’ll have to deal with it,” councilor John Anderson said as he motioned to approve the solicitation of bids.

Councilor Chris Hyatt suggested the city should install only a few signs before taking bids on the entire project. He said by hanging a handful of the signs around town, residents would have a chance to see how they look before the city invests in the total package.

“We need to walk carefully,” he said. “These are signs we will have for the next 20 years. I don’t think it hurts taking a little time.”

“I don’t want to make a mistake of $150,000.”

City manager Chuck Stearns agreed that Hyatt’s plan may be a good idea.

“This is a lot of money to put up, only to have the community reject it,” Stearns said. “If we did four to 10 signs, we could see the implications of it.”

Heart of Whitefish representitive Ian Collins pointed out that the city already held a public open house to gain feedback on the wayfinding signs. That open house included full-scale mockups of the signs and an opportunity for community members to give written comments to the designers.

“We had a very positive response to this,” Collins said. “There is a risk to a trial period where you have design by lay people like ourselves without the benefit of professionals.”

He said the wayfinding sign package shouldn’t be broken down into bits.

“This is a system,” he said.

Council approved the request for bids with a 3-1 vote. Hyatt was opposed. Phil Mitchell and Bill Kahle were absent.