PL PACKET 07191988 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 When Commissioner Hansen said he still had a hard time understanding .2 why Eberhardt had chosen to put money into a mural rather than 3 towards the uniform signage the City had been requesting over the• 4 years , Mr. Johnson reiterated that the $1 , 500.00 could be taken from 5 cash flow monies which are inadequate to cover both a large project 6 like uniform signage and the costs of getting stores ready for new 7 tenants. 8 Commissioner Werenicz commented that he perceived that when the 9 center manager had decided to put the City logo into the sign he had 10 created a "huge sign for which a variance the size of which no other 11 applicant had ever been granted" . He also anticipated future 12 applicants would see the mural as nothing more than a large sign 13 advertising the City which established a precedent for future signage 14 of the same size all over the City. 15 The Commissioner agreed with Mr. Childs that "beauty is in the eye of 16 the beholder" , but said he perceived a similarity with the 17 "atrocious" paintings on the side of buildings in the Cedar Riverside 18 area. 19 Commissioner Hansen drew a comparison between the mural and 20 billboards whose intent is to draw the public's attention and which 21 had been banned from the City because they diverted drivers' 22 attention. He questioned whether such diversion would be smart in an 23 area like this one where a lot of traffic converges onto Kenzie 24 Terrace from three different busy streets. 25 The Commissioner also wondered whether the City would have any more 26 control over the maintenance of this mural than had been demonstrated 27 over the "disgracefully deteriorated" pylon sign which identified the 28 other shopping center in the same area before it was torn down to 29 make way for the new senior building. 30 Commissioner London agreed with Commissioner Werenicz inference that . 31 some murals were "low budget, stopgap measures to temporarily 32 brighten up run down neighborhoods. " He told Mr. Johnson he thought 33 he should save his money for some real improvements in the shopping 34 center. 35 Commissioner Madden said he would favor adding the City's logo to 36 the mural as "a boost for the City" . He pointed to several "very 37 attractive" murals like the temporary one on the back of the WCCO 38 building and another on the Valspar building which he thought had 39 both been well done. 40 Mr. Childs told Mr. Johnson he could see where there was little 41 chance there would be a favorable consensus on the Commission for a 42 logo on the mural . He also said that as far as the City needing a 43 sign to boost it, $5,000.00 is about to be spent for a sign in 44 Trillium Park which would be similar to the entrance sign to Blaine. 45 The Manager said his own personal opinion was that having the City 4 •