Dividing sign

Nothing to announce.

Council accepts Rotary sponsorship, looking for more to help fund replacement of display sign at fairgrounds in Picton

It took the better part of 90 minutes and a handful of procedural motions for a council committee last week to decide it will wait and see what to do to replace a broken roadside display sign at the entrance to the fairgrounds, Crystal Palace and community centre in Picton.

The plastic and wood sign used to advertise events and indicate the location of the venues is more than three decades old. It is literally falling apart. On windy days, bits and pieces of the sign can be found scattered across the nearby playground. Even if the plastic slots designed to hold lettering could be repaired, which seems unlikely, the letters themselves are no longer available.

The Rotary Club of Picton has committed $20,000 toward the replacement of the sign in exchange for naming rights to the hall and two free meetings per year.

The County’s finance chief, Susan Turnbull, told the committee she was confident, with the Rotary’s pledge in hand, her department would be able to raise an additional $50,000 toward the $101,000 replacement cost of the sign. She assured council members that no commitment to replace the sign would be undertaken, in any event, until December’s budget deliberations. By then it would be clear whether the money was in place proceed.

It seemed a straightforward proposal. A broken sign. A plan to fix it. A service club willing to help. Others perhaps waiting on the sidelines. Council eventually agreed to Turnbull’s plan—but not before veering wildly into the tall grass.

Some councillors worried other donors might fail to step forward. After all, the County had marketed naming rights to the community centre for a year, yet there were no takers.

Turnbull repeated that nothing would be done until the money was pledged.

That wasn’t enough for Athol councillor Jamie Forrester.

“I hear lots of promises,” said Forrester. “Then when a project is cancelled, our money magically disappears into reserves.”

Forrester questioned the need for a sign, suggesting the illuminated sign at the Wellington and District Community Centre offered no value to the municipality.

“That shiny sign gives us no benefit,” asserted Forrester.

Other councillors wanted to probe and dissect the projected revenue model for the sign.

Some proposed a portable tow-behind backlit sign would do the job.

“To me its a quick and cheap fix,” said Ameliasburgh councillor Roy Pennell. “$100,000 versus $1,500—I know where I would spend my money.”

Wellington councillor Jim Dunlop suggested the arrangement with the Picton service club might be a bit rich. Dunlop knows of what he speaks, he was at the centre of the naming rights pricing structure as chief fundraiser for the new arena and community centre in Wellington.

Dunlop noted that in each case these rights expire— but the Picton deal was for perpetuity. The potential for a discussion about Dunlop’s points was obliterated by the ever louder call for a guarantee that no money be spent on a sign unless expressly approved by council.

A motion to prescribe this in a bylaw failed.

Councillor Gord Fox said the motion was a insult to the integrity senior staff.

As the afternoon wore on, the growing frustration on Picton Rotary president Rick Jones’s face became pronounced.

Sophiasburgh councillor Kevin Gale decided to turn the debate on its head. Rather than wait until December, Gale proposed a motion to replace the sign immediately.

“Stop dicking around,” Gale scolded his colleagues around the table. “The sign is broken. It is dangerous. Take it down and replace it. Take the money from capital reserves and replace it when the contributions come in.”

Gale’s motion failed. But he got enough support to show those trying to kill the sign that their efforts were futile.

Nearly 90 minutes after they began talking about the sign, a majority of council agreed with the original proposal.